Three Countries before breakfast!

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After 23 hours of uneventful airtime, we got to meet our welcoming committee at Zurich airport...

Ellen and Franz

With almost no sleep in the last 48 hours, we were keen to get to bed. But our hosts had other ideas. Our daughter Ellen dragged Brenda away for a climb up a mountain!   I politely refused in favour of a cold beer at the local pub with Franz. Apparently I missed out on some great views.

Ellen and Franz live in Switzerland in a village called Diepoldsau. The village is on an island created by an offshoot of the Rhine river. We are staying in the village of Hohenems which is in Austria - but five minutes away in the car (just make sure you got your passport).

Dinner that night was at a local tavern with a nice garden area for outside dining - a good option when the temp is in the mid twenties. However a local thunderstorm interrupted our plans and we hastily retreated to the cellar!


After a much needed night of sleep - we got picked up by Ellen and Franz for a quick trip around the neighbourhood. Starting in Austria, passing thru Switzerland and on to Vaduz in Liechtenstein. Three countries before my morning coffee! Slow down guys! I need caffeine!

The caffeine was duly inhaled at a nice streetside cafe in Feldkirch (now back in Austria).

Looking down the main road in Feldkirch - our cafe under the umbrellas left.

I couldn't resist this photo opp....

Where's that thunderstorm when you want one?

The gargoyle was sited on the Pfarrkirche (Parish Church) at St. Florin - built in 1873.

As if three countries wasn't enough for one day, our hosts talked us into a sailing over the Bodensee to Germany! Lake Constance (as the Bodensee is otherwise known) is a 63 klms long lake fed by the Rhine. It has a cycle track around it - just 260klms long! You can imagine my relief when I saw we were heading for the boat marina! 

Our destination was the popular German tourist town of Lindau. 

View of Lindau harbour mouth - with Bregenz (our starting point) on the other side of the lake

Quaint and quiet cobblestoned alleyways - too small for cars

Broader main thoroughfares - also not for cars!

Rapunzel's tower - see her hair hanging down!

Brenda in her happy place - at the local book store!

At the end of a very busy day - it must be time to relax. But our hosts want to drag our butts up another mountain! However, we are doing it the easy way - by cable car.

View from half way up on the cable car

View from the top - none of us afraid of heights fortunately - that's a 1000ft drop behind us!

Table with a view!!!

A view that only gets better at night.

We have come up to this fine restaurant at the top of a mountain to sample a local special dish - Spätzleteig (basically mac and cheese - on steroids). Very Yum. And well worth the trip.

Well - we have now been here in Austria (and other assorted countries) for two very hectic and fun filled days. So tomorrow, I am hoping for something a bit more chillaxing! But our hosts have other plans. As if we have not had enough airtime lately - they want us to fly some more. Only this time Ellen wants to push her Mum out of the plane! You gotta be kidding! I am off to bed after a tiring day and once again, I am praying for thunderstorms!

Comments

  1. Susan Beggs26 August 2023 at 12:58

    Fantastic trip already and great blog. Looking forward to the next edition. Still cold but not so wet in Martinborough

    ReplyDelete
  2. Veronica Lund26 August 2023 at 20:37

    Well done, another 3 countries knocked off!! Beautiful in Fiji just a little rain today. Have a great jump tomorrow Brenda!

    ReplyDelete

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