We arrived in Cyprus on September 13 after a fast 29 hour sail from Kas, Turkey. We have been at the St. Raphael Marina which is about 14 kilometers east of the big city of Limassol.  We rented a car for a few days and did some limited touring. There is a beach next to the marina where Laura swims and we watch the sunset.  The Sailors Rest restaurant next to the marina turned out to be wonderful and we became friends with the staff.
This evening (September 23) we will leave for Ashkelon, Israel. We expect to arrive in Ashkelon early on Friday, September 25.
Vineyards surround our chambre d’hôtes in Saint-Quentin-de-CaplongGrapes are almost ready for harvest in Saint-Quentin-de-CaplongLaura tries out the pool (Saint-Quentin-de-Caplong)Rolled bales of hay (Saint-Quentin-de-Caplong)Bridge over the River Dordogne
From Saint-Quentin-de-Caplong we drove to the country home (“La Bourg”) of Melinda and George of the yacht “Daedalus.” We met Melinda and George while cruising along the Australian coast on the way to Darwin in 2011. They were with us for the Sail Indonesia rally, and subsequently in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. Their boat is still in Malaysia. Their centuries old home in Fongalop (near Monpazier) is very charming and comfortable and we ate, drank, toured and had a wonderful time visiting with them.
Melinda and Laura in front of Melinda’s home in FongalopThe cèpes (a type of wild mushroom) were in season around Fongalop (shown in Melinda’s kitchen))Mark, George, and Melinda pose with the cèpes“La Bourg,” the home of Melinda and George in Fongalop (Dordogne region)
From Fongalop, we drive to the chambre d’hôtes “Au Merlot” in Ste. Sabine-Born to await the arrival of our son Benjamin and his girlfriend Irene who were driving up from Hondarribia in the Basque County of Spain. We had a wonderful 36 hours with them … touring, talking, and eating.
Ben and Irene at Ste. Sabine-BornBen and Irene at Ste. Sabine-BornBen and Irene at Ste. Sabine-BornMark, Ben and Irene at Ste. Sabine-BornChateau near Ste. Sabine-BornBicycle transformed to a planter in Essegiac
Ben and Irene drove back to Spain and one day later we drove to Lompian (near Damazan) to stay with our friends Danny Rose and Jamie Fellner at “Maison du Canal,” a beautiful old house set right on the Canal du Midi that they had rented. We walked along the paved path along the canal, rented a canal boat for a cruise, and toured and dined in the towns of the Lot-et-Garonne department. It was wonderful to spend time with Danny and Jamie in such a beautiful place and was a fitting and memorable end to our European sojourn.
Danny, Jamie, and Laura at LompianCanal du Midi near LompianCanal du Midi near Lompian
The small alpine village of Valbruna in the South Tyrol region of Italy
We took the train from Salzburg to Vienna on August 1 and took up residence in the lovely apartment of Peter, Alexandra, and Finn of “Risho Maru.” It was very hot almost the whole time we were in Vienna but we still loved it, as we did last year. It got so hot after some days — with a forecast of 100 degrees Fahrenheit– that we looked for some place to cool off. I followed the railway track south from Vienna on Google Maps and then searched on-line for a place in the Dolomite Mountains of the Alps easily accessible by train. Everything seemed to be booked but finally we found a room for 3 days with a family in a converted farm house in a small town just in the northeast corner of Italy just 5 miles from the Austrian border and 5 miles from the Slovenian border. They even agreed to pick us up from the train station.
There are only a few photos of Vienna below as we posted many last year. We were lucky enough to have our good friends from Rhode Island, Shelley Roth and her sons Spencer and Jeremy, visit for an afternoon.
M.
Spencer, Shelley, and Jeremy seated at Figlmuller’s waiting for their famous schnitzel.Posing in front of the Spanish Riding School located between Michaelerplatz and Josefsplatz near the Hofburg in central Vienna.View from our front door in Valbruna, ItalyDolomites near ValbrunaDolomites near ValbrunaA selfie in ItalyWe loved the exhibit at the Museum Hundertwasser located at the Kunsthaus WienSidewalk memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust who lived in this Vienna apartment building
Dachstein Mountains rise steeply over Gosau Lake, Austria
By late July, it gets very hot in southern Turkey. So, like last year, we flew off to Austria (on July 24) to see our sailing friends from “Risho Maru” and then house sit their flat in Vienna while they are off sailing. This time we flew to Salzberg and drove in our rental car to the Salzkammergut, the lake region to the east of Salzberg. Peter, Alexandra, and Finn of Risho Maru stayed in Peter’s sisters house in Mondsee, the town made famous in the movie “Sound of Music.” We could not find a place to stay nearby, and took a chance on a newly listed AirBnB flat in Traunkirchen, on lake Traunsee, a 45 minute drive away. It turned out to be a wonderful experience. We had a great weekend with the Risho Maru’s exploring Mondsee and Bad Ischl, and hiking around Wolfgangsee and Traunsee. And the flat on Lake Traunsee was spectacular and came with wonderful hosts. We spent an additional week exploring Salzkammergut after our friends returned to Vienna, packed up their car, and drove to their boat in Italy. Below, are some of the photos from our 9 days in Salzkammergut. Tomorrow, we will post photos from Vienna, the South Tyrol, and southwestern France.
Finn, Peter, Laura, and Alex pose in Gmuden at the northern end of Lake TraunseeView out from the front door of our place (Villa Otterstein) on Lake TraunseeOur AirBnB hosts with their daughter who was visiting for the weekend. They lived upstairs in the two story villa and invited us for breakfast, supper, and a band concert.View looking southeast from our flat on Lake Traunsee at sunset.The church in Mondsee where Captain von Trapp and Maria were married.Laura holds up a dirndl in Bad Ischl. Local women wore these. The men wore liederhosen.Hallstat on the Hallstatter See. Site of the famous 2800 years old salt mines that gave Salzberg and Salzkammergut their names.On the way up to Gosausee.At the top of the Dachstein mountains overlooking Gosausee (Lake Gosau).Dachstein’s near Gosausee.Lake Gosau (Gosausee) with the Dachstein Glacier in the distance.GosauseeGosauseeList of those murdered at Ebensee Concentration Camp at the southern end of Traunsee.Remembrances at the Ebensee Concentration Camp. Both Jews and non-Jews slaved here digging tunnels to produce V2 rockets at the end of the war.Before leaving for Austria in July, we rented a car and drove to the mountain village of Gombe, just one hour away from Kas,. We had pre-ordered the lamb special which was eaten on a platform. The private platform sat over a fast-moving stream carrying snow melt. The meal was followed by a nap, watermelon, and coffee.Mark at Gombe, Turkey.
