You know the scene in the classic story The Wizard of Oz when the wicked witch of the west cries out, “I’m melting, I’m melting?”  I couldn’t help but think of that melting green-skinned witch as a couple of hundred people sat in overwhelmingly hot train cars, at a random train station, in rural Croatia.

As the train rumbled in to Vienna I stared out the window to catch my first glimpse of what I thought Vienna should look like.  What I saw did not fit the image in my mind’s eye; skyscrapers!  Wait, there are skyscrapers in Vienna?  I suppose in my wild imagination I thought everyone should have been waltzing along the River Danube.

I’m starting this post with a photo.  It’s a photo that depicts one of the best aspects of travel.  Anytime you can learn from an experience and meet good people, such as this group we met in Dresden, it’s a win.

Just shy of one mile in length, The Berlin Wall East Side Gallery with 100 murals, is an open air gallery of art and history.  I don’t think a visit to Berlin is complete without seeing this section of the Berlin Wall.

We took a free walking tour while in Berlin.  It was comical on a few levels, but it was all good.  Our guide, who was Brazilian and German, was adorable and highly personable.  She was also a nervous Nellie as ours was her first tour as a guide in Berlin after only living in the city for two months.  She was a bit tongue tied and probably forgot most of her own tour notes but she could not have been any sweeter.

This is a first for me; writing a post while whooshing along the rails from Brussels to Berlin on a high-speed train.  I have to say, it makes for a pretty great office.  I just have to remember to look up from time to time as I’m prone to motion sickness and we’re whooshing backwards.  I’m probably pushing my luck!

Museu Nacional do Azulejo

Sitting near the waterfront in Lisbon pondering where we should go next, I remembered our friends at The Travels of BBQBoy & Spanky had written a post about a tile museum in Lisbon – Museu Nacional do Azulejo – and I remembered a particular photo they had posted that captured my attention.  Let’s go there!

Lagos, Portugal.  A beautiful seaside destination where all things summer come to life.  It’s been the ideal respite as we start this next chapter – the expat experiment.  And, while our visas took longer to get our hands on than we anticipated, it all worked out for the best.  I always say, life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.  Actually, it was Allen Saunders who coined the phrase, but I borrow it a lot.  I hope he doesn’t mind.

When the pilot announces that all crew members should stop serving and buckle up, you know it can’t be good. On the behalf of all those who, like me, can’t accurately describe the depth of how much I hate to fly, I’d like to thank the pharmaceutical companies for the invention of Valium.  It’s a game changer.

So, wouldn’t you know it?!  Cause and effect.  It worked!  I wrote a post yesterday explaining why we were still waiting and first thing this morning, we got the call.  Dina, from the Portugal Consulate, called us at 8:15 this morning and said, “Good morning, Abi, I want to start your day with good news.”  Whoop!