Rajeca Teplice to Lazelberger, Austria
It is 5:40PM and we just got on a highway heading toward the west.
Obviously we are not going to make it to Salzburg tonight as planned.
It has been a very long, frustrating driving day! We left the Hotel at
Rajeca Teplice at 11AM and were supposed to get to the Vampire Castle
around noon. In case you haven't guessed by now, Lonnie loves to just
drive. Ever since we have been married, his idea of fun has always
been to just get on the road and drive (weekend drives, afternoon
drives, etc.) It never mattered where, just drive. He told me that he
drove a little slower this morning because he wanted to enjoy the
mountains. We finally arrived at the Vampire Castle around 3:30PM or
so. In addition to Lonnie enjoying the mountains, the GPS lady was
taking us all over the place. In the last major town before Cachtice
(where the castle ruins are), we drove around for over an hour trying to
find our way out of it. The GPS lady took us down back alleys and roads
to nowhere. It should have taken us straight down a two-lane highway
and we would have been there. It was so very frustrating! I think that
even Lonnie is a little tired of the driving today (or at least tired of
the frustration of not being able to get out of that city!) No offense
to anyone from Slovakia, but I will be so thankful to finally get out of
this country! It has not felt right to me ever since we got into it.
When we arrived at Cachtice, we weren't sure where the castle ruins
were. Knowing that they are always on top of a mountain, and seeing a
sign that indicated they might be up the road, Lonnie took off up the
mountain on a narrow one-lane road. I figured we would be the only car
up there (the road was little more than a trail), but when we arrived,
there were several cars there. I love castle ruins. You can imagine so
many things that might have gone on in them! This one has an especially
interesting past. We had to hike up a mountain to see the ruins. I
went up to the inside of the lower part of the castle ruins, and Lonnie
went to the upstairs part of the castle ruins. But, back to the
interesting past. This castle had a Countess who lived there who
killed hundreds of young girls so that she could drink their blood in
hopes of staying young. A real lady vampire! I don't remember the
rest of the story right now (I have it at home), but it was interesting.
Side note: Praise the Lord! We are finally back in Austria!! Now we
are headed toward Vienna as we travel on toward Salzburg. Actually,
looking at the map, it looks like we may bypass Vienna. Just as well,
because it is not a city that you can effectively tour in a day, and we
are running short on time. I have decided that I want to spend a couple
of days in the Swiss Alps before flying home next Thursday. Much of
what we have seen in the past week or so could have been seen in the
Smokies, but the Swiss Alps are not something you see every day in the
States! I can't wait!
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