Italy to Austria

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Not a whole lot to write about today. Spent a lot of time on our bus making our way from Italy to Vienna. Saw some beautiful mountains along the way and tried to take some pictures out of the bus window but just not the same caliber.

We drove through lots of flat farm land in northern Italy then got to the Alps. Those are some big boys there. Very pointy, jagged peaks. Tops are in the clouds but I didn't see any snow. Lots of dry river beds along where we drove. Stopped for a quick break before leaving Italy and got some Italian chocolate to take home. Crossed into Austria and lots more mountains and many more lakes than we were seeing before. Our tour director did an excellent job explaining the history of Austria. We drove by several small towns or villages with their churches perched high on peaks or hills and old fortresses. Extremely green valleys and have noticed a significant change in architecture. More of the chateau style houses with steep roofs versus the Italian flat style roofs. The churches also have more of a baroque style to them with the onion domes. Our director told us that Vienna is the largest city in Austria with 1.6 million people. As we neared Vienna, the rolling hills started to flatten out quite a bit to flat lands and small rolling plains. We arrived in Vienna late afternoon and took a quick tour of the city on our bus. Very different styles or architecture throughout from the so-called new area with its tall glass skyscrapers to the old downtown area and its various old styles. Will have lots to see tomorrow on my day in Vienna.

This evening, we drove out of town through the Vienna Woods to have dinner. Very pretty and impressive forest which almost surrounds Vienna. Still very green everywhere although some leaves on the tress are starting to yellow. Drove along a cobblestone road through the woods. We were told that new construction is not allowed in order to protect the Woods thereby making what has been built very expensive. Stopped for a night view of the city below and it was so pretty. My camera for once did not take very good photos (may have been the user) so nothing to post that's up to my standards. 😊

Dinner was a lot of fun, very rowdy in fact, and I was happy to see a lot of the German dishes I know and love from back home. German potato salad (as we call it at home) which was very good, a cucumber salad with vinegar as well, ham, chicken, sausage and pork, too. Weinerschnitzel (which I've never been a fan of) was also prepared and served on a big platter with boiled potatoes. Very, very good. Lots of accordian music being played and fast paced waltzes. A good time was had by all!

It was getting late and we had yet another early morning coming up so made our way back to the hotel. I'm looking forward to seeing Vienna and all its different styles!

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Photos

Tower outside Restaurant
In the Vienna Woods.