AROUND THE WORLD JOURNAL - INTRODUCTION
 

Welcome to a saga. I am Alan Salmon, a proud member of Rotary eClub One, Rotary’s first Internet club. In real life, I am a partner and Canadian Vice-President of K2 Enterprises, a world wide consulting firm that provides technology consulting and training to public accountants around the world. The practice requires me to travel extensively and last year I did 134 flights.

I am married to Nancy and we both enjoy traveling the world so each year we take the month of April off to enjoy our hobby. On April 4, 2005 we will begin our 4th trip around the world. We will leave our home just outside of Toronto, Canada to fly to Zurich, Switzerland. There we will travel to the little Swiss town of Evillard to spend three days with Dr. Zeev Gluek and his wife Rosalind. They are friends of ours from our second home in Antigua in the Caribbean.

From Evillard we will head north into the Alps to spend three days in Murren which is located on top of a mountain. In the surrounding area are the towns of Wengen and Grindewald, the north face of the Eiger and the ice palace above Kleina Scheidig. The highlight will certainly be our trip up the Schilthorn by cable car. The restaurant at the top was featured in the James Bond movie, “On Her Majesty’s Service”. Then it’s back to Zurich for three days to explore this world class city. We’ll get a chance to see the shops, the banks and enjoy Swiss cuisine.

From Zurich we fly to Salzburg to enjoy the world of Mozart and the Sound of Music. We have tickets to two Mozart evenings and we’ll certainly be doing a tour of the sights where the Sound of Music was set including the church, the abbey, the home and the lake.

From Salzburg, a short flight will take us to Vienna, the old Imperial capital of Europe. For three days we’ll enjoy the ancient city, concerts and the glorious scenery and food of Austria. A two hour train ride will then take us to Budapest for two days of Eastern Europe.

From Budapest we’re off to England where we’ll be staying close to the ancient city of Exeter. We’ll be staying with our friends Bob and Rosemary Stanley. We’ll spend a day exploring Exeter and a second day visiting the White Cliffs of Dover.

From England, Nancy flies home and I continue my trip around the world. I’ll make the long flight from Heathrow to Singapore and then on to Perth, Australia where I’ll visit with my old friends Neville Clare and his wife Jacqueline. I’ve been to Australia twice before but never to Western Australia.

Then it’s time for the long trip home. Perth to Singapore to Tokyo to New York City to Toronto. I’ll be home 30 days after I leave. During my trip I will be keeping a journal and sharing it with you via the e-Club web site at www.rotaryeclubone.org/index.html. I’ll be sharing with you our experiences with the airlines, hotels, restaurants and places we visit.

Please come back again for my details every couple of days. If you wish to contact me I can be reached by e-mail at asalmon@salmon.ca.