1st day in Austria

A view of the Swiss Alps from the plane, when we were flying into Zurich.
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So it turns out we weren't able to see any castles in Germany.  We were only there for 2 nights, and the first night we were just focused on getting some beer, brats, kraut and sleep and didn't ask about it.  By the time we asked about it the next day, it was too late.  So we just kind of relaxed, which was nice too.  There was a wonderful little bakery near the motel.  They had wonderful croissants, they had them with ham, Nutella and a hazelnut struessel stuff in the middle.  They were wonderful.  Granted, we've never been to France, but the Germans make the best croissants we've had so far.  So only 2 days in Munich, Germany and if we were to plan this trip again we would've spent more time there.  We really, really liked Germany.  Friendly people, reasonable prices and fairly easy to get around.  Oh ya, and wonderful food!

A castle on our drive from Munich to Austria.
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We drove here, to Kreischberg, Austria yesterday and we're really in the boonies out here.  I guess if you want somewhere to just relax and not do much, this is it.  This place is mainly known for being a skiing and snowboarding area in the winter.  And then their high season in the summer is July and August.  So many of the guided tours don't even run right now, they start about the middle of June.  So its nice and quiet at least, but we'll be playing lots of hand and foot here.  The receptionist said about 70% of the guests her are Hungarian, they drive here from Hungary, which is the country just to the east of here.

First couple days in Austria

The view from the balcony of our room in Austria.
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So our overall impression of Austria is it is absolutely beautiful.  Like Germany, the people are very friendly.  Usually everywhere you go there is at least one person who speaks decent English and they always get them for you if necessary.  Most of the restaurants don't have English menus but the wait staff will just have the good English speaker come and ask what you want to eat, or tell you about the area specialties.  The food is really good here too, and inexpensive compared to Italy.  Mahn and I can have a good dinner, with good portions and each have a beer for about 20 Euros, pretty good.

Another view from our balcony. We're in farm country here, lots of cows and cute houses on large pieces of land.
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I asked the receptionist about the Sound of Music tour and she looked at me like I was speaking English, ha, ba-dum-bum.  I don't think she's ever heard of the movie and I think its safe to say its not anywhere near here...  I almost started singing the songs to help jog her memory, but I didn't want to make her feel bad, you know she may not have as good of a voice as I do.  Too bad for the other visitors to the tour, I've been gargling warm salt water all week to get my vocal cords warmed up.  It would've added so much to their experience.  Oh well... You win some, you lose some...

More beautiful Austrian mountains.
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I'm rambling now, suppose its time for me to sign off.  So we're using the free internet the motel offers, where you can't upload pictures.  We'll get internet before we leave and upload some pictures sometime in the next few days.  See you soon.  Love, Mahn and Heather