BELLAGIO - LAKE COMO ITALY (2nd - 9th May)

Leaving Austria, we found the traffic was pretty good - driving through Switzerland was beautiful - the views were to die for, snow capped peaks, incredible country side. 

Doug did an excellent job driving the very steep winding Maloja Pass from St Moritz into Italy

 and got us safely to our destination of Varenna to catch the ferry over to Bellagio.

What we didn't realise, it was Labour day weekend - what a nightmare driving through the streets to the ferry terminal, heavy traffic in narrow streets & pedestrians walking all over the road. Finally we drove onto the ferry without any mishaps.

Time to relax on the ferry ride & admire the beautiful villages

At last Bellagio

Our house was in Via Crotto Pescallo - good thing we had our trusty Navman to guide us

 NOW - I want you to try to imagine the scene - A very narrow 2 way street - the length of the street cars illegally parked - everyone trying to pass each other but not being able to fit - there is no way this could happen in Australia without "ROAD RAGE" But in this town everyone appears to be very patient, they politely reverse until the other car can squeeze by them. 

We were unable to find any parking, so Tanya (our welcome lady) met us at the end of the dead end road, she was also flustered by the crowds & the traffic. She drove ahead of us & held back the oncoming traffic so we could take the only parking space available. If we weren't so stressed we would have laughed. As flustered as Tanya was, she was more upset to find our house had not been cleaned, she rang the owner "Giovanni". He came over with his car - gave us his personal garage to park our car for the week plus his other rental apartment in the centre of the city for our first night & $100 off our rental price. Giovanni drove us to his apartment so we didn't have to move the car.

View from Giovanni's apartment

The next morning he returned to drive us to our rental house

We had the bottom half of the house - it was lovely only a short walk to town, cafes, bars & restaurants

Cobbled path to the house

We are in for a week of fun in this town.

Stay tuned.

SANKT GILGEN - AUSTRIA 29th April - 2nd May

Travelling along the autobahns was a little scary - open speed limit - we made sure we stayed under 125kph. The countryside of Austria, like Germany was beautiful. We arrived at our hotel which was actually more like a B&B. Marion the owner was lovely & very friendly.

View from our bedroom window 

On our first morning it was raining, so we decided to catch the bus to Salzburg

                               "The Hills are alive with the Sound of Music"

Rob & Doug went off to explore on their own & also to find a new rain jacket for Doug.

Cliff & I caught the funicular rail up to Hohensalzburg Castle to escape the weather. 

great views

When we emerged from the castle the sun was out - obviously Rob had bought Doug's new jacket & the rain stopped - good work Rob. 

We wandered around the old town for the afternoon, checking out the incredible shop displays

An ornamental egg shop (Christmas eggs),

 painted cows

When our  bus arrived back in Sankt Gilgen, Rob & Doug walked home but we chose to stay in town to watch the traditional raising of the Maypole -  what a difficult process, it was done by hand with poles & supports

a family event - the kids seemed intrigued with the process

So after 3 hours the Maypole was finally upright, then they lit a big bonfire to guard the pole just in case men from a rival village came during the night to cut it down - which apparently happens.

Next day Rob & Doug were going to the village for the May festival, so Cliff & I took the car & drove to Hallstatt - a  beautiful village on another lake

cable car to the top of the mountain - fantastic views

We joined a tour of the oldest salt mine in the world - it dates back 7000 years -  very interesting.

we got to wear very attractive clothes

good thing we weren't claustrophobic

after almost 3 hours we emerged from the salt mine looking forward to lunch. We sat on the balcony of  the restaurant overlooking the lake.

lunch was a meat & cheese platter of local produce - yum yum

leaving the mountain top we wandered into the village - so beautiful

We hired an electric boat - it was like a dream 

When we arrived back Rob & Doug had enjoyed their day on the lake. We were leaving early next morning - It was sad to leave such a beautiful place.

ITALY HERE WE COME - CIAO CIAO

BADEN BADEN - GERMANY 26th April - 29th April

We arrived in Baden Baden in the Black Forest mid afternoon on 29th April. Getting through the city would have been impossible without Rob's NavMan. We ended up driving to a square where traffic was forbidden - luckily a lady who spoke some English came over to lend us a hand, we reversed, avoiding pedestrians AND finally we found our hotel. First thing to do was sit down, unwind & have something to eat. While we were having our late lunch we had a guy playing saxaphone, he was very good. Soup was yummy. (Our hotel in the background) 

View from our hotel room

Next day Doug & Cliff walked to the ruins of an old castle high above the city,  Rob was resting trying to recover from her cold, I, on the otherhand participated in some retail therapy -  very expensive spa town - look but don't buy!

View of the town from the top of the ruins.

What a beautiful city - flowers everywhere & wonderful old buildings

Flowery view from Lowenbrau Keller Restaurant

Wonderful displays in shop windows - believe it or not - CHOCOLATE which looked like fruit & vegetables.

On our final day we went to the thermal spa for a couple of hours of swimming & relaxation (luckily at this spa clothing was mandatory, unlike the other spas) We arrived feeling very old from our travels

Within 2 hours we felt 40 years younger

Doug looked particularly refreshed

This is a city we would love to return to one day  - Auf Wiedersehen Germany. 

Next stop Sankt Gilgen (Austria).