European Journey (Part 1): Sharing the Beautiful Scenery Along the Way
Xi'an–Prague
On March 25, 2018, we boarded China Eastern flight MU2770 in Xi'an. The flight originated from Shanghai Pudong and stopped over in Xi'an. We arrived in Prague at 19:00 local time. The whole journey from Xi'an took over nine hours.
Our flight
A corner of Prague Airport
When we arrived, it had just rained lightly. A bus took us to the hotel.
The hotel we stayed at in Prague
After checking in, we immediately planned to go out and look around. At the door, we checked the phone map and found the hotel was in a somewhat remote location with no shops nearby. So we just walked around the entrance and then returned to the room to rest. We also bought souvenirs in the lobby—the shop assistant was impressive, even speaking some basic Chinese.
Prague–Salzburg
March 26: This was our first breakfast in Europe. Looking back, it turned out to be the most abundant breakfast of the entire trip—fruit juice, coffee, hot water, hot milk, all were available, and the greatest variety of bread. Maybe it was a morale booster for every traveler, getting us charged up for the road ahead.
Assorted breads, really tasty.
Different kinds of bacon, also good.
After breakfast, we boarded the coach for our European journey and headed straight to Salzburg, Austria, the hometown of musical prodigy Mozart.
The first thing we saw: local free self-service bicycle repair tools.
Mozart's birthplace
Salzburg Cathedral
This is Salzburg as seen from Mirabell Gardens
A small bridge in Salzburg
Salzburg is located in western Austria and serves as the gateway to the Alps. The city's architecture is predominantly Baroque. According to historical records, Salzburg is the oldest city in present-day Austria. It is the birthplace of musical genius Mozart, who spent more than half of his short life of under 36 years in Salzburg. Salzburg is also the hometown of conductor Herbert von Karajan and the filming location for The Sound of Music. The historic center of Salzburg was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.
We arrived in Salzburg around noon, walked to a local Chinese restaurant for lunch. Afterward, the guide took us around the square, Mozart's birthplace and workplace, and Mirabell Palace. On the way back, there was a little episode: we had to find our way back to the parking lot on our own. With so many lanes, we got lost! Thank goodness for online maps—we used the location pin the guide sent and navigated all the way back to the coach station.
That evening we stayed in a small town in Slovenia, at a hotel called Grajski Dvor. As the coach entered the town we spotted a supermarket, and right after checking in we headed there. Looking back on the whole trip around Europe, this place had the lowest prices. We bought some beer, red wine, and snacks.
A corner of the local supermarket
The vegetable section of the supermarket
The town library, a rather beautiful building
The accommodation in this small Slovenian town proved everything the guide had told us in advance: no luxury or grandeur, just a tiny elevator, simple rooms, no toothpaste or soap, etc. We also stayed in hotels reminiscent of 1980s China—more on that later.
Slovenian town – Venice, Italy
On the morning of March 27, after breakfast at the hotel, we drove straight into Italy. Our first stop in Italy was Venice—the water city we learned about in elementary school, along with The Merchant of Venice. So I was really looking forward to this visit. When we arrived in Venice, our coach was not allowed into the city, it seemed. We transferred to a local bus and rode to the shore. After lunch at a Chinese restaurant, we took a boat to one of the most famous islands.
Buildings on the water city, photographed from the boat
St. Mark's Basilica
A canal in Venice
St. Mark's Square and St. Mark's Campanile
After landing on the island, the guide showed us around famous sights: the Bridge of Sighs, St. Mark's Square, St. Mark's Basilica, the Doge's Palace, and other landmarks. We also visited a DFS duty-free shop. Before entering Italy, the guide had stressed: watch your bags carefully, keep them front-facing; there are too many pickpockets. He himself didn't dare hold a flag because thieves know guides carry lots of stuff and are easy targets.
Inside the DFS duty-free shop
After finishing our tour of Venice, we got back on the coach and went to a small town over 20 kilometers from Florence to spend the night. The hotel was Datini Hotel. We arrived very late, so dinner was on our own. Conveniently, there was a sandwich shop right across the street. After checking in, we went over and bought some food.
This is the hotel we stayed at that night
The hotel lobby also had a small bar
A variety of vegetables to choose from in the sandwiches
After eating, we quickly returned to the hotel to rest—we were so tired from all the sightseeing and traveling. To be continued when I have time.
