Sometimes, I remember a place not because of its beauty, history, importance, but because of some triviality which at that particular time of visit, wasn't much of a triviality to me.
Austria's now in the news with a covid-19 serious outbreak in Tirol (region of many ski resorts), and a strict lockdown. It has reminded me of such a triviality.
Who hasn't heard of Lock Ness, the lake and the monster of Scotland ? The story is been going on for decades. In April 2009 (some 20 years after my visit there), I wrote a post on it including the theories about the monster (fondly referred to as Nessie) and my humble opinion about the whole thing. (Yes, would you believe it, I had an opinion on something explored by some great minds. Cheeky me!).
After spending some time at the lake, visiting the old Urquhart castle on its bank, and watching a Scotsman playing bagpipe, I headed to the bus station for Inverness (the town capital of the area, located at about 8 miles from the lake).
At the station, I met an Austrian couple that told me they had missed the last bus and were about to try and get a lift. We exchanged a few pleasantries (me trying to use on them my german 'for beginners'), and then I said I would join them in the effort to stop a car. I positioned myself a few steps away from them and raised my hand.
Urquhart castle
After a minute or two, I thought there was something behind me. I turned to see what it was (nothing, apparently); when I turned my head back, I couldn't believe my eyes. No austrian couple. Vanished. A car had probably stopped, they got in quickly without thinking of me or calling me. I was left alone, and felt rather humiliated.
When I got back to my hotel room in Inverness, I said to myself, "Oh,well, Austria, the birthplace of Hitler. What can you expect of these people. Bad, antisemitic stuff, no manners, no kindness ." I knew deep inside me that it was an unfair, untrue generalization, but at that time I needed a bit of consolation, and I got it.
Anyway, since then, whenever Lock Ness or Inverness are mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind is my 'desertion' by the Austrians, not the beauty and mystery of the area.
Nessie - humoristic card bought at Inverness
I've always wanted to visit Scotland but at the moment it is still on my to do list!
ReplyDeleteOver the years there have been many Nessie stories. I like the card you bought at Inverness. LOL!
All the best Jan
There was a whole industry of souvenirs on the subject of Nessie there.I bought some cards and key holders.
DeleteIf you have a good camera, your photos will be the best, and also the cheapest souvenirs.
Rude people. That is not a nice memory.
ReplyDeleteI have only been to Belgium and Germany. Although my mother was afraid to go to Germany, we still experienced beautiful moments. There is a village that has the same name as my father's surname (Kalle). They loved it. That's a nice memory.
Yes, rude, very rude. Human nature at its worst.
DeleteBelgium and Germany are your neighboring countries. Well, it's 'know thy neighbor'.
Oh what a fun story..but probably not at the time. Hmmm...some people. Isn't it amazing what it takes to get tourist?
ReplyDeleteWe just have Enchanted Rock in the hill country of Texas. The time we climbed it..well, I better not tell you that story..it's rather embarassing..
Regards! Love your adventures!
It was not funny then. Imagine yourself in my situation. It's something I never forget - that's part of life's teachings.
DeleteThere are those times when all you think is the worst, but then you might remember, oh..that was the year we had our best garden or THAT SONG was playing when we were stuck in that traffic jam. I know, I am being too sunny for my own good.
DeleteI hope you are staying well and warm. It's not so warm where I am. Thank you so much for your feedback, too.
Sometimes, over the years, the unpleasantness of certain happenings fades away. Not in this particular case, I'm afraid.
DeleteNasty weather all over! Stay warm and cozy!
Sorry about that unpleasant experience you had.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Christine.
DeleteNobody likes to go through unpleasant experiences, but even this kind of experiences helps build and fortify one's character.
Wonder if they ever regretted leaving you stranded like that. One would hope they eventually had a conscience about it though of course that would not have helped you in any way back then.
ReplyDeletebetty
Good point, Betty, I've never asked myself that question. Perhaps, on a second thought, they regretted their behavior.
DeleteThat wasn't very nice of them at all - some people just don't have manners even back then.
ReplyDeleteDidn't know about Covid-19 in the alps in Austria.
Yes, "..even back then".
DeleteCovid-19 is all over Europe. The ski resorts in Austria have recently taken a great blow.
Generalizations are quite unfair, but I'm blame of it too, sometimes. Tt's understandable in some situations like you mentioned. I would like to visit Austria one day, hopefully after this pandemia!
ReplyDeleteWe are all guilty of generalizations, but in some cases "it's understandable".
DeleteI think Salzburg, the birth place of Mozart, is the only place I visited in Austria.
What a pair of jerks those Austrians were! How people can be like that is beyond me. But I know exactly what you mean about associating an event with the mere mention of something else. The mind has a way of doing that. I hope that those Austrians had a private moment of remorse about the way they treated you - but somehow I doubt it!
ReplyDeleteTo call them "jerks" is not an exaggeration, at all. Even after all these years, I think of them as grand jerks, master jerks.
DeleteIndeed, the mind has a way of associating things that seems magical to me.
Wow. That is a sad story.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I use our well water on my plants. No need for distilled water. They are doing pretty well.
Well, happy it was not.
DeleteAs for the water subject, I've used both rain water and spring water which are considered pure form of water. No good results with my bamboo plants. Rain water when falling from the sky gets mixed with all kinds of particles. I don't remember any mention on the internet of well water, only spring water, which also gets mixed with particles from earth and rocks. Distilled water seems to be good for these plants.
Maybe they didn't run off. Maybe Nessi got them!
ReplyDeleteThat's a good one, Sandi! Thank you for the smile.
DeleteGood one, Sandi! Made me smile too:)
DeleteThat's a place I fell in love with ! I was there 4 years ago and we had wonderful sunny weather ! We did a tour on the lake and of course Nessi didn't show up ! I was mouth open looking at all this beauty around ! And when I was on holidays in Egypt I met a couple frome Iverness !! Isn't the world small !
ReplyDeleteRight - a place to fall in love with - and today is Valentine's Day, Gattina, the very day to talk and write about Love.
DeleteIt seems you've toured the entire Globus, but in an organized way which offers you mostly the positive side of things.
Thanks for sharing that story, Duta, although I quite agree with others that those people were not especially kind. The generalization was unfair as you admit, but then we have all had moments of similar thoughts which we later rescind. Being left stranded is not a good experience anyplace it happens and in a foreign place even more so.
ReplyDeleteIt was a foreign place, and I was not used to catch a lift, as a single person. I am not the type lo look for trouble.
DeleteAfter being left stranded, I was lucky. A car with a big family stopped and took me to my destination.
Sorry to hear that happened. I love the Loch Ness monster stories when I hear them though.
ReplyDeleteWell, what's not to love? Great place and a never ending mysterious story! There are research expeditions from time to time, to find out more about the monster. Never a dull moment , as they say. There are interesting photos and documentaries on the subject.
DeleteThe things we remember! I would have been upset at that one, too! But I would indeed be curious to see Loch Ness!
ReplyDeleteAs I've said, Austris's in the news now with a big covid-19 outbreak in Tirol. So, the name 'Austria' took me back to the austrian couple at Lockness.
DeleteLockness is a place worth visiting. Gattina, the blogger from one of the comments above, has been in many places, and she admits to have fallen in love with this lake.
Lovely post! Travel is also not currently available to me. It's nice to reminisce at this time. Thank )
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment.
DeleteYes,we live now on reminiscences. We shouldn't make any travel plans, at least, until the end of the year.
Your travels bring you to all kinds of meetings Duta!! You even have a nickname for the Lochness (Lock Ness) monster! Regards to you ! Can i call you Duttie just for this post? just being silly, thats all!! xoxo
ReplyDeleteIt's not me that gave it the nickname. Nessie was the name given by the locals.
DeleteAs for Duttie -it sounds nice, thank you. In the romanian language (my first language) they usually use a suffix to form a diminutive.For Duta they'll use -ica (Dutica). for other names the suffix is usually -ale (Sheindale, Rivkale).
_cute! I like `Dutica`!! And `Sheindale, and Rivkale!.` You can call me Sheindale too!!
DeleteOh and thank you for clarifying about Nessie!
I must admit I like these diminutives too.(There are other suffixes as well).
DeleteYou're welcome about the Nessie clarification. The name Nessie has become famous in the whole world.
That's sad. It sounds like something from a movie, like maybe they were ghosts. It also reminds me of the truth of, "No good deed goes unpunished." Sigh.
ReplyDeleteWell, the place is ideal for a movie making. I know about documentaries filmed there, I don't know about any feature movie made there. I'll have to look for info on the Web.
DeleteWhat an experience. I can see how that experience would trigger memories of Nessie. We haev net soem doozies on our vacations, too.
ReplyDeleteWhen one travels alone, one usually stumbles upon all kinds of people, the whole Gama of human species: the good, the bad, the ugly.
DeleteWhat a sad story of the "friendliness" of people in their own land. Still, your visit to the region seems to have been otherwise quite nice. I've always been fascinated by the Nessie stories, too.
ReplyDeleteHi,Lois
DeleteUsually, in your blog you write about good things: fine food, beautiful crafts, critters, your wonderful husband Kiel and skillful daughter Catherine. It's a pleasure to read.
Life , however, has also less pleasant happenings, like the above at Lockness. I think, everything we experience good or bad, helps making our character stronger.
Beautiful photos
ReplyDeleteThank you very much indeed.
DeletePerhaps Nessie enjoys chomping on Austrians! :)
ReplyDeleteLOL someone has already suggested that perhaps Nessie was involved in their disappearance. Well, even Nessie won't deal with such shameless people.
DeleteWhat a sweet trivial memory, Duta!
ReplyDeleteI heard many stories about the Lock Ness, and thank for the cute Nessie.
I'm glad you find it a sweet memory, Evi. Yes, Nessie of Lockness has been famous for decades, an integral part of Scotland's folklore.
Delete