European Trip (I) Sharing Scenic Views Along the Journey

Xi'an - Prague On March 25, 2018, we boarded China Eastern Airlines flight MU2770 departing from Xi'an. This plane originated from Shanghai Pudong, made a stop in Xi'an, and arrived in Prague at 19:00 local Czech time. The entire journey from Xi'an to the destination took over nine hours.

The flight we took this time

A corner of Prague Airport

Arriving at the destination, it had just rained lightly. A bus picked us up and took us to the hotel.

The local hotel in Prague where we stayed

After checking in, we immediately planned to go out for a walk. When we reached the entrance, we found through the phone map that the hotel was in a somewhat remote location with no commercial areas nearby. We took a short walk around the entrance and then returned to our room to rest. We also bought some souvenirs in the lobby. The salesperson was impressive and could speak simple Chinese.

Prague - Salzburg On March 26, this was our first breakfast in Europe. As we traveled along, we realized that the first breakfast was the most abundant, with juice, coffee, hot water, and hot milk available, and the widest variety of bread. Perhaps it was meant to give every traveler a boost of energy to start the journey with enthusiasm.

Various kinds of bread, very tasty.

Various kinds of bacon, also good in flavor.

After breakfast, we boarded the bus for this European trip and drove towards Salzburg, the hometown of the musical prodigy Mozart in Austria.

The first thing we saw was a free bicycle repair station for local use.

The residence of musical prodigy Mozart

Salzburg Cathedral

This is a photo of Salzburg taken from Mirabell Garden

Salzburg's Makartsteg (Bach) Bridge

Salzburg is located in western Austria, at the gateway to the Alps. The city's architectural style is predominantly Baroque. According to historical records, Salzburg is the oldest city within the territory of present-day Austria. Salzburg is the birthplace of the musical genius Mozart, who spent more than half of his brief life of less than 36 years here. Salzburg is also the hometown of conductor Herbert von Karajan and the filming location of the movie "The Sound of Music." The old town of Salzburg was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.

We arrived in Salzburg around noon and walked to a local Chinese restaurant for lunch. After lunch, the guide took us to visit the square, Mozart's residence and workplace, and Mirabell Palace. On the way back, there was a slight hiccup: we had to find our own way back to the parking lot. Unexpectedly, there were so many alleys that we got lost. Fortunately, mobile maps were very useful, and we followed the guide's location and navigated back to the bus stop.

That night, we stayed in a small town in Slovenia at a hotel called Grajski Dvor. As the bus entered the town, we spotted a supermarket. Right after checking in, we immediately went to the local supermarket. Throughout our entire trip in Europe, this was the place with the lowest prices. We bought some beer, red wine, and snacks.

A corner of the local supermarket

Vegetable section in the supermarket

The town's library, a rather beautiful building

The accommodation in the Slovenian town confirmed everything the guide had said earlier: it was not as grand as one might imagine, with a small elevator, simple rooms, and no toothpaste or soap. It even felt like a hotel from the 1980s in China. More details later.

Slovenian town - Venice, Italy On March 27, we had breakfast at the hotel and then took a bus directly into Italy. Our first stop in Italy was Venice, the water city we learned about in elementary school textbooks, along with the mention of the Merchant of Venice. So we were very much looking forward to the Venice trip. When we arrived in Venice, it seemed the bus wasn't allowed into the city, so we transferred to a local bus and reached the shore. After having lunch at a Chinese restaurant, we took a cruise to one of the most famous islands.

The buildings on the water city photographed from the cruise

St. Mark's Basilica

Canals of the Venice water city

St. Mark's Square and St. Mark's Campanile

After landing on the island, the guide introduced and took us to visit famous attractions: the Bridge of Sighs, St. Mark's Square, St. Mark's Basilica, the Doge's Palace, and other renowned sites. We also went to a local DFS duty-free store. Before entering Italy, the guide emphasized that we must keep an eye on our bags and secure them properly because there were many thieves. He even said he didn't dare to hold up his guide flag, as thieves knew that guides carried many items and were prime targets.

Interior of the DFS duty-free store

After visiting the Venice water city, we took the bus to a town about 20 kilometers from Florence where we stayed at the DATINI HOTEL. We arrived too late for dinner, but fortunately there was a sandwich shop across the street. After checking in, we went to the small shop across the road and bought some food.

The hotel where we stayed tonight

There was also a small bar in the hotel lobby

The sandwich shop offered a variety of vegetables to choose from

After eating, we quickly returned to the hotel to rest. We were exhausted from either sightseeing or riding the bus. I will continue writing when I have more time.