The first
part of the journey started off well enough… the ride was fast and easy along the German autobahn. The landscape soon became amazing ... all of the sudden the Alps appeared in the haze! It was stunning scenery – you could see the sheer jaggedness of the grey rocks in the distance, which was in stark contrast to the bright blue sky. We were baffled as to why there was no snow on the peaks ---- we barely saw any! The scenery up to the mountains began to appear rolling and green, dotted with cows grazing and gorgeous little houses with the whitewash and dark wood and flowerboxes. It was precious! After we crossed the border into Austria, however, the road changed from the autobahn into a slow one lane road car parade, complete with camper vans, trucks, and motorcycles all getting impatient. Add to this the fact that we were climbing in altitude, and we were burning a ton of gas going up the mountains in slow motion. It was pathetic! We kept going and the roads got even worse and curvy, in slow motion with a stick shift car…. And that was the end of it for Christy: hello car sickness. At least we got a good picture out of it - see left. We finally made it to the hotel, took in a ton of water to combat altitude and the heat, and napped. After the nap, we both made it up and were starving… we had not eaten really since the day prior at lunch. We walked all the way around the town without finding anything… since it was a Sunday most things were closed. Then, the cutest noise and sentence came out of Marcus… “Oh…… is that a Burger King crown…. Look…” and even though Christy has contacts, she could barely make out what he was looking at, but as we walked closer, we could see what it was: the BK logo! We hoped it was open, as it was right across the road from the train station, and sure enough it was open! It was like a gift from the gods for $18 USD. Hey, at least we own some YUM stock.In Innsbruck, we did what we considered to be “the thing” to do in Austria…. Go
hiking! We drove to Hungerburg, which was where the cable cars took off from, and decided to hike up until the next cable car stop, and possibly ride down from where we hiked up to. Our hike was straight up the side of the mountain, was not very scenic as we went through thick forests with no views, and went on and on for about 3 hours; we only stopped at one hut (small rest mountain houses that serve food and 
have overnight lodging) to eat our sandwiches we had packed. About 7km (all uphill) into the hike, we came to the mountain hut Bodenstein Alm at 1661 m. We decided to stop and have a soda there and sit. The last 1.4 km had a marker that said it was 50 minutes to the cable car stop, and appeared to be straight up the alpine scrub. We decided to stop and descend the mountain using the access road, as it was nearly 2:45pm in the afternoon, and there seemed to be a tendency for afternoon showers. The hike left us with awful black fly bites (they draw blood!), sore glutes for a few days, and one tick on Marcus' inner thigh (sorry no photos). Yuck!
Innsbruck's very close proximity to the mountains was pretty amazing – we were thisclose to the mountains! As for town, it was ok... but a little dull after the fun we had in Germany. The river that cut through town was pretty amazing – it was a very fast moving river, it seemed be quite high, and was filled with brown swirling water. It had poured the night before, so we wondered if the rains were washing down from the mountains? A nice stay for three days but we were eager to move on.
St. Georgen, Austria
Our next drive was focused on routing us across the country in order to get to Vienna, so we decided to find a scenic spot, about two hours into the country after leaving Innsbruck. So once we hit
Mondsee, and pulled off at the tourist information office. The area is meant to be full of a few lakes, with towering granite cliffs, and very scenic. In the office, Christy asked for a hiking map, and the young girl gave her one, ad circled points of interest. This was great – until she charged us for a map! That galls us – if you are trying to highlight your area – why SELL maps?!?!? We kept driving around the lake. Finally we found what most of the locals did – pulled off one some small little access roads and found a grassy verge to have a picnic on. We had a great lakeside picnic, enjoying the views and watching all the Austrians swim in the clear blue lake. The Austrians do seem to have some funny beach traits, though. All of them walk around in their bathing suits … doesn’t matter how young, old, skinny, or heavy you are. It’s all there hanging out, even as you eat, or even… ride your bike. Seriously, we saw some very beer-bellied seniors wearing speedos biking along the road. That night, we stayed in a small pension in Sankt Georgem, which was a very small village with only a few houses and the B&B. It turned out to be quite good though, the rooms were huge, and there was maybe one other guest. We had a wander downstairs for dinner, and had a lovely simple meal of spinach crepes and schnitzel, with local drinks.Senftenberg, Austria
Our next night in the middle of Austria was also determined by the proximity to Vienna, and was about 2 hours away from the St. Georgen area. We decided that we would ride the autobahn out of town by 1.5 hours, and then take the small backroads along the river, which was highlighted as “scenic” on the map. Well, the map did not lie, and we had an entirely scenic ride along the Donau river. The Donau was a fast moving broad river, which had bike paths along both sides of the river. The driving was slow, and went through small picturesque Austrian villages along the way. Villages are cute and tidy, but for the most part are very quiet. After a stop at a local grocery store, we again picked up some provisions for a picnic, and sat by the side of the river, and had a nice picnic lunch. It has become quite an enjoyable way to spend the afternoon! We pulled into our pension in Senftenberg in the mid-afternoon heat, hoping to have an escape in a cool old building. However, after a few hours of driving and lots of water – Christy needed to use the bathroom. As soon as we entered the bar/restaurant area, Christy made a beeline for the toiletten sign. However, as she walked, there were blackboards set up in a large room, hiding what was in the room. As the blackboards stopped, she heard noises. She turned to find a naked woman in her 50's sitting NAKED on top of a table, and a bunch of people sitting around tables and desks looking at her. Christy quickly turned on her heels and the people in back yelled something, to which she just yelled, “I’m sorry!” If this was not awkward enough, she walked back through the restaurant area to find Marcus in the bar area, talking to a man in no pants. AWKWARD! If that was not bad enough, she had to shake his hand, and try not to laugh! Leo turned out to be the owner and explained that it was too hot to wear pants.
With the afternoon heat not cutting any slack in the hot hotel room, we decided to get some exploring in, and went to hike on the hills in town to climb to the Ruine Senftenberg
, which was an old castle. Townspeople have lovingly restored a good portion of the castle, and it is a showpiece in their town. It is also used for many parties and events in the summer months, and we could understand why. Views were spectacular across the valleys and the air was much cooler with lovely breezes at the top. The village itself was adorable and was pretty quiet, with many of the houses having the huge wooden or metal shutters closed over their windows, trying to keep the houses cooled down. That evening, we decided t
o head to Weinbau Fam. Prosenitch-Eichelmann, which had been recommended by our innkeeper as a good place to get cheap food and good wines. The walk down to the tavern was pretty easy and quick – about 5 minutes walking – and we noted the storm clouds that seemed to be creeping up on the horizon. You could actually hear thunder off in the distance, but it did not sound like real thunderstorms – only heat induced rumbles. At the restaurant, we sat in the open air courtyard, and had our own picnic bench, which was lucky, as it was a packed restaurant. The hostess was really nice, and spoke a little English. She was able to half-translate the menu for us, and gave us some recommendations on what to eat and drink. The wine tavern made their own wines, and everyone was drinking it…. And we ended up tasting a .5 l of the rose and a .5 l of the white…. It ended up going down nice and easy in the heat. We then ended up ordering two platters: the first was a meat platter, which had all different types of “lunchmeats” on it, including hams, Serrano hams, a roast beef, accompanied by hard boiled eggs, a paprika cheese/yogurt dip, a garlic/parsley cheese/yogurt dip, horseradish and some pickles. The second dish she had described as a meat salad with cheese, pickles and tomatoes and eggs. We were envisioning a lettuce salad with the same accompaniments…. But what actually came out was a diced version of a processed meat (which sort of looked like a bologna but did not quite have the same taste), processed cheese slices, and pickles, mixed in a balsamic vinegar type sauce, with hard boiled eggs. It looked pretty … wrong…. And we wish we would have had our camera. However, we are happy to report that it was pleasant enough to eat. Shortly after finishing the food, however, it started to rain, so we moved to a table under the eaves, and shared a table with a few other folks.
Vienna, Austria
The next day, we had a slow morning and decided that we would stop in Krems, which was the larger village in the area, and purportedly the center of wine production. The village itself was larger than we anticipated, although quite manageable in size. Just a note for anyone visiting Europe, as a rule the locals do not like to pay for parking, so all it takes a little bit of driving around and you will find an area where the locals park that will be free. Without exception we have found this to be true in most small to medium sized cities. Krems was not an exception. Krems was also in the middle of an apricot festival so we decided to check out the apricot products.... They were selling apricot juice, jam, syrup, schnapps, kuchen balls, cakes, liquors, and anything else imaginable. We also tried a poppyseed liquer in one of the tourist shops, which tasted like eggnogg!
, which was an old castle. Townspeople have lovingly restored a good portion of the castle, and it is a showpiece in their town. It is also used for many parties and events in the summer months, and we could understand why. Views were spectacular across the valleys and the air was much cooler with lovely breezes at the top. The village itself was adorable and was pretty quiet, with many of the houses having the huge wooden or metal shutters closed over their windows, trying to keep the houses cooled down. That evening, we decided t
o head to Weinbau Fam. Prosenitch-Eichelmann, which had been recommended by our innkeeper as a good place to get cheap food and good wines. The walk down to the tavern was pretty easy and quick – about 5 minutes walking – and we noted the storm clouds that seemed to be creeping up on the horizon. You could actually hear thunder off in the distance, but it did not sound like real thunderstorms – only heat induced rumbles. At the restaurant, we sat in the open air courtyard, and had our own picnic bench, which was lucky, as it was a packed restaurant. The hostess was really nice, and spoke a little English. She was able to half-translate the menu for us, and gave us some recommendations on what to eat and drink. The wine tavern made their own wines, and everyone was drinking it…. And we ended up tasting a .5 l of the rose and a .5 l of the white…. It ended up going down nice and easy in the heat. We then ended up ordering two platters: the first was a meat platter, which had all different types of “lunchmeats” on it, including hams, Serrano hams, a roast beef, accompanied by hard boiled eggs, a paprika cheese/yogurt dip, a garlic/parsley cheese/yogurt dip, horseradish and some pickles. The second dish she had described as a meat salad with cheese, pickles and tomatoes and eggs. We were envisioning a lettuce salad with the same accompaniments…. But what actually came out was a diced version of a processed meat (which sort of looked like a bologna but did not quite have the same taste), processed cheese slices, and pickles, mixed in a balsamic vinegar type sauce, with hard boiled eggs. It looked pretty … wrong…. And we wish we would have had our camera. However, we are happy to report that it was pleasant enough to eat. Shortly after finishing the food, however, it started to rain, so we moved to a table under the eaves, and shared a table with a few other folks.Vienna, Austria
The next day, we had a slow morning and decided that we would stop in Krems, which was the larger village in the area, and purportedly the center of wine production. The village itself was larger than we anticipated, although quite manageable in size. Just a note for anyone visiting Europe, as a rule the locals do not like to pay for parking, so all it takes a little bit of driving around and you will find an area where the locals park that will be free. Without exception we have found this to be true in most small to medium sized cities. Krems was not an exception. Krems was also in the middle of an apricot festival so we decided to check out the apricot products.... They were selling apricot juice, jam, syrup, schnapps, kuchen balls, cakes, liquors, and anything else imaginable. We also tried a poppyseed liquer in one of the tourist shops, which tasted like eggnogg!
We arrived at our friends' Jon and Judit's house in Vienna that afternoon. We were impressed by their neighborhood, the houses were huge and neighborhood in general was very up market, we learned later that the area was one of two very expensive neighborhoods in Vienna; there were actually several embassies in the area. The next morning we got up early and went for a jog into the Schonbrunn castle area, which is about one km away from their apartment. It was amazing – the sight of the Hapsburg’s summer palace. There were gardens and fountains galore, a huge palace now divided up into apartments and a restaurant, and the entire grounds were open to the public beginning at 6am. Once in the gorgeous gardens, we saw our fair share of early morning joggers, all eager to have the heat of the day in front of them, as we were. Thankfully the tall trees and shrubs gave us a ton of shade at that time. We took in the rest of the city later with our friends and their adorable baby Klara.... first, we were shown around the city flea market, which was half-way rained out. There w
ere some interesting looking goods there, but a lot was being packed up since it had started to rain hard! That market actually led directly to the Naschmarkt market, which was an amazing outside fresh veggie and fruit market, about 4 blocks long. They had the hold on amazing looking goods, even freshly-picked herbs and even dragonfruit! There were also a lot of restaurants and cafes… it was a whole smorgasboard of amazing looking food. By the end of walking through there, we kept walking through the neighborhood and realized how hungry we were, and ended up having lunch at the city’s only bagel café. We finally had our first real bagels and cream cheese after leaving the US last September! After lunch, we went by the Karlsplatz church, the Musicverein opera house, the site of the famous NYE gala ball, Ringstrasse street (which had notably good shopping), and then paus
ed to admire the massive Vienna Opera House. Later that night, the downtown area was the site of a huge opera gala called the Live Ball. Every year there was a theme, and this year’s was something to the effect of “it’s alive outside….” As we walked through the downtown area, we saw two men at a salon getting their hair done up ---- with spiders on their faces and heads. Wow! Bill Clinton was a famous guest there, and Whoopi Goldberg played a large role in it…. We wished we would have known! Downtown Vienna has amazing looking buildings, all in a gorgeous architectural style, huge and really impressive. We wish we would have longer to admire the city!
ere some interesting looking goods there, but a lot was being packed up since it had started to rain hard! That market actually led directly to the Naschmarkt market, which was an amazing outside fresh veggie and fruit market, about 4 blocks long. They had the hold on amazing looking goods, even freshly-picked herbs and even dragonfruit! There were also a lot of restaurants and cafes… it was a whole smorgasboard of amazing looking food. By the end of walking through there, we kept walking through the neighborhood and realized how hungry we were, and ended up having lunch at the city’s only bagel café. We finally had our first real bagels and cream cheese after leaving the US last September! After lunch, we went by the Karlsplatz church, the Musicverein opera house, the site of the famous NYE gala ball, Ringstrasse street (which had notably good shopping), and then paus
ed to admire the massive Vienna Opera House. Later that night, the downtown area was the site of a huge opera gala called the Live Ball. Every year there was a theme, and this year’s was something to the effect of “it’s alive outside….” As we walked through the downtown area, we saw two men at a salon getting their hair done up ---- with spiders on their faces and heads. Wow! Bill Clinton was a famous guest there, and Whoopi Goldberg played a large role in it…. We wished we would have known! Downtown Vienna has amazing looking buildings, all in a gorgeous architectural style, huge and really impressive. We wish we would have longer to admire the city! Next Up: Hungary!
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