One of the nice things is that the bus has a wifi signal, so I can blog during our transit times. 😊 Especially nice is that I am alert and awake by then, so eager to share 🤗.
Yesterday was an optional castle tour, which I opted out of as we only had one, full day in Wien (Vienna). HOWEVER…😂😂😂😂😂…the THIRD guy in our group wanted to hang together, as he was fearful of getting lost (no eSIM, no Google Maps 😂). Now, had Michelle been with us, she would’ve controlled the situation much better than I (people pleaser 🙄), but she had opted IN with the castle tour. So it was Alan, Steve and myself. Alan, at 83, keeps up exceptionally well at a normal pace. Steve walks in OVERDRIVE because he likes to cover as much of a city as possible. And that means, stopping ANYwhere is NOT an option. Totally not my style/preference as a solo traveler! To remind you who is who…
Me, Alan, Michelle…
And Steve 😂.
When I first met him at our introductory meeting, he seemed to be a very soft spoken and timid gentleman. He remained as such, however, he has a very overbearing (passive-aggressive) personality, which lies just beneath the surface! For example… I commented on Sunday, “It will be nice to be in the Old Town on a Monday to avoid some of these crowds.”
He scoffed at that, and said ,”There won’t be any fewer people tomorrow just because it’s a Monday.”
Well, there was, much fewer, but anytime a tour group passed by (sometimes upwards of 25 to 35 people) he made sure to point out the fact that there were “just as many people as there were yesterday, Erin.” 🙄🙄🙄
And then, anytime Alan or I wanted to stop…for a coffee, a quick visit in a church, or simply to take a picture, he shooed us on our way so we ‘don’t miss anything.’
I can’t begin to count how many times I told him… “Let’s just pick a meeting spot and be back here in an hour.”
That was never an option. At one point, Alan insisted we stop for a coffee, because I had secretly texted him and told him that I would’ve liked to have stopped back when he (Alan) first suggested it, about two hours prior.
👉🏿 🙄.
I am sad to say that we really didn’t see much of anything meaningful because we were walking by so quickly that we couldn’t stop to appreciate what there was to really see, and to experience. The last straw, not that I ever had one that ‘broke the camels back’, so to speak, was when we finally arrived at the summer palace (Hapsburgs 🤓), our last stop for the day. There were several stalls and booths with street food, local vendors, and local artists selling things on the outer edges of the palace. The gardens were located just a few steps beyond.
“I’m just going to wander around out here,” I commented. “I’ll see you after you tour the gardens.”
“There’s nothing to see out here,” Steve commented. “It’s nothing you would be interested in.”
😱😡😱😡😱😡😱😡😱😡😱😡😱😡😱
Now, it’s a good thing I had my sunglasses on. My eyes were about to roll out of my head! Alan, bless his heart, didn’t hear a word of the exchange because he is somewhat hard of hearing unless he is seeing you talking directly at him.😂😂
Not wanting to argue, because I knew I would lose (Seriously. I would have. I had learned this by now😂), I just nodded and followed along behind to the gardens. 🙄
For some reason, Steve thinks I am joining a tour group (with him) to Spain. (I may have mentioned that it sounded awfully fun. On our first night at the introductory gathering 😂😂😂). I’m not sure if I should be honest and tell him I’d not EVER travel with him because of A, B, and C (and D, E, F…Z), but me, not wanting to hurt any feelings, will probably blame it on Plus One, and him not being comfortable with me traveling with another male .😂😂😂😂😂
Aye aye aye.
I was still able to snap some beautiful photos from yesterday. So I will take a break in writing because I feel my blood began to boil all over again.😂😂😂
This was a monument in the center of town, commemorating all those who perished in the ‘Black Death’ (Bubonic Plague). I believe that was in the 1600s…🤔
The gardens 🙄😂😂😂.
And below, the neat assortment of vendors (much like what was found at the Christmas Market😁).
And I did insist on stoping to enjoy one of the ‘things to try’ on my itinerary for Austria…
‘Langos’ . I ordered just the sour cream version, but the guy made a mistake. But it was all right 😊. Alan, fortunately had a sliver with me, but Steve didn’t care for any, and promptly chastised me for wasting half of it. 😂😂😂
Did I mention the guy has never been married? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
OK. I am going to be nice now. And I’m going to let this go. But it did give me pause to consider, last night while lying in bed, wide awake because by the time we stopped for our very strong-but-tasty Vienna coffee, it was well past 2 PM 🙄. Anyway, I got to thinking…I’m so grateful that I enjoy stopping to smell the flowers that the Lord so graciously blesses us with. And to be aware of and appreciative for the beauty that is all around us. Each new sunrise is brand new and different from the day before! Even our relaxing evenings together are anything but if it’s the four of us instead of just the three, because Steve can’t stand to sit and waste time, even though we may be having an enjoyable time visiting with one another. He left us early last night, but we just stayed and visited for about another two hours and enjoyed one other‘s company. I am grateful that I am able to take life at a slow pace, and not miss out on anything for fear of missing out on everything!
Crossing over into Slovakia! It’s interesting to see all of the unmanned border crossings now that the EU has opened some of these borders. 😊
