Well, it's now mid November, so I figure I'm overdue for another post to keep the monthly posting going.

This morning my windows were covered with snow - I'm on the top floor of the building so the windows are slanted with the roof. There wasn't much snow - none really on the ground - so winter activities were ruled out. But it was the first snow I'd seen in almost 20 months. I'm continuing to very slowly learn German, and work on the job front. But still quite a bit to go.

Traveled around a bit more, heading to Budapest, walking through Liechtenstein (purely for the novelty of walking through a country), and going to Grindelwald (Switzerland) and Bratislava. My brother visited for a bit over a week as well.

Budapest is a decent city. And very easy to get to from Vienna. The ticket back to Vienna cost under US$20. Some similarities with Vienna in terms of architecture - St Stephen's Basilica (below) looks very much like Karlskirche in Vienna. There's a park a bit outside of the city with a collection of statues from the days of communism. Generally though, Vienna seems to be in better shape, more maintained and modern.




Liechtenstein is a collection of quaint villages that seem to flow together, with a castle overlooking Vaduz, the capital. Given the size, it's easily walkable within a day - and provides a degree of novelty in doing so.




Grindelwald is an alpine town in Switzerland. In the Jungfrau region in sort of central Switzerland. Definitely impressive scenery, with mountains and lakes. Good hiking, with the downside being that things were rather expensive in town. I tried hiking up a mountain my last day there, but never made it. I think I may have ended up on a different trail, and when I got back into town I saw a sign that I think meant the trail was closed. But still a decent hike, and I see some Ibex (I think they were Ibex). Too far up the mountain to be anything more than a blob in a photo, but cool nonetheless.




Finally, Bratislava. It's the capital and largest town of Slovakia, and only about an hour from Vienna - perfect for a day trip. It costs EUR12 to get there from Vienna, and EUR8.50 to get back on the same route. Apparently rail tickets are cheaper in Slovakia. Anyway, Bratislava is a mix of an old town and new town with communist-style architecture. The added advantage being that I can just head home instead of paying for a hostel.