It has been several weeks since I blogged about my odyssey to obtain my residence card from Spain. Hopefully, when I go to the local police station to retrieve it on 16 February, everything will be found to be in order and I can be granted residency.
A lot has transpired since my last update! Recently I was out for a walk and on a whim just decided to begin hiking up the 1600 meter mountain I live on (see the photo). You may recall from a previous posting that I did this once before in October and got thoroughly soaked. This time I took a different trail and went a good deal higher up the mountain than I had previously. Probably I made it half way up. You can see a picture of the white pueblo in the photo from Fuengriola, Spain. As you can see in the other photo, the views from the side of the mountain where I went to are terrific! Mijas is the white area in the lower left corner and the Mediterranean Sea is in the middle left.
I could have gone much higher on the trail but decided to not for three reasons. Since I was really out for a stroll, I didn’t have proper shoes as the trail became more challenging. I also hadn’t brought along water (not a good idea on a hike) and I didn’t bring any protection if it rained. The getting wet part really was the clincher as the clouds became threatening and were enveloping the top of the mountain. I went back down the mountain to Mijas and it promptly began to rain. I had made a good decision to return when I did!
Other things have been happening also. One day in December I lifted a canister of butane incorrectly and developed a hernia. My tests are complete and my worldwide medical coverage is in place so I am to have surgery on Thursday to fix it. The surgeon, anesthesiologist, and staff are all women and so far the process has been very efficient. I admit though that I am more involved with the insurance company than I would be in the U.S.
Finally, my stay in Mijas will end on 31 March. I have made my next plan to move from Mijas on 1 April. My next stop then will be in Krems, Austria where I will stay for two months. I will post more about Krems in the future. It is a lovely town of about 25,000 inhabitants and is located on the Danube River about an hour by train from Vienna.Here are a couple photos.
That’s all for now from my adventure after retirement! I don’t think about work at all!
Barry's Adventures Following Retirement 
So very happy for you! What made you decide on Krems, Austria? Elvira😄
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Hello, Elvira! It is wonderful to get your comment! Thanks for taking a look at my blog again. I wanted to move closer to the Alps as I think that would be interesting. However, it is just too cold in the April and May timeframe so I decided to get a little closer but not in a high elevation. I had heard about the Saint Polten area as a nice place to go with lots of hiking and lakes. I also think that being close to Vienna offers so many things to do…museums, shows, places to eat. I found the apartment on the AirBnb site and liked it from the beginning and when I visited old Krems, I loved the charm and the closeness to the Danube where you can also take boat excursions. That’s it. I think I am going to enjoy Krems a lot and may wish that my stay was longer. Hope you are doing well! Keep warm!
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