Austria Austria Christmas in Vienna A beautiful day here in Vienna so I decided to catch a taxi to the other side of the city ...Read More Austria Out and about in Vienna Although I have been here several weeks, I haven't really gone exploring - rather I have stayed close to the ...Read More AustriaItaly Rum, Austria to Lake Iseo, Italy I didn't set foot outside the hotel the entire week I was there... It was just magical sitting out on ...Read More Austria Elixhausen to Rum (near Innsbruck) Leaving my lovely hotel just outside Salzburg, I head off toward another lovely hotel, just outside Innsbruck... ~ Bella ...Read More Austria Ferdinand Porsche Museum and Mattsee Another perfect day. I found this museum and pulled up out the front in the loading zone to view the ...Read More Austria May Day in Elixhausen In Austria, the maypole (or Maibaum) is a tradition going back to the 16th century - and it is interesting to ...Read More Austria Vienna to Salzburg Leaving beloved Vienna yet again... headed for a week in a magnificent hotel just outside Salzburg... I have been here ...Read More AustriaItaly Vienna to Venice via the Weltmachine (World Machine) Our adventure started before we even left the rental car place... I couldn't find where to release the parking brake ...Read More Austria Sunset carriage ride through Vienna What is one to do on a lovely evening in Vienna? Take a sunset carriage ride, of course! Founded by ...Read More Austria Fiaker stables and carriage ride through Vienna What a marvellous morning! Renee, Bethany, and I started at the Fiaker stables - the Fiaker are the Viennese horse-drawn ...Read More AustriaHungaryRomania Road trip: Romania to Austria via Hungary Time to depart... Poor Bethany - at one point there was a luggage avalanche, but we saved her just in ...Read More AustriaGermanyPlaces Hallstatt and Salzburg Welcome to Hallstatt... We didn't end up wandering through the town, and instead headed off again - since we were ...Read More Austria WWII art treasures stolen by the Nazis and found in this cave by the ‘Monuments Men’ If you have been following my travels for many years, you may recall an event I went to when I ...Read More AustriaEuropeGermany Farewell to my beloved Vienna – hello Germany… I knew the day would come... Farewell to my beautiful Vienna... Although I do not want to live there, I ...Read More AustriaPlaces das Loft – amazing views over Vienna For dinner, we went to das Loft with the most extraordinary views over Vienna... not to mention the delicious food! ...Read More AustriaFood & WinePlaces World-Famous Sacher Torte at the Sacher Hotel Another of the items on my bucket list, was to have a Sacher Torte at the world-famous Sacher Hotel... ...so, ...Read More Austria (Another) carriage ride through Vienna On my bucket list, you will note that one of the entries is owning a landau (convertible carriage) and horse, ...Read More AustriaPlaces Schmetterlinghaus – Vienna’s Butterfly House Donna and I went in search of one historic location, and ended up finding another... This is the Schmetterlinghaus - ...Read More Austria Austria’s Wachau Wine Region The Wachau region was inscribed as "Wachau Cultural Landscape" in the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites in recognition of its architectural and ...Read More AustriaEurope Goats, headless people, and abandoned castles… As we were touring through the Viennese countryside and in particular the Wachau Valley, we came across quite an assortment ...Read More Austria Vienna – a day in my life In case you are interested, here is a snapshot of a normal day for me in Vienna... starting with the ...Read More AustriaPlaces The Keys to Franz Ferdinand’s Crypt – literally! Artstetten Castle (Schloss Artstetten) was the home to Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his family until the tragic events in Sarajevo ...Read More AustriaPlaces Medieval Cow and Wolf Playing Backgammon Donna, Alexander and I set off for a day of exploring the Viennese countryside, but first we went hunting to ...Read More AustriaPlaces Stairs of Reconcilliation, Graz Leaving the majestic horses, we made our way back to Graz to find the 'Stairs of Reconciliation'... No matter where ...Read More AustriaPlaces Lipizzaner Stud Farm – Spanish Dancing Horses ...and now we head to the Lipizzaner Stud Farm in Piber, Austria - and being a horsey-girl, this was such ...Read More AustriaPlaces They built train tracks before there was a train… Anyone who has seen "Under the Tuscan Sun" (or if you are like me and have seen it so many ...Read More AustriaPlaces Pink Bunny, Vienna Woods, Monasteries, and Boat Cruising Underground What do pink bunny rabbits, the Vienna Woods, monasteries, and boat trips in underground Nazi airplane factories (yes, you read ...Read More AustriaEastern EuropeEventsPlaces River Danube Cruise to Slovakia for UNICEF Cruising on the River Danube from Vienna to Slovakia, making new friends, and all in aid of a good cause ...Read More AustriaEuropePlaces Magical Horse-Drawn Carriage Ride through Vienna What a magnificent day! Slept in, then rugged up (it was minus 1 outside and lightly snowing), walked literally 3 ...Read More AustriaFood & WinePlaces Vienna’s beautiful Hotel Bristol Vienna abounds with luxury, elegance, and beauty - and they were all combined in my experience last night at the ...Read More AustriaEvents Listening to Strauss where STRAUSS played Strauss! I booked this event weeks ago and have been looking forward to it ever since. Not only was the Kursalon ...Read More AustriaEuropeEvents Life’s Never Boring with 20,000 Protesters! Curled up in my lovely apartment, and I begin to hear a thudding cadence approaching... At first I thought, oh, ...Read More AustriaEuropeHungarySwitzerlandTravel Swiss Alps Rail Journey – Zurich to Budapest (Part 2 of 2) Some people will do anything to get out of work, including burying their tractor in snow... Another soul out for ...Read More AustriaEurope Vienna Update Final updates before I leave Vienna... Siting here finishing lunch, I thought I would give you a quick update on a ...Read More AustriaEuropePlaces Ride the World’s Oldest Surviving Ferris Wheel With Me! Vintage Ferris Wheel - the highlight of my trip! You know how I am about history, particularly that which falls ...Read More AustriaEuropePlaces Vienna – City of Contrasts Welcome to Vienna! Although I do not tend to have rigid ideas of what a place will be like before ...Read More