May 22 – Monday – on the road again
We are off by 07:30. Got stuck on the road for 20 minutes or so, by a big accident. Vicki is going to be broke, she
keeps saying the B word (bus), in reference to the vehicle we are riding in. Got to Salzberg about noon,
and went for a tour, saw the house where Mozart was born, then lunch.
We sat on the steps of a church and had a hotdog – Austrian style – they have a hole through the bun, squirt mustard and ketsup
down the hole, then put in the wiener. We then went up a litle tram up to the Fort at the top of the hill.
Fantastic view from the top.
It is 30 degrees,so the breeze at the top of this is very nice to all us sweaty travellers.
The walls are 3.5 meters thick. We were supposed to go to the Eagles Nest, but the road (which just opened last week), was closed again by a
rock slide. So we went on a “Sound of Music” tour. We saw the 2 houses that were used in the movie, the gazebo, the lake and had Gabby
out local tour guide twirl around in the field so we could take a photo.
After that we were on the coach again, and off to Innsbreck. We got here around 6:30, and just had time to run through the shower, and then
down for supper.
Well guess what ? There is a casino attached to the hotel, so we have to go check it out. It is all very very civilized, we have to check in
and they need out passports, before we can go in. So we will each spend 10 E. Vicki walks out with 30E, and I lose mine. Out we go to tell everyone,
and then a walk up the street to see what is here. We ended up in the old part of the city, and I think we saw the “golden roof”.
Back to the room – duvets again for covers – it is so nice.
May 23 – Tuesday – Another old towne
This moring Brian walks us down to the old part up of town. Steers us into the Swarofski Outlet store and lets us go for an hour.
We each bought a necklace. Then wandered about. This old part is much different than the old parts of the cities we have visited in the past
3 weeks. It looks cleaner, in some areas the cobble stones are larger. We saw the golden roof again.
Again we are on the road. This time driving along the Alps. The scenery is similar to driving through the Rocky Mountains, except there are
litle towns dotting the landscape.And sheep and cows every once in a while. To go across we either have to drive through a 9 mile tunnerl
or go over the Arlberg Pass. We all said we wanted the pass. So up we went, climbing up past the tree line. Bernard stopped at the side of
the raod so we could get out and take photos of the snow. Some of the Aussis and Kiwis have never seen snow.
They were all freezing in about
5 minutes. Us Cunucks started the snowball fight. After about 10 minutes we all piled back on the coach, and off we went.
We stopped at the next little village, and decended on this little place, Gasthof Sportcafe Aleberg, to have lunch.
We had soup – it was very good. Then away we go, and everyone is settling down for a nap, when we stop again in Liechtenstein.
It is drizzling a little, and it seems no one wants to get off.
But we do, and wander around. Brian warned us, that everything would be very expensive – and it is. We are all close to the coach, and when
Bernard apears again, we pile on. I don’t think we stayed as long as we could, but it seemed everyone was in the snuggle down and sleep mode.
2 hours later we arrive in Lucerne, and get a short drive around, so we know where all the stuff is. We stop at the Lion of Lucerne.
It is a monument to the fallen soldiers from the 1800’s. It is carved out of the side of the mountain, with a pool in front.
Then on to the hotel, and get ready to go out for supper. And what a room we have – wow – 2 rooms, a sitting room withe 2 couchs, and a
balcony, huge bedroom – Paul, who is next door, wants to know who we know, so they can get a room like ours.
We go over to the old part of town to a place called Statdkeller for some real Apline atmosphere.
The food is good, and beer comes in liter steins – yahoo! After supper is the entertainment. Barbara gets up and gets taught
to do a dance, Paul and Barry get up and blow the alpin horn, and Sue gets up and yodels, and get to drink beer from a huge glass. More singing
and carrying on, and a cow comes through the audience, so Barry has to get up and check it out (he’s a dairy farmer in New Zealand).
It’s raining, some trusty Bernard is there with the coach to drive us back to the hotel.
May 24 – Wednesday – time is running to fast
We get to sleep in today, because we aren’t going up the mountain to ride in a donkey cart. Finally we get a slower pace in the morning.
It looks like it rained over night, but is trying to clear. THere is a crappy weather front trying to come down from Germany, and I keep
telling everyone, that there will be bad weather in front of us, to will clear while we are here, and then it will close in behind us, and be crappy
when we leave a place. Breakfast is ok, and now to the coffee shop to get a connection.