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Off the tourist trail… and into the trees

Tuesday, July 30th, 2013

One of the great things about living in Europe is that we get to see and do things that locals take for granted and most tourists never get to experience.  I’ve written before about our town’s Kirchtag, which is the largest festival of it’s kind in Austria.  However, most towns, no matter how small, have one or something similar with music, food, and of course a beer tent.   While my parents were here, I heard about one in a town nearby and we went to see one of the old traditions that they still practice here… the Maibaum (a Maypole in English).  If you’ve ever wondered how they actually put them up, we found the answer…  a lot of people with long sticks, and a promise of a cold drink at the end.

In progress:

The finished product!

If it’s Thursday it must be Switzerland

Sunday, July 28th, 2013

It’s been quite a while since my last blog, but I will be catching up over the next week!  Since my last post so much has happened, so I have some good trips to post.  First, my parents came to visit in May.  This year there were 4 long weekends in that month (I love all the holidays here!), so we took the opportunity to do some exploring with them.

We first headed to Innsbruck, and no matter how many times we go there, it’s always a nice experience.  In some cities you can ofter forget where you are, with such generic buildings and shops.  However in Innsbruck, the dramatic backdrop of the mountains is a constant and beautiful reminder.

The next stop was Schaffhausen in Switzerland, but not before a quick “country grab” detour through tiny Liechtenstein.  This was the first time any of us visited Schaffhausen and a stroll through the old town is definitely worthwhile.  The Munot fortress is unique, but the Rhine Falls are star attraction here.  We finished off the day with an overnight in a lovely guesthouse in Germany, complete with a perfect little beer garden.  The next day we planned to drive directly Strasbourg, France to bring our country total for the trip to 5.  However, I had a little talk with the owner of the guesthouse and she recommended a detour to see the “real Alsace” as she put it.  It was a fantastic idea and we spent the afternoon in a town called Keyserberg, where nearly all the houses  are still half-timbered and the whole village is surrounded by vineyards.  If it couldn’t get more picturesque, we topped it off with an Alsatian version of a pizza called Tarte Flambee and a stop at chocolate factory.  We eventually did make it to Strasbourg, which is actually quite a large city, but the old town area feels very comfortable and even small.

Stuttgart, German was our next stop and we spent a rainy day at the Mercedes museum. While you all know that I’m more of  BMW person, it’s pretty hard to leave this place without a feeling that you must get one for your next car. We finished off the trip with a stay in Tuebingen, a university town with ancient leaning buildings that make you wonder how they stay up.  Finally back home to Austria to re-charge and get ready for the next weekend!

Whitewater at the Rhine Falls:

My next car??  Only if it comes with a GPS!

I’m not sure what is keeping up these buildings in Tuebingen.

The most patient pups ever…  waiting for him to drop a bit of that bratwurst.