We're on the Road to Vienna
Starring
Donna & Ben Lanza
Lee & Len Powers
&
Introducing
Melissa Hagy
(Our Daughter)
With a Cast Of Some
Bob the Pilot
Mary the Stewardess
Matilda the Waitress
Larry the Conductor
Guido the Border Guard
Switzerland - Liechtenstein - Italy
Germany - Austria - Hungary
Summer Vacation Hits the Road to Europe!
May 27,2005
Arrived in Zurich, Switzerland. We found our luggage and headed
for the car rental office
and secured our transportation. Heading for the hotel
we found the city to be a maze of
roads with names changing from one block to
the next. Having little luck finding the Hotel
Rex, we obtained an street map
printed on very expensive paper and proceeded to
wander thru the city to our
destination. The weather was pleasant, so the ride was not
too uncomfortable. We
found the hotel and relaxed for about 10 minutes and headed off
walking in
the direction of, what else, but the stores for shopping. The store-lined
Bahnhofstrasse is the main shopping area, with stores for everyone.
Hotel Rex
This Cable Car goes into the Building! Happy Shoppers.
Zurich best known for their historic buildings and the Zürichsee
(Zurich Lake), where
we walked along the shore that evening. The locals go there
to indulge in pot
smoking. All-in-all, the city was clean and friendly.
May 28
The morning started of with the complimentary
breakfast of cold cuts,
cheeses, cereal, fruit, and strong coffee, etc. We load
up the chariot and
headed south to Luzern, about 25 miles away.
There we found a very beautiful city nested
beside Lake Luzern. The Alps
provide a great background for your viewing
pleasure. The city has a
historic wooden bridge called the Chapel Bridge, built in 1333.
Looking up river from the Chapel Bridge.
Cash machine!
Shopping Platz...
Len and his chair.
Having spent several hours seeing the sights in Luzern, we embarked
on our quest to
visit the 6th smallest country in the world, Liechtenstein. The
day was perfect for
traveling in the countryside.
In the center of this photograph is a horse drawn cart!
Liechtenstein is about 60 miles east of Luzern.
The Principality of Liechtenstein was established within the
Holy Roman Empire in
1719; it became a sovereign state in 1806. Until the end of
World War I, it was
closely tied to Austria, but the economic devastation caused
by that conflict
forced Liechtenstein to enter into a customs and monetary union
with Switzerland.
Since World War II (in which Liechtenstein remained neutral),
the country's low taxes
have spurred outstanding economic growth. Shortcomings
in banking regulatory
oversight have resulted in concerns about the use of the
financial institutions for
money laundering. Liechtenstein has, however,
implemented new
anti-money-laundering legislation and recently concluded a
Mutual Legal
Assistance Treaty with the US.¹
We were visiting the capital city of
Vaduz. Located just off the auto-bahn it is very
easy to reach by car. The city
is home to the Prince. His castle is located high on a
bluff. ¹Visit
www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ls.html for more information.
The postage stamps from Liechtenstein are some of the rarest in
the world. Their post
museum is new and well staffed. The displays are super.
Post Museum.
A small game of chess!
Keeping in touch is what it is all about!
The city of Vaduz closes around 6pm, so you must get there
early. The stores are
mostly high end merchandise, which is very nice. The
restaurants are open a little
later so you can get a meal.
It stays light until 9:30 so we hit the road going south heading
for St. Moritz.
Now we were getting into the real mountains of the Alps.
Navigating on Route 3,
which is a two lane road was very nice. The road is well
maintained and you can
make very good time. These roads are not for the faint of
heart, as there are many
unguarded areas and very sharp turns. The scenery is
spectacular in the Alps.
Knowing we would arrive late in St. Moritz, we registered at the
Hotel Guidon,
located in Bivio. This is about 27km from St. Moritz. The view
from the hotel is
tremendous. We dropped our bags and headed for St. Moritz,
where we have
heard James Bond (007) would visit the casino.
St. Moritz from high in the Alps.
The casino was closed, so we headed to the local watering hole
for a bite to eat.
The soup was hot and the banana split was cold. They were 8
and 11€ respectively.
That's about $12. and $16.50! WOW! Then it was back to the
hotel in pitch darkness
(there are no lights on the roads). A good nights sleep
and we were well rested for
our next quest...ITALY!
May 29
From St. Moritz on the left to Bolzano on the
right we
negotiated Route 29
in Switzerland to SS33, SW to SS39 E, to SS42 E to Bolzano.
From the map you would
think the road pretty straight, WRONG, the road has
hundreds of turns and
switchbacks. This was the most fun of the trip, the
winding roads, fantastic
views, and fresh air.
The border crossing was near the town of Campocologno,
Switzerland. A passenger
of the vehicle decided to tape the crossing and guards,
that is not permitted and
the guards kept us there for a good 15 minutes. They
were nice and let us proceed
after stamping our passports.
This building was on the small road along the way. Believe it or not, it is lived
in.
Here in the northern part of Italy they have a lot of German
restaurants.
Motorcycles are used by the thousands on these back roads and
accidents are
bound to happen. The rider was okay from this accident. The girls
are in front of
the fire truck. While waiting I photographed the local church
and a clock tower,
which were close to the road.
This large World War I fort was close to the road, up in the mountains.
Our next overnight was in Barbian, Italy, which is about 35km
from Bolzano.
These photo's are from the front of the Gasthof
Drei Brücken
hotel where we stayed.
May 30
Having rested, it was now time to
head north to Innsbruck, Austria. The autobahn
A22 was a direct shot to the city and would only take a couple of hours. Below I
am
hamming it up for the camera. We are parked in front of our hotel which is
called a
Pension Edelweiss. Breakfast was served across the street in the Alpen Hotel.
Innsbruck is noted for the 1964 and 1976 Olympics, which were
held there, as well as,
the noted Swarovski museum and manufacturing plant. The museum is unusual to
say the least.
The many attractions of Innsbruck include the Goldenes Dachl
(Golden Roof)
Maximilianeum, Maria-Theresien-Strasse (the shopping street),
Triumphpforte
(Triumphal Arch), St. Anna's Column (Annasaule), and many other historic
sites.
A couple of the beautiful ladies in the town.
A gentleman with two other tourists.
May 31 - June 1
Leaving the city we again took to the road to enjoy the
countryside. The food
was hardy and filling. Water was purchased as we went along.
Our next stop was Berchtesgaden, Germany and the Eagles Nest.
Those who know
their history, know that this is the gift from Martin Bormann to Adolf Hitler.
Bombed
at the end of WWII it has been turned into a restaurant. I think it may be
restored
in the near future.
St. Leonhard, located in the area, turned out to be a great
place to bed
down for the night. The Gasthof Schorn hotel just across the border in Austria
was a very nice place. It is also located close to Salzburg, so we stayed there
for two nights.
The window on the left is a door to our room.
Trying the coffee can be very disappointing.
Mozarts birth place.
Mozart could look out his windows and see the same view we do
today. The
botanical garden is located on the other side of the river. It has many statues
and the formal garden is well looked after.
The tunnel and portals are carved out of the shear rock. There
is also a side
pedestrian tunnel.
Do you see the similarity?
A view from the Hohensalzburg Fortress.
Salzburg was filled with the sound of music. I couldn't resist.
Many shops, historical
sites, the river Danube, and other interesting things to see and do. You could
make Salzburg a vacation spot in itself.
June 2
Uprooting everyone once more we made our way to our final
destination, Vienna.
Arriving late we found the Restaurant Freimdenzimmer, which had a couple of
rooms available for one night. Yes it is an outdoor beer garden.
Planning a stay near the Hungarian border in Eisenstadt,
Austria, we ventured
to the Neusiedler See to have a look around.
The Haydnkirche, & Haydn- Mausoleum.
The modern hospital is locate between and behind the older
buildings and can only
be seen by looking up the driveway.
June 3 - 5
The Hotel Congress Wien was our last abode while in Europe. It
was located directly
across from the train station where I could watch the trains. It was also the
station
where Lee, Len and Melissa were to leave from on their journey to Poland. While
in
Vienna some of our party went to a Mozart & Johann Strauss concert. They all
said
it was very nice. The city is large and has everything a large city would
have - museums, churches, stores, historical buildings, and more.
Rust, Austria is where the storks come to lay their eggs.
Our journey to Hungary started here.
Like the sign says...THE END.
Copyright (c) 2000 - 2012 B. Lanza
