Austrotel - Innsbruck

... we had finished at the zoo, the sun was trying to come out and the snow had completely melted off the trees.<br><br>We caught the bus into the old city where I was determined that I was going to have some genuine Sacher torte so went to Cafe Sacher which is home of the original Sacher torte (it originated in Vienna). Sacher Torte is actually chocolate cake with a layer of jam in the middle ...

... amazing to see how close the Golden Roof came to being bombed during World War II by the Nazis. The Austrians had bricked it in to save it and some of these bricks were actually destroyed while the Roof and building were saved.<br><br>We then walked up the City Tower which was built in 1440 and had an incredible view over the city and the surrounding mountains. It had stopped snowing by this time and you could see a clear line above ...

... a large room and then walked into the old town to have dinner at a restaurant that had Austrian food. The prices seem quite reasonable after Switzerland, but that might be because they are in Euros. I had a goulash which was quite nice but salty. Again German is the language used but most people speak English so we haven't had any problems. It was very cold as we walked home and Tara kept saying, I hope it snows tomorrow (it certainly felt cold enough).

... well as a crystal on display that is larger than my head. The exhibits in each room vary considerably. In this case I think the pictures describe the museum much better than I can. Once at the end of the museum rooms, the visitor must pass through the showroom and store before leaving the facility. Mom and I had a lot of fun in the store and the men waited patiently for us to decide on ...

... mountains and it still raining in town. Cutting our losses we decided to try travel south as quickly as possible heading down towards Croatia hoping that the weather would be better down there. We had heard some good things about Ljubljana in Slovenia and so decided to stop off there for a look. As we didn't get there until 5pm and the fact that it was still raining we just visited the supermarket to get some dinner. Hopefully tomorrow it will be dry so we can look around town.

... too.<br>The rest of the tour took us to Linderhof castle and Neuschwanstein castle. What magical looking places they were. Neuschwanstein is the castle Walt Disney uses the sillohette of at the start of his movies. Anyway, after the trip it was back to Munich for a day or so and then on the plane home.

... am we drove into Garmish-Partinkirchen, a big ski resort in Bravaria that hosted the 1936 Winter Olympics and a train up to the top of Zugspitse. Neadless to say it was closed but we did have a ride around and a interesting bravarian lunch. I had two pair of bratwurst, sauerkraut unt kartoffelpuree and a glass of bravarian finest. Lisa wanted the pasta dish we had in Fussen last year (remember Jade/Delwyn?) well we thought we had it but what came out was a 10cm diameter ...

Today we're Austria bound. Arrividerci Italy!! Ahh, we enjoyed Italy alot. Everything from the rocky coastline on the Cinque Terre and Amalfi Coasts to the hilly interior of Umbria and Tuscany to the northern Alps. The history was well preserved with lots to view everywhere, the people were friendly, the country diverse, the food was good in every region and overall Italy was affordable. We saw alot and experienced ...

... to dance on tables is practically an entrance requirement. A second requirement is the ability to ski down intoxicated afterwords - or if you're lucky hitch a ride on a toboggan. Walking down is only for the very brave. A good crowd was already milling, lots of atmosphere but plenty of room to dance. All the Danish group were there - the only two missing were the two German girls coming later from Munich. I was the only girl in a ...

Another work conference for my parents brought us to Oberammergau for a week. We stayed in the cutest little wooden cottage - like the whole thing ceiling to floor and including flowering window boxes was made out of wood! Totally picturesque like you've read about in Brothers Grimm fairy tales. Aromatic town bakery. Absolutely enchanting.