Austria and Switzerland

Jenn:

Today we spent the entire morning in Innsbruck, Austria. I was one of three people in our group who did not take the guided tour through the area because I wanted to get out on my own and explore the city Jenn style. I crossed the Inn River to get some shots of the town and then wandered through a few neighborhoods exploring the architecture and churches I found in the nooks and crannies. The buildings and houses in Innsbruck are very colorful and adorned with painted details. The weather was hit-and-miss with a torrential downpour that moved through at one point. I was able to gauge the quickly moving storm and adjust my activities accordingly…so I headed for the shops and found a special treat to bring home from the Swarovski Crystal Factory. Once the weather cleared, I visited one of the local parks and got some photos of the Alps NOT covered by clouds-simply gorgeous. I climbed the 172 stairs to the top of the town hall and took in a 360-degree view of the city. You could see the ski jump from the Olympics as well as the incredible mountain scenery behind the beautiful town. After a delicious lunch of salad and pasta (of yes, I’ve happily left the schnitzel behind) we loaded the bus for our drive to St. Moritz, Switzerland. It got increasingly cooler as we headed into the mountains and when we arrived there was a brisk, refreshing chill in the air.

St. Moritz is considered the gem of the Alps in every way. It is swanky, trendy, and dripping with money. You will find a Prada store next to the shop to rent ski equipment followed by Chopard and Louis Vuitton. We arrived at 5:15 so we were excited to have an evening to ourselves where we could create our own schedule. Mom was disappointed by the location of the hotel because she didn’t feel like we were anywhere close to the lake. I explained that she needed to hold her tongue and wait until we went walking for dinner-that I thought we were, in fact, close to the town and beautiful views of the lake. Good news is that this proved to be an example of how geographically challenged mom is as we headed straight down the path to the village and beautiful scenery.

After wandering through town and looking at a variety of REALLY expensive menus (and that’s saying a lot because I’m used to San Francisco prices!) I wandered down a rode to a huge chalet I could see in the distance. Curiosity had me…the location of the property meant it had to have some incredible views of the lake and town in the background. I headed in and was greeted by the hostess who worked really hard to not let us in to the very exclusive hotel. After asking a variety of questions, and simply persevering, she finally asked if we would like to have a drink in the lobby area. I graciously accepted and then the waiter let us head out to the balcony and enjoy our drinks among a perfect setting. Mom fell in love with our Italian waiter and just laughed when I said, “That’s the difference between a French and Italian waiter.” I enjoyed a glass of prosecco and mom had a very strong gin and tonic. What a great find and special treat!

35 Swiss franks later, I asked where we could find the pizzeria in the hotel and they directed us to their second property just up the hill. When we entered, it was an incredible chalet with wooden beams and authentic decorations. The wood-fired pizza oven was great. Mom and I gobbled up bruschetta and a Margherita Pizza and indulged in another drink. It was so nice to just sit, relax, and take our time. We feel like we found a few gems in St. Moritz as the evening was just perfect for the two of us. I’m very excited because our day starts tomorrow with the Bernina Express Train taking us over the top of the Alps into Italy. Gelato, here I come J

Innsbruck with the mountain scenery in the background.

The town center from the gargoyle's perspective..colorful buildings!

The famous Golden Roof that was built in 1494-1496 to commemorate

Maximillian I's marriage to Bianca Maria Sforza.

St. Moritz-the hotel on the right is the fancy one we visited for drinks.

Gorgeous!

Mom:

Mom will be (hopefully) updating this tomorrow. She is tired, her feet are really swollen, and honestly-she had two drinks tonight! I told her she's not off the hook, so stay tuned...

Surprise! I showered and came back to enter my blog. Jenn is doing a good job of keeping me on task!

Today I took the city tour of Innsbruck while Jenn stayed downtown and got some great pictures. Our guide took us to the 1976 Olympic skiing venue. It’s amazing to see it hovering above the town. They have removed the original slope and replaced it with a very hi-tech one that can be used year round by placing tiles on the slope and running water over them. We also learned that the government of Austria provides a free set of skiing equipment to every child when he/she turns 3 years old!

We then went to the Royal Court Church, which King Maximillian had built in celebration after beating Napoleon’s effort to overtake Austria. It is a beautiful church, which houses the world’s oldest organ.

We ended the tour at Swarovski Crystal where I got a nice pair of earrings. I was alone after the tour, so I ended up in the major shopping area and had a nice lunch at a sidewalk café, just people-watching. It was a lovely morning and after meeting up with Jenn and the rest of the tour, we left and crossed the border to Switzerland in a short 1 hour drive.

The drive over the Swiss Alps was beautiful. Very winding, narrow roads with sharp edges, just what I love!!! I was quite surprised that I didn’t get carsick. We were to stop at a specific place for a bathroom break and the whole little town was without water so we drove to the next small town looking for any random bathroom. We tried another place – he wouldn’t let us even pay for a potty break in his bathroom. The tour guide finally found a sign for a public bath (WC for Water Closet) so the coach pulled over and the bus unloaded. We got to the place of business and the woman came running out “No, no, no!!!” unless we bought something….she sold tires! So we all piled back into the bus and kept driving. By this time, a few people were getting desperate and they finally pulled into another place and our guide went in and basically begged the owner. It was decided that 3-4 people could go in but no more than that. So those of us that could hold it did so for another hour. We were all laughing and saying that in OUR countries, you can find a bathroom on every corner. It was quite funny and sad at the same time, as we weren’t getting any “warm fuzzies” from our first impression of Switzerland.

We finally got to St. Moritz and it was majestic, with the lake water that milky emerald green from the glacial runoff, similar to Lake Louise in Canada. The city is surrounded by the Alps in every direction. Our hotel is close to town and Jenn and I walked through the village, looking around and trying to find a place for dinner. We found the Badrutt’s Hotel, which is the “Grand Dam” of the area. A shout out to Jenn for wandering around long enough to find it but even more so, getting us placed on their very prestigious outdoor bar area that overlooked the lake and surrounding area. We enjoyed a VERY expensive glass of sparkling wine, for Jenn and gin & tonic for me. Thank you Bill for the mad money you gave to us, we enjoyed it today!

St. Moritz has hosted two Olympics and we were wondering where they put everyone in such a small town. On our way back to our room, I told Jenn I swore I heard cowbells (in the middle of the ritzy, glamorous St. Moritz???) She thought it was a wind chime until we turned a corner and across the street was a little hill/pasture with about 10 cows wandering home for the night – with cowbells on! It was a sight I would have expected Heidi to be in. On our Austrian tour, we learned that each owner has a different sounding cowbell (various tones) so they can find missing cows if they wander too far.

Don’t forget to make comments on this blog. Under every picture there is a link that says “comment”. Just click there and write what you would like to say about that particular picture. Honey, this is for you J

We head for Italy via the Bernina Express Train tomorrow, then on to Lugano, Switzerland. The train goes over the Alps a different direction and it’s supposed to be cold, thank goodness things are cooler for now!