Dust or fog had prevented our landing...causing the plane to be diverted south to the Red Sea ´resort´ town of Al Aqaba...unfortunately, I didnt get to experience the delights of AA, as the three hours delay were spent in the comfortable confines of our Airbus ´something or other´ model...for your assistance, I have posted here a picture of the view outside the window...
Eventually we were off again and landing in Amman...but the connection had been lost and it was to the sumptuous surrounds of the Alia Hotel on the fringes of the airport...also pictured...unfortunately, my stay was restricted to just the one night before I fled in the morning back to the terminal and my flight to Vienna...
Following a mild two or so winter months in Europe and then a week or desert weather in Dubai (and Jordan), I returned to central Europe which had now turned on its wintery best...the snow was falling and would d0 so for almost a week...I hopped on board the train to Olomouc in eastern Czech Republic...
Part of Olomouc´s main square...
Typical street...
Church in Olomouc...
One of Olomouc´s biggest tourist attractions, the astronomical clock planted in the front of the town hall building. Its not the most modern of technological gizmos, but it provides a hell of a lot of practical information. It was actually built in the 1400s, but has been altered over time...the major alteration coming in the period of socialist rule when pictures and figurines of the ´worker´ became the dominant decoration...(nb: its about 4 or 5 metres tall)
At midday, every day, the clock turns into a 5 minute performance (for Melburnians: not unlike the clock at Melbourne Central). The music is schmaltz central and you can see local residents run past the clock in embarrassment at this tourist feature of their town.
The music is so terrible that the two pigeons who have set up home in the clock actually abandon their home as the music starts...and, no surprise, flap back in just seconds after the music concludes...I even have the photos to prove it! (one is below)...
Top of town square fountain...
Town square statue...not quite sure what the connection is...
And, so off I whisked myself to Poland´s second city, Krakow, for a brief stay...many lovely buildings, the majority of which have been almost entirely rebuilt after feeling the brunt of World War II...one such example is the Wawel Castle...
Building in the Jewish quarter...
And as I left Krakow, bound for Germany, the snow continued to fall...
Next stop: Erfurt, Germany
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