August 27, 2018

Europe '81: Paris Right Bank

September 17, 1981

My second day in Paris began on the city's Right Bank with a visit to the world's largest art museum, the Musée du Louvre. The museum is housed in a former royal palace and is classified a historic monument. Here at the Louvre I came face to face with great pieces of art, in a simpler time before the extensive security measures we encounter today.



The Right Bank of Paris


August 20, 2018

Europe '81: Paris

September 16, 1981

The final stop on my first tour of Europe was Paris, the City of Light. I arrived early in the morning on the 06:44 overnight train from Munich – the Orient Express. But the train I'd taken was named for the route it travelled, not the famous luxury service of Agatha Christie's day. After all, I was travelling Europe on $20 a Day.



Eiffel Tower, Paris (1981)


August 13, 2018

Europe '81: Munich

September 13, 1981

I arrived in Munich on a cool rainy day on the 1:23 p.m train from Innsbruck. I was now past the midpoint of my three-week tour of Europe and about to begin a brief visit to the capital of the German state of Bavaria.






August 06, 2018

Europe '81: The Austrian Alps

Last week I shared the first half of an essay I'd written many years ago about my first trip to Europe and the day I spent in Innsbruck. The second half takes us into the Austrian Alps and the Nordkette Mountain range where I rode a funicular from the city centre to the first viewing level at Hungerburg and then ventured further up the slopes by cable car to to Seegrube.


The Austrian Alps (1981)