Monday, April 7, 2008 Munich-Innsbruck, Austria-Venice, Italy

As a side note, some of the people on the bus are thanking me for the entertainment and great diary/journal entries of the Betty and I encounter. Cheryl, the teacher that went to get the TG to assist with the confrontation moves to the back of the bus with her "friend". It wasn't until days later in Venice that I finally ask Cheryl what her name is and a few days later when I learn that Cheryl is on vacation with her mother, Judith. They are also from Australia. Wonderful women. Jimmy the "Blue Shirt man" dubbed "OC (Old & Cold)" by Tania and his wife Judy quickly become warm and compassionate individuals. They didn't have a good first impression of me as it involved Betty, but within a day or so all was clear and I found them to be fabulous people that I shared many a conversation and great laughs and experiences.

The Stats of the tour: 44 people, 1 bus driver, 1 tour guide. Jimmy and Judy kept some fantastic travel information from weather to gas prices in their journals. One day they wanted to know the country of residency of the tourists. Of course my idea was to just ask them then have us "back of the bus" people try to see what we knew. Tania was more than willing to assist and started at the front of the bus asking. I have to admit the funniest was when she said "2 from New Mexico". I said "New Mexico"? That's U.S.! Here were the results (although there were some discrepancies with those with work visas as to whether it was from origination/birth country or current residence):

Australia - 13
America - 12
Canada - 8
Phillipeans - 3
Malaysia - 3
New Zealand - 3
India - 2
Taiwan - 1
Austria - 1 Tour Guide
Italy - 1 Bus Driver

The TG and I start the morning off right when she inquires about Nick as he isn't on the bus when we were ready to leave. (The day before when leaving Rothenburg she asks me about Betty's whereabouts. ) I tell her I don't know where he is but that he had been at breakfast. Then I joke with her about why she keeps asking me about people as I am not their keepers. She obviously didn't find it funny and snaps at me that she never asked me about Nick or anyone else before. Right.

The bus ride is pretty uneventful. It is snowing as we drive to Innsbruck, Austria. Innsbruck is the 4th largest city in Austria with 1.5 million inhabitants. Austria has 9 federal states compared to Germany's 11. This is the "tour" portion of our bus ride.

I was mistaken in my prior post in that we went to the Diamond Center previously, today we went to the Swarvoski shop. Since I already blogged about Swarvoski, the Diamond tour wasn't very exciting. I talk with Duane and Judy after the Swarvoski tour. We discuss Betty and while they were unaware of the bus incident, they have their own interpretations of Betty, without any of my persuasion. This seems to be the theme throughout the trip, regardless of me trying not to talk about Betty, others consistently fill me in on her latest issues.

We travel through the Dolomite mountains and the Swiss Alps. We stop at yet another truck stop for a buffet self-service luncheon and another bathroom toll. I sit with the Canadian grandmother and uncle and Beverly and Robert. We continue back in route to Venice. The snow has stopped and the views are absolutely breathtaking. We ask the TG if the bus driver can pull over to the shoulder briefly - or at a quick side of the road tourist stop - and are told no. The schedule is too tight to waste any time. Amazing how a quick few minutes of non-moving pictures could have improved our spirits and lifted some of the negativity about Cosmos and their staff. I'm able to take some OK pictures, but through the bus window at 65mph doesn't yield the best shots, that's for sure!

I find that writing in the journal was becoming increasingly difficult, especially if I fell a day or two behind. Seeing that we spent so much time on the bus and little time off the bus, everything was beginning to blur. We joked that our journals would say, "Rained. Bus Ride." and then move on to the next day. I can't recall the rest of the trip this day, as it is blending in with the next two days in Italy.

I believe tonight we took the optional excursion to Venice to tour Venice by Night and Cafe Florian. We take another boat along Giudecca Canal. Most of my pictures didn't turn out despite night shot and back lighting as it was just too dark. We walked to St. Mark's Square and went to Cafe Florian, where Casanova apparently used to hangout. I had a wonderful glass of white wine and a fabulous ice cream. We returned back to the hotel and James, Paul and I managed to scope out the hotel grounds prior to retreating. In the morning we would see Venice by day - maybe it won't rain.