Switzerland/Italy/Austria
Gnorman
Fifth trip to Europe
Jul 22, 2006
based on 8 votes
Independent travel via rail
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Explore locations featured in this Traveler List:
Zurich, Lugano, Verona, Venice, Bolzano, Kufstein, Graz, Vienna
- Category: Perfect week or more
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Traveler type: Culture, Sightseeing, Active/Outdoors, Never been before
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Appeals to: Couples/romantics, Seniors, Budget travelers
- Seasons: Spring
- Tags: Switzerland 2006, Italy 2006, Austria 2006
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2 days here: explored Bahnhoffstr with exclusive shops from around the world, had dinner at Hotel St. Gottherd outdoors; 2nd day took tram #6 to the zoo and hiked a short distance above for an incredible view, dinner at Schweitzerhof (nice bar, expensive, and very nice dinner but with snotty headwaiter). |
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| This is a quirky place. The train arrives and we discovered the town proper is located way, way below (take the funiculore if you have luggage; otherwise there's a steep zig-zag paved path down). Stayed at Hotel Walter au Lac, right on the lake, in a great room (rather $$$). Walked to stop for the funiculore to Mt Bre, but it was under repair so we just strolled the city, had a light supper, and found the hotel has a free Internet room available so we made reservations for future stops, e-mailed family, and hit the hay early. Altogether a wonderful place for a few days, and it was a total surprise to find this place almost at the Switzerland/Italy border has palm trees! |
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| This city is rich in history (but what city in Italy isn't?) and we found the best deal here was the bus pass we bought that allowed access to everywhere in town. In addition to lunch by the Arena (the plaza here was full of tour groups: just not our cup of tea -- way too crowded), we toured Castelvecchio, then walked across the arched stone bridge and happened onto a charming area, Ponte Scaligero, along the river, Fiume Adige. Climbed way (I mean WAY, WAY) up lotsa stairs to San Pietro, then came down by Scalone S Bartolomeo, found a bus and went back to the Castelvecchio area for mid-afternoon snacks (incl grappa and iced chocolata). |
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Arrived in Venice without reservations, but headed out directly across bridge from the train station, into the medieval streets. Found a 3-star hotel (really tiny): they had no rooms but sent us to a colleague's hotel that was right on the Grand Canal (inquired and was told it's 4 to 5 meters deep; side canals are about 2 1/2 meters). Worked out great, and we then bought a 24-hour water bus pass. Here we discovered bitter Campari as a refreshing drink for a very hot afternoon. We were surprised not only by the heat in mid-May, but also by the tremendous crowds. Locals told us that was nothing, but in July the tourists pour into the place -- must be a bit of a mess. Taking it in stride, we (who are almost never out of the hotel after dark -- we're not timid, just cautious, and old: 59 and 81!) took the water bus to the Rialto Bridge for late-night drinks along the canal and didn't get back to the hotel until 10.30 PM. For old folks like us that was really something, and so romantic we just couldn't believe it. Rather a surprise the next day -- the blessed Venetians took a 1-day transportation strike, so we spent the day almost walking our legs off, going to Piazza San Marco (thousands and thousands of pigeons, and the site of many memorable old movies), and found the restaurant Antica Besseta by exploring way back in the extremely narrow lanes, some no more than about 30" wide. The trek was well worth the effort, and we felt we had had dinner at a truly local place without any other tourists. What a find! |
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| Another spontaneous spot for exploration. Found Bolzano to seem more German/Austrian than Italian. As a matter of fact, Bolzano is Bolzano in Italian and Bozen in German; also all street signs and menus are printed bilingually. Takes a while to figure out just what's going on. Simplifies things quite a lot. Arrived without reservations, but walked directly to the town center and sat down for a beer to reconnoiter. Several sizeable hotels surround the platz, and our waiter explained which hotels were expensive (troyer) and which were not so much (but not billig, or cheap). We were happy to find a room at Citta Stadthotel, a great place (98 EUR for double, with extensive breakfast), and found the town to be charming, with a festival going on and a street market and antique (truly) car show. Tons and tons of locals, hardly any tourists, maybe because of the time of year. Next day we took the cable car to Oberbozen, then a 99-year old train to Klobenstein for lunch. This little train stops along the way for hikers, and the route is very picturesque. What a blast! |
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| Kufstein is about as typical of what we expect a Tyrolean town to be as we've found yet. We inquired at the Tourist Information Office and got a room looking right out on the River Inn at an ancient hotel in an unbelieveably quaint street. Auracher-Loechl (try saying that!) is probably the oldest place in town, and the house musician there made it famous as the site at which the well-known (really?) Kufstein Song was written. There's extensive mural work on all the walls, exterior and interior, and totally helpful staff. Took a short boat cruise along the River Inn, and later took the funicular up to the town fortress. Also explored the town on foot, and found a statue of one of the famous town fathers, Andreas Hofer, in a quiet little park way above the cemetary. Also found that pumpkin seed oil is used extensively in local Tirol cuisine, and discovered what a lovely, light nutty flavor it has. Gotta look for some when we get home. That'll make for some delightful company dinners, with stories to go along with the food. |
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| Didn't really expect Graz to be as interesting a place as it turned out to be. Although there are no great, commanding mountains here, this is an old place with tremendous opportunity for appreciation of so many things. Found we could take our room without breakfast for a lot less than with, and also found a McDonald's right at the train station (also the turnaround location for all the busses/trams in town), so that's what we did and found it to be just fine. Went up Schlossbergbahn, a funicular (cost is included in the bus pass) to the top of a large landscaped garden area and casements that have been modernized to accommodate functions with food and entertainment on an almost nightly basis; also an ancient dungeon that's more than a little scary. Ate a snack up there that had shredded chestnut, whipped cream (sahne), and chocolate sauce. This is the place we learned that chestnut done this way is not to our taste, but it seems to be somewhat of a local delicacy -- who knew? Then took a tram to the Schlossberg. We thought this was so grand it must have been for a king, but found it was only for a prince. So, it's good to be Prince! What a place: huge, magnificent, on and on. There were about a dozen peacocks strutting around everywhere, one of which was totally white (from a distance, not moving, it seemed to be a concrete statue, but not so -- a real live bird). Found a terrific restaurant just outside the gate to the palace, don't recall the name, but it was one of the nicest dinners we had on the entire trip: peas, asparagus, and carrot with spinach noodles, in a parmesan-butter-cream sauce. Yum. |
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8. Wiener Neustadt
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| Honestly, the only reason we stopped here was that we found we were ending up with an extra day on our railpass. What a pleasant surprise! This historic town is fascinating. We found the Hotel Zentral (69 EUR for double, incl breakfast) right on the platz, and had a few unexpected adventures. Got locked (that's right: locked!) into the Dom during a wedding/high mass; enjoyed the local marching band made up of mature and very young people, all in full Austrian costume; and just had a very relaxing visit. Nothing much doing here, but the church bells here are extraordinary, and we would come back here in a heartbeat for a getaway. The town isn't geared to tourists, but the people seem to enjoy the activities themselves so much it's contagious. |
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What's to say about Vienna? This place is so perfect for our independent, non-structured, non-organized tour style, that we're ready to sell the house and move there. The music, the food, the "nothing is a problem, everything can be accommodated, and gracefully" attitude, just captured us. Schonbrunn Palace, the museums, the Ferris Wheel in the Third Man movie, Lippizaners, Donauturm (TV tower across the river Danube), even the Esperanto Museum (don't know exactly why, but it was interesting). Enjoyed everything so much that we've rented an apartment on the top floor of a 19th centure bldg "a block from where the president lives" for a whole month next summer. We're comin' back and gonna do this place like to deserves to be done. Enough said. |
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Compliment Gnorman
