Reflections on trip

This was an odd composite vacation devoid of most touristy things, except compulsive picture taking at times.  There was definitely an enormous amout of pork consumed, which was kind of the point.  Pork day was awesome of course with piggy snacking while learning about the making of piggy products.  I loved being able to participate in the sausage making.  The best pork feasting, however, may have been the one in Trieste with the selection of assorted piggy parts with an addition of feet. Everything there was soft, succulent, and perfectly seasoned. But then again, that was the beginning of the celebration of pork that was this week.

Cities -
Trieste was a quaint little city perched on a steeply sloped hill forming an amphitheater around the sea.  The view was magnificent as the sea blends into the sky in the distance.  It was a small city with a village feel which is probably a good thing.  The musical group we encountered on one street corner was a lovely little gift to the experience.
Ljubjana - well, I had no preconceived notion of what this Slovenian city would be like.  I suppose the fact that it looked like any other bustling European city was impressive enough as it was not so long ago part of the Soviet block.  It was clean and modern with shop lined streets comprable to the major European cities.  The castle on the hill and the winding river in the center of the city gives it just the right amount of charm. I imagine it's a nice place to live.
Salzburg was actually a lot smaller and provincial than I expected but maybe this is because I mainly saw the old city, though I got this feeling from our B&B also.  The narrow little pedestrian streets were charming and the grand yet stark ambience of the main squares tended to make one feel very small. It's an odd contrast.  Austrians seemed really nice (with the exception of that mean Furst lady) with warm hospitality.
Munich - didn't see much of Munich but the streets we walked along for drinks and dinner were very impressive in terms of being ultra sleek and modern.  Dachau, well, that was depressing as expected.

Driving. I was fortunate in not having done any of the driving but instead was free to fully enjoy the drive and the views.  The mountains of Austria was definitely the most impressive.  Particularly, the drive back from Munich through Austria in the snow with little hilltop castles dotting the countrysaide was magnificent.  I was impressed by Austrian road plowing. When we headed towarrds Salzburg there was a recent snowfall of probably at least 6 inches but the roads were impeccably clean and not just with snow pushed into mounds along the highway but actually removed, possibly blown over the sides.  There were also some great views of water - through the Veneto region and by Trieste.

Flights - The A380 Air France flight was as impressive as the 767 Delta flight is disappointing.  The A380 was spacious and clean and the people polite and the meal enjoyable with personal tvs with a wide selection of entertainment. The 767 was crowded with less nice staff and an edible meal with in-aisle small monitors showing some unimpressive movie. I had thought all transatlantic flights included alcoholic drinks but I guess Delta doesn't believe that. 

All in all, I had a great trip with great food, great conversation, and fun exploration. Not quite as relaxing but my next trip shall be a beachy one to compensate.