Part Two: Austria, Italy, Switzerland & France
Sep 03 '00
This review is a continuation of our vacation in Europe. Before leaving Germany we went to the train station in Munich to meet a couple we have known for years. Sam had a business meeting in Geneva and Yvette and their daughter was going to spend the rest of our vacation with us.
Hansel and Gretel came to mind the minute we entered the city limits of Salzburg, Austria. I was amazed at the purple mountains reaching beyond the clouds. We drove through the picturesque town and decided to take the Sound Of Music Tour. What a breathtaking event this was! We saw the houses, pastures, mountains and gazebo that were used in the filming of this beautiful movie. My mind could picture (Maria) Julie Andrews singing in the fields and the nuns singing "What are we going to do about Maria?" On the bus we all sang to the music from the movie. I actually felt like I was on a field trip in grade school.
We also visited the Swarovski Crystal Museum and Factory. The display there was very interesting. My partner bought me a gorgeous Cinderella glass slipper necklace and Yvette could not resist the beautiful crystal ring, necklace and bracelet set and also purchased one for her daughter.
In every country in Europe I was aghast that they charged for the restrooms. Me being a big water drinker, this eventually became a nuisance. I had to keep the correct change in my purse. There was always a person coming up to you handing you a paper towel with their coin dish in plain view. It got to the point that I had to cut down on my liquid consumption. Later that evening we checked in to a Bed and Breakfast in the town of Innsbruck and woke the next morning to the beauty of the snow-capped Austrian Alps.
From there, we headed for Italy. Oh! How do I describe Venice? Not one car is allowed in Venice. Even "glorious" does not even come close to encompassing the beauty, history, winding alley ways, magnificent statues and carvings. To describe these sites would take an entire book. The churches are the most beautiful in the world. The gondolas gliding down the waterways is a site one should get to see at least once in their lifetime. My very favorite was the cranberry and gold tapestry heart shaped seats with intricate carvings on the sides. My senses were being overloaded and I sure loved every moment of it. I was being serenaded gliding down the entrance waterways of visual splendor!
That night we checked into an adorable bed and breakfast nestled in the Italian Alps. For dinner the four of us enjoyed a seven-course meal which included goat cheese, penne noodles, salami, risotto, rabbit and donkey meat. The latter I did not dare to touch though. The next morning we headed to Chamonix, France. We took a gondola of Mount Blanc (The French Alps) and the top of those mountains the temperatures were 32 degrees compared to the 90 degrees below. brrrr...be sure to bring coats.
Our view was beautiful. The shining sun glistened like gold off the snow-capped mountains. Icicles actually hung from the roof of the restaurant and glaciers gave everything a dreamlike quality just like in a storybook. Each time I pointed out the prettiest sight, there was always another even lovelier.
After all of that mountain air we grabbed a bite at a pizza place ordering 2 medium sized pizzas and four panaches (half beer, half soda) Yummy was the word for this combination and we consumed every last morsel and sip. Then the bill arrived. Oh me, oh my! Yvette speaks French and assured us that we were reading correctly. The amount came to $54.00 in US money. Speaking of large amounts, we filled the gas tank that night and it came to $60.00. Holy cow! I won't say more about the money, only that for a moment I thought I was in the United States like 50 years in the past as there were Esso gas stations abound (with mistaken prices of course) and I haven't seen one of them since I was a child.
Evian, France was next on our journey. The Evian water flowed from fountains all over the town. I kind of broke my vow of consuming too much liquids when I saw that sparkling water. We filled our thermoses many times with crystal clear refreshing plain old water. It came to my mind then that this is what all water should taste like even back home. It was well after 9 PM before the sun went down making for a very long day. People here live a very laid-back life and close their stores from noon till 2:30 and then again at 6 PM for the evening. The long leisurely meals begin at 8 PM. I actually started to enjoy that schedule.
The next day was castle-viewing day in Montreaux, Switzerland. The Castle of Chillon was where Lord Byron wrote the famous poem Prisoner Of Chillon. The histories dating back centuries intrigued me. All of Europe is really very old that each building we visited had a marvelous story to go along with it.
In Geneva, all of the taxies were Mercedes. This is one of the most expensive cities in the world. Travelling through the country, the language would change from French to German to Italian. For our last night in Geneva, we treated ourselves to a candlelight garden dinner complete with a singer who serenaded us. He would go from table to table and sing the song of your choice. It was a balmy night and I'm quite sure all of the stars above were winking at us ;)
The next day we made our way back to Munich to meet Sam (Yvette's husband)and since we had given ourselves 2 days in advance we decided to visit the tiny town of Lichtenstein with Sam with us. It is the fourth smallest country in the world. We sat at an outdoor cafe for lunch and had one more night in Europe to enjoy and reminisce what a wonderful vacation we all had. Sam listened intently.
From this trip we learned that people are the same everywhere in spite of language and cultural differences. Everyone was pleasant and more than willing to assist us when we actually unintentionally played charades with them trying to get them to understand our requests. This review cannot begin to describe the beauty and wonder of most of what we saw and experienced. (except Dachou in my first review) Thank you for reading this. As it turned out, this part two concludes the story of my European vacation. Looks like there will not be a part three after all. It was a pleasure sharing our vacation with you.
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Location: Massachusetts
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Life's not about waiting for storms to pass...it's about dancing in the rain.
Vivian Greene
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