London has taken a turn for the colder since I left it a few days ago. It's 4:00 pm and sunset is only a few minutes away. I'm on an overnight stop before I travel back home on Sunday. I left Beirut early this morning and as I watched the city disappear from sight, I wondered as always, when will I be back? I can't speak for what it's like in the Southern Suburbs as I didn't go there. My friends tell me it's bad and those people are really struggling. There were random spots in Central Beirut that were reduced to rubble, especially the roads. Potholes on our roads have nothing on the damage that a bomb can do to a road. At Starbucks last night we all watched multiple amublances go by and wondered what happened. People are constantly looking around and aware of their surroundings. The laid back have a latte on the patio casual attitude is gone. The same thing happens but with an edge of awareness of everything and everyone around them.
Innsbruck - here despite it never being on my to-see list
First the backstory. In about a week I'll be boarding a cruise ship (this year's Cruise Trek) in Romania. When I booked the flight many months ago, I had a brilliant idea to go in a week early to Vienna and use it as a base to spend a few nights each in Albania and Bosnia. Fast forward to 6 weeks ago and the Covid restrictions, flight schedules, and hotel prices made me give up. Changing the flight to Vienna would result in penalties and possibly fare increases so I made the best of it and thought, where can I go in Austria where I've never been? Innsbruck, hmm. Can I get a free flight from Vienna? Yes! Can I get a free hotel room? Yes. Check! The city is picture perfect though. Nestled in a valley between two mountain ranges, it's green, colorful, and everything you could want a place to be when the purpose is total work decompression. No major sightseeing, no expectations. You, a city and a view. It's walkable and small. You've got to look up, left and right, ...
Peru will seem like Disneyland to you now.
ReplyDeleteLet me see. Peru - 4 flights in one week, 3 hotel changes, early wake up calls, third world country with high theft and poor water conditions. Sometimes violent, Latin America country where things happen slowly. It will be like standing in line for Buzz Lightyear at Disneyland!
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