More about my second novel

…

John is in Vienna, Austria.

It’s been quite some years since we were in Vienna, and I remember it was a very pleasant experience. The copious notes and photographs I took have aided in writing this chapter.

There is no doubting the zeal Worthington will put into the capture or assassination of Zoe, if and when she is discovered, and John would be horrified if he knew he was being used in such a manner.

At times, it will be a bit like reading an Eric Ambler thriller: going to the hotel, getting information from concierges, and then tracking her movements. Money, as always, speaks one language: pay enough and you will find out what you want to know.

We know Zoe is languishing in a basement somewhere in Bratislava.

John is about to find out where she went, but searching for someone in Bratislava will be completely different from searching for someone in Austria.

The same rules don’t apply in Hungary.

…

As for our visit, we stayed at the Hilton Vienna Park, though the park was then called something else. It was also when we had our first authentic Vienna Schnitzel and sampled Austrian cherries.

From there, we took the train to Schonbrunn Palace, with its extensive gardens and maze, impressive architecture, old rooms and paintings, and, at the end, so many sets of crockery.

There was also a nearby kitchen that made Apple Strudel, where we watched it being made and then had a slice afterwards.

We also went to a Wiener Palace, which offered a large and varied selection of sausages.

Unfortunately, there were no music recitals or orchestral events during our visit.