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October 6th to 13th, Monfalcone, Italy
With heavy hearts, we left Venice early on Saturday morning.  With sixty miles to go and the forecast calling for 15 to 20 knots of headwinds, we wanted to get as early a start as possible.  As it turns out, the first six hours were a fast motor in little to no breeze.  Unfortunately, the last five hours looked like this:
  
Thank goodness for those engine when you need them.  We had a date to keep with friends in Vienna, Austria, so we pressed on despite the conditions and made it to Monfalcone, in the Gulf of Trieste, with an hour of daylight to spare. 
 
Remember Rudy, the police chief we met in Lignano over pizza?  We had been invited to Ricardo's seventh birthday party, which Rudy and Silene were hosting in their old home town of Palmnova, only 20 kilometers away.  Rodolfo picked us up at the train station on Sunday for the short ride to the town he had ruled as the Carabinieri (local police) chief for many years.  Needless to say, it was quite the ride.  Police barricades meant nothing to Rudy as he chatted up the officers directing weekend traffic away from the small, congested city center.  In the process of moving out of their old apartment, the party was held at a church meeting room downtown where a couple dozen of Ricardo's relatives, friends and their parents congregated for the celebration. 
  
  
Amazed at our good fortune in meeting Rudy in the first place, and being invited to see this glimpse of Italian life that would otherwise be totally off limits to us, we dove into conversation with the other guests.  We found some who spoke good English, and I practiced my Italian with others.  One of the women turned out to be from Barcelona but I still haven't managed to switch back and forth between Spanish and Italian so I stuck to Italian.  The kids found it a little more difficult to integrate but at the end of the day, we all had a good time.
 
A fifteen minute taxi ride, and a beautiful, if long, eight hour train ride through the southern Alps later, we found ourselves in Vienna, Austria on Monday night.  We had met Chris and Eileen and their girls Margaret (12) and Helene (9) in Georgetown, Bahamas in March 2006. 
  
They cruise onboard their super sleek, high tech 50' Dick Newick design trimaran Pi2 for ten months of the year.  The other two months they call Vienna their home.  This year, they are taking a six month break from the boat and giving the girls a chance to spend some time with their classmates in their local public school.  Believe it or not, this photo was taken inside the girls school building which looked like a museum. 
  
 
Styling with our own separate apartment in the basement of their building, which has been in Chris' family for 120 years, we got a set of keys and a street map and went exploring.  The Rosenberg flat in Vienna is just a few blocks outside the ring road which surrounds the heart of the city.  All the major sights were within walking distance.  The girls donned their Heelys and kept up like troopers. 
                                    
 
  
Vienna was the heart of the Hapsburg Empire, which played a key role in European politics from the late 13th century until its famous role in the outbreak of World War I.  Evidence of the country's once immense power is scattered throughout the city in the form of stately palaces, expansive gardens and ornate public buildings.  Making friends with a Canadian tourist along the way, the girls discovered their own way of exploring parts of the city.
  
 
Vienna is famous for its music because of the Hapsburgs' generous patronage which drew composers to the country from all around Europe.  We spent a couple of hours exploring the House of Music museum with all sorts of audio games for the girls and adults too.
  
 
Another famous Austrian institution is the coffee house, which serves much more than just a cup of coffee.  The deserts and pastries are one of a kind, and they also serve up full meals.  We enjoyed a traditional dinner of Weiner schnitzel with the Rosenberg family at one of their favorite, Cafe Griensteidl, one night. 
  
 
With Hobie alone back on the boat and winter's approach making itself felt more each day, we signed up for an overnight train ride back to Monfalcone on Thursday night.  We said our goodbyes to our wonderful hosts, wondering after the Bahamas and Austria, where we might next meet.
 
The train ride back was a little longer, from 8:30pm to 6:40am, but the girls were thrilled with the accommodations, and I think it was easier for them than sitting through another full day on the train. 
Hobie was thrilled to have his family back and greeted us as we got out of the cab.  We had left a window open for him so he could come and go as he pleased.  The marina staff was kind enough to look in on him from time to time so he was just fine.
 
Catching up on internet time, email, and boat chores, we made plans to head southeast in a nice easterly breeze on Saturday.  We hoped to go all the way to Brindisi in one trip.  It will be our last stop in Italy before we jump over to Greece.  We'll probably hang out for a couple of days before making that move but then again, who knows what the wind gods will bring?
 
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Many thanks to our friend Craig Homenko for his assistance in setting up the website.
We also would like to thank our buddy Scott Brunner who has been kind enough to host the website on his server.
 

 
   

 
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