Austria

Turns out parting really is such sweet sorrow. What a sad day this was. We left our Venice hotel and boarded a vaporetto (waterbus) to cross the water to our bus. Very unique transportation around here. We said goodbye to Venice and all its magical splendor! What an awesome place! Hope to come back some day. The news is not all bad though, as we are headed toward the Alps. Yay! I’ve been looking forward to this. We found out we get to visit an additional country not on our itinerary. We’re going to Austria, as well as Germany and Switzerland. I am not that familiar with Austria, other than knowing that The Sound of Music was filmed in Salzburg and that the city of Vienna is beautiful. While we're not going to those two places, I’m all in for this unexpected stop. The drive got more and more interesting the closer we got to the Alps, beautiful hills covered in what looked like the softest, most plush and well-manicured green carpet you’ve ever seen, farms with the usual farm animals, fields of crops, grapes included of course, along with scattered houses and lakes. Then enter the mountains, some with snow-covered peaks! Being a girl originally from Kansas, I love snow. The view went on forever when we were up high looking down and out over the valleys. It was just gorgeous!. Our guide, Joe, told us about the brutal conditions in these mountains for soldiers during WWI. We made a lunch stop in a little town called Egna, our last stop in Italy. We had a salad and lasagna on the outdoor patio and soaked up the sun while we ate. Then on we went past more vineyards and little churches with their pointy steeples and green hills and beautiful scenery. Pretty dreamy! One of the things I love so much about Europe is how you can be driving along and you look out and see a beautiful chateau or castle, just sitting there in all its glory acting like it’s no big deal. We finally arrived at our hotel in Reutte, Austria around 5:30. My room was cute, with a wooden desk and wood paneling, so appropriate for where we were. I could see mountains in the distance out my window. Dinner was at the hotel. Pumpkin soup, followed by delicious schnitzel and potatoes and then a berry and pudding dish for dessert. After dinner, the fun kicked up several notches, with some live entertainment by two local accordion musicians. They were a lot of fun! They played the traditional Austrian/German folk type music, as well as a sing along to Country Road and some group yodeling. What a hoot! One of our guys volunteered to be part of the band and played a trash bag converted to a drum. Crazy! He came dressed for the part in shorts, knee socks, suspenders and just the right hat! He was a card anyway, so just the right guy for the job. It was a very unique evening! Ha, so fun!