We recently returned from 2 weeks in eastern Europe, starting in Prague, staying at Lida Guesthouse (which we highly recommend/review on TripAdvisor). While staying at the guesthouse, we briefly met a family of 3 traveling from the US. They were heading to Vienna and we were heading to Budapest. After 3 days in Budapest, we traveled by train to Hallstatt, Austria. At one of our train stops, we noticed the family that we met in Prague. They boarded our train car and we soon discovered that they were also going to Hallstatt. Just like us, they were following Rick Steves guidebooks. We planned to stay in Hallstatt for 3 days, but they were only there for the 1 night. We agreed to meet for dinner that evening at the Hotel Simony's outside dining area. As the evening closed, we exchanged names and contact information, wished each other safe travels and hopes that our paths may cross again some day. As luck would have it, the next morning, as we headed for the salt mines, we ran into the family who were heading out for a hike up the mountain. We walked together to the funicular where we again exchanged our goodbyes. After our tour, we decided to stop and eat at the resturaunt at the top of the mountain. As we entered, our friends were leaving. This time we said our final goodbyes. One last cosmic note, we have the same first names!
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9371 posts
Funny! So much for the "off the beaten path", "back door" thing, huh?
Posted by
OP
Chapel Hill, NC, USA
3 posts
Exactly! This was our 3rd family trip to Europe and all 3 times we have used Rick's guides to navigate our journeys. We always see other tourists with his books. While we were in Prague, my husband was reading from his book as we looked at a Alphos Mucha stained glass window. As he finished reading, we heard a couple standing just behind us reading the same passage. It was like an echo. They were just a few sentences behind him. We had to laugh.