We had so many adventures during our time in Austria it’s hard to know where to begin…”Let’s start at the very beginning, A very good place to start”…well maybe not…my postings of our trip will not be in chronological order.
I’ll begin with the beauty of Austria…the mountains and hillsides, the streams and waterfalls, the wonderful alpine chalet-style homes with flower boxes dotting the green landscape.
It was a treat to be in a vehicle driving across country. Our friends had a small, white Renault with plenty of room for four people with just enough space for our luggage in the back… it was a puzzle each time we had to repack our luggage but it worked. In the cities we would leave the vehicle parked for days and walk.
Outside the cities, it was wonderful to have the freedom of a vehicle, and having drivers who were used to driving in Europe. We relied heavily on the GPS system. It took us through rotaries (round-abouts) and often took us off the main road unto narrow back roads for a short-cut – sometimes we wondered why – but it added to the scenery and always brought us back to the main road…well, almost always.
One of our planned routes was the Grossglockner Alpine Drive in the Austrian Alps. At one viewing point you could see ten mountain peaks over 3,300 meters, (10,000 feet). We were blessed with a beautiful, sunny day. There were lots of cars, some buses, motorcycles and bicycles climbing switchbacks up to the end of the road, to see the glacier. There were many places without guardrails and the roads were narrow and we wondered how the bicyclists could dare pedal up the mountain, especially in all the traffic. Whew…
The flower boxes on homes and business added even more to the beauty of the Austria countryside…they are abundant, overflowing, colorful, often multi-tiered, and just spectacular. Even though I was unable to get many photos of them, much to my dismay, the professional photos we see of these chalets with flower boxes are real. The flowers are that stunning. Here are a few photos but my photos do not do them justice.
Absolutely Spectacular ! ! ! Having the wise Eoropean driver surely added to the trip ! Kay
Yes! Having good drivers was such a gift to us.
Love the flower boxes, love the mountains, love the scenery, love the car…
There was a lot to enjoy and take in, that’s for sure. We loved it all too.
Absolutely fabulous! Austria is also a favorite country of ours within which to travel.
We’ll have to compare notes sometime…
Looks like a dream!
We were in awe many times during our trip…so much to experience in so many ways. I’m thankful we had the opportunity.
How beautiful. You certainly caught the majesty of it. I want to go too.
Thanks Barb.
Looks Amazing and those flowers are just so beautiful😁 I am wondering how they manage to get them all so big😲 Seems like a country we need to visit👍 I have been to Vienna and that was a beautiful city with a lot of interesting buildings. So many beautiful countrys and places in the world👏😁👍
Yes there are so many great places to see, including beautiful Norway…someday we want to get back there!
I think you would really like Austria.
You are most welcome to come to Norway and stay with us😁😘 would have been so much fun🤣
Thank you. We really want to come and see you and be with you and the family.
Beautiful, Valerie! What a wonderful trip it must have been!
Thanks Sheri, it was wonderful.
Stunning Valerie! What an amazing trip that must have been! As a lover of flowers, it would be difficult for me to leave the beauty of Austria! My son and family just returned from Norway and Sweden and took some phenomenal pictures! I am going to Switzerland and Germany in October and can’t wait!
Thank you.
You’ll have a great time in Switzerland and Germany and see lots of flowers too. YAY
Oh, those flower boxes are stunning splashes of color. Love love love!
But mountain roads without guardrails. I couldn’t handle that.
It was not totally without guardrails but there were several places…and it did make me a little nervous. 😉
But definitely worth the drive.