Blogs from Austria, Europe

Will we do a valley walk, a lake visit or cheese dairy visit today? We chose the visit to the cheese making farm down the valley a little and combine it with a walk. It's supposed to be thunderstorms this afternoon so it we probably the better choice. Around the town and valley is a walking track of about 9km in the forest on one side and along the river on the other. When we arrived at the Dairy it was closed. Sunday of course. We did see the cows indoors and horses though. It seemed such as shame to keep the animals indoors when it's perfectly lovely with plenty of grass outside. Instead, they choose to cut the grass and take it to the animals. It appears that it is haymaking time as famers were ... read more

Yesterday was a travelling day to get to Mayrhofen and today is familiarising ourselves with a new environment since we are here for a week. Our apartment is spacious and well appointed so we can with sit at the balcony looking at the mountains, or go on the large deck at the back and face a tree lined verticle cliff. Tomorrow the immediate chairlifts start operating so we'll have an opportunity to get up into the 3000m+ mountain tops. In the morning we wandered the streets of this small but beautiful town and bought outdoor gear at a very reasonable price. It sure does leave our selection for dead in NZ. The colours and designs of clothing is amazing and the footwear, a vast selection. I wished I had held out and not not bought mine ... read more

Cough, cough, cough! It's been a day of trying to overcome a damned persistant cough. Since Linds and I have been here before we thought it would be a good alternative to the usual "must do's' and go and visit a lake we had heard about years ago. The Konigsee is considered one of the prettiest lakes in Germany and is situated in the Berchesgarten National Park in southern Bavaria, just over the Autstrian border. The National Park is the only alpine national park although there are others. We had checked out timetables, and yes, it would work. There was a bus the whole way to the lake. The route took us through rolling countryside and eventually into the alps with soaring peaks with snow highlights. I'm not sure what we expected but it was much ... read more

The weather continues to be fantastic. So far, a week of warm weather from 20 to 28 degrees. I am full of a cold (thanks, Linds) and not feeling great but doses of paracetamol, iburprofen, antihistamine, nasal spray and throat lozenges and off we go. As we have only two full days in Salzburg we've had to be selective. For today we've decided on the Hellbrun Palace, the Salzburg Fortress (Castle) and Old Town meander. From the Station we took a number 25 bus out of the city a little way to the Hellbrun Palace and garden. What a beautiful building and garden. It was initially built in 1613 by Marcus Sittikus, Archbishop of Salzburg. He had a penchant for trick gardens which had been all the rage at one time but now these gardens are ... read more

A day of culture and sophistication. We spent the morning on a guided walk of the old city. We went up the north tower of St Stephens Church and got rewarded with fantastic views across the city. We tried to reward ourselves with apple strudel but after not being served for 25 minutes we had to give up to rejoin the tour - oh well next time (we will just have to come back). In the evening we got dressed up and went to see the Vienna Supreme Orchestra. Their performance was amazing not only did we get to hear the Orchestra but there was also opera and ballet performances, part of it had a modern take and was a little cheeky. Tonight we finally get to sail overnight to our next destination Durnstein. Only about ... read more