All's Well That Ends Well, in Copenhagen

You'll have to read all of this to understand the title, or if you are so inclined, you can just scroll to the bottom. But that would be cheating, now wouldn't it?

The weekend in Kleinmutschen with Pamela, Rudi, Traude and Ralf was really nice. What with Ralf's barbecue, Traude's breakfasts, and Pamela's desert, I must have put on 2 or 3 kilos. How they manage to stay so slim is a mystery to me! Besides eating, they showed me even more of Burgenland. Not to forget Ralf's parents. And please tell Fredi I'm sorry I didn't get to spend any time visiting with him.

Brandie, I thought I had something that would really interest you. We went to an Immigration Museum, a history of Burgenland migration to/from the Americas. My home town, South Bend, was even mentioned. I found a book about a genealogical web site for Burgenland families with my Grandfather and Grandmother's family names. I was sure you'd be interested, Brandie. Guess what? Your name was already there as a participant. You're way ahead of me.

We also visited a Burg. As in my last trip, the difference between Burg and Schloss, both castles, isn't clear. We finally decided the best way to differentiate between them, is to think of Burgs as the homes of the warriors, and Schloss' as the homes of the ruling class.

On Sunday, Pamela and Ralf took me to Klagenfurt, about three hour ride from Klienmutschen. As a side note, I'd love to drive those roads in the MX5, top down, .... In Klagenfurt, we went to MiniMundus, a really fascinating place. MiniMundis has well over 100 scale models of famous buildings throughout the world. Very detailed, and very accurate. I'd been to a number of the places, and was really impressed with what they have done. Examples are St. Peter's Square, the Acropolis, the White House, Independence Hall, Taj Majal... You get the idea. Where possible, they've used the same material s the original. If in Austria, try to include it. It's worth the time.

Then Pamela's boss, who lives there on weekends, and in Vienna during the week, met us and took us on a tour of Lake Worthsee (hope I spelled that OK). It's really a beautiful lake, and another reason to visit Klagenfurt. She also led us to an outstanding restaurant where we ate on the deck and had a view of the city.

All good things must end. On Monday, after a typical fine breakfast, Pamela and Ralf took me to the Vienna Airport. Unfortunately, on the way, Ralf got a speeding ticket. Besides being bad luck, it was an interesting process for me. The offender is allowed to pay the fine on the spot, directly to the Police. (Don't know if they accept credit cards.) If you pay by mail, the fine is more, I believe. One wonders what percent of the fines don't make it to the community. Even with the stop, we made it to the airport in plenty of time.

The flight to Copenhagen, with a change in Heathrow, was fine., except for a rough landing in Heathrow. Arriving in Copenhagen, for the most part, was a snap. Found the train into town, found the hotel with not even a single wrong turn. The room is fine, if rather small. Nearly enough room to turn around in. The bath is a combined shower, toilet and washbasin, in a space about 3' by 3', maybe less. Trude had packed me a lunch, so I had two excellent meat and cheese sandwiches for supper, then wandered around town to get my bearings, before turning in for the nite. One heck of a thunderstorm during the nite, but the morning was dry, if cloudy and a bit chilly.

So what ended well? Nearly all of my stuff, including me, that made it on the plane in Vienna on Monday made it to Copenhagen. Nearly all but my suitcase, that is. After watching the carousel roll around empty for some time, I concluded that my suitcase didn't arrive with me, so I reported it missing. The confident clerk assured me it would show up, and gave me the baggage link on the BA website to check it's status. Checked it this AM, and there was no information available. Took a walk around town, felt dejected, picked upon, you name it. Went back to the hotel, still no info. Planned the rest of the day, including a shopping trip for new unmentionables, and was about to leave when the sun came out, and I saw a message for me on the hotel message board. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and a suitcase. It had been delivered within the last hour. Scrub the shopping trip. All's well that ends well.

Love,

Dad/Grandpa/Dick