Up bright and early to catch our train from Vienna Hauptbahnhof to Salzburg where we pick up a car and will drive to the Wolfgang See for the rest of our holiday.
Throughout our time in Budapest and Vienna we have been very aware from the news of the refugee crisis developing around us. However, sitting on the platform at Vienna station we came up against the situation first hand. Vienna station is a large modern station and has a umber of glass enclosed waiting areas. We had noticed one waiting room we passed was fairly full of youngish men with rucksacks and the same was probably the case with the next waiting room along.
We sat down on some seats to await our train when we noticed a number of policeman having rounded up the young men, probably about 20 to 25 in total. When asked they said they were from Bangladesh, so perhaps not so much refugees, but economic migrants, although it is a distinction which can be glibly made but is not so easy to justify as we may think.
The young men were taken off by the police. Shortly thereafter our train arrived and it was clear that there were a significant number of further such people on the incoming train, which had started at Keleti station in Budapest. Some alighted at Vienna and our train left the platform as we saw a large number of people looking slightly lost awaiting an uncertain future.
From the press we are aware that Hungary has been criticised for its treatment of refugees and no doubt they want to make it to Austria and then on to Germany. Vienna, being so close to Hungary, will be at the forefront of that journey and no doubt the police and services will have a lot to do to deal with the situation.
It is a timely reminder of how lucky we are to be born in England. We learned later that Keleti station in Budapest was closed for a considerable period as was Vienna Hauptbahnhof, so we were lucky to get away when we did!
Throughout our time in Budapest and Vienna we have been very aware from the news of the refugee crisis developing around us. However, sitting on the platform at Vienna station we came up against the situation first hand. Vienna station is a large modern station and has a umber of glass enclosed waiting areas. We had noticed one waiting room we passed was fairly full of youngish men with rucksacks and the same was probably the case with the next waiting room along.
We sat down on some seats to await our train when we noticed a number of policeman having rounded up the young men, probably about 20 to 25 in total. When asked they said they were from Bangladesh, so perhaps not so much refugees, but economic migrants, although it is a distinction which can be glibly made but is not so easy to justify as we may think.
The young men were taken off by the police. Shortly thereafter our train arrived and it was clear that there were a significant number of further such people on the incoming train, which had started at Keleti station in Budapest. Some alighted at Vienna and our train left the platform as we saw a large number of people looking slightly lost awaiting an uncertain future.
From the press we are aware that Hungary has been criticised for its treatment of refugees and no doubt they want to make it to Austria and then on to Germany. Vienna, being so close to Hungary, will be at the forefront of that journey and no doubt the police and services will have a lot to do to deal with the situation.
It is a timely reminder of how lucky we are to be born in England. We learned later that Keleti station in Budapest was closed for a considerable period as was Vienna Hauptbahnhof, so we were lucky to get away when we did!
We had a very enjoyable journey with a great views of the Danube and Melk Abbey, and excellent conversation. Firstly with an Austrian man who was born in Iran and escaped during the Iran/Iraq war. He now successfully runs a ski hotel in Solden. Our other neighbour on the train was a Hungarian who was born and brought up in a Hungarian minority in part of Romania but now lives in Hungary. His story of repression and discrimination in Romania was very sad but he was clearly a determined man and volunteered to work for a charity in Romsey, Hampshire for a year so he could learn English. He now speaks near perfect English and has clearly prospered.
The journey passed very quickly but as we approached Salzburg we were in for a shock! We rose out of our seats and looked into the overhead shelves to retrieve our two small rucksacks but they had gone! With only a couple of minutes to spare before the train left Salzburg for Munich we looked up and down the carriage to see if they had been moved but no sign of them. We had no alternative but to get off the train and accept that they had been stolen. Off to the Police station opposite the Bahnhof to report the loss to a very helpful lady police officer who patiently recorded as much information as we could remember at the time. Luckily nothing crucial was in the rucksacks but we did lose two cameras (we still have Ray's I-phone but there may be fewer photos in the rest of the blog), two pairs of walking shoes and a number of other easily replaceable items. Since arriving at Furberg near St Gilgen we have checked with lost property but no sign our rucksacks so we have to accept they have gone. At one stage I was quite excited when the Lost Property in Vienna reported finding a rucksack that fitted the description of one of ours even down to the manufacturers name. However, the contents, including a passport, were nothing like ours.
Nobody was injured and nobody died so we were determined to forget about it and not to let it spoil our time in the beautiful Salzkammergut. A quick bus to Salzburg airport took us to our car hire location and soon we were in our Ford Fiesta on the way to Furberg. The LLW has now achieved a gold medal in navigating so absolutely no problems in finding our lovely Hotel Furberg. As soon as we arrived all negative thoughts about the theft disappeared, the sun was out, it was very hot and it was time for a swim in the lake. The water was warm, crystal clear and a brilliant green/blue. Swimming was bliss and the views around the bay, the lake and the mountains were stupendous.
Thoroughly refreshed, we showered and headed for dinner in the main hotel. We ate outside with a lovely view of the Lake along with a large number of other guests and diners. The LLW had Trout and I had Char, both of which were accompanied by an excellent Gruner Veltliner, and we shared a blueberry crème brulee (although not strictly bruleed but with a crispy/crunchy nut topping which was lovely so all was well in the Jackson world again. We discussed whether a crème brulee should be cooked under the grill a la Mary Berry or with a blow torch a la Heston Blumenthal and other modern chefs and agreed to disagree!.
The weather forecast is for more hot weather on Tuesday and then some rain and a cooler spell so the plan is for a cycle ride around the lake early tomorrow morning.
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