European Football Tournaments.

Yesterday I posted about the World Cup.  Today I am posting excerpts of two letters on European tournaments.  I watched Euro 98 games Austria and Egypt.   During Euro 96 we lived in Tirana.  I’ll start with Euro 2008. A cartoon in one of the local Cairo papers shows two Egyptians looking at the European football tournament, Euro 2008, on TV.  One says to the other “The difference is, with us, football is just a game.”  It is a madness that takes over Europe every fourth June. The roof of the Cairo Marriott is turned into a big screen outdoor football … Continue reading European Football Tournaments.

Altwiener Ostermarkt, Freyung (Old Vienna Easter market at Freyung)

Around the perimeter of the Altwiener Ostermarkt, Freyung (Old Vienna Easter market at Freyung Square) booths sell handicrafts, I bought an olive wood egg.  One sold live rabbits.  The food market and the wine tasting booths were across the street.  … Continue reading Altwiener Ostermarkt, Freyung (Old Vienna Easter market at Freyung)

Railjet, Austria’s High Speed Train.

Railjet is Austria’s high speed train.  While not as fast as Germany’s ICE (Suzi’s train from Brussels to Munich topped out at 275) or France’s TGV, we clocked a respectable 232 km per hour  (144 MPH) on the route between Munich and Vienna.  The train is comfortable with wi-fi (I took a picture when the speedometer tipped 200 and sent it out on FaceBook), a dining car, a cart that brings food to you and nice seats.  Taking pictures out of the windows at the alpine meadows at that speed was a challenge for my camera.  You don’t really feel … Continue reading Railjet, Austria’s High Speed Train.