Sunny Skies on the way to Vienna

We awoke this morning to blue skies, giving us the opportunity to actually get more than just a glimpse of the beautiful mountains that surround the village of Zell am Ziller. Breakfast involved excitement, once again, by the hotel staff, and the waitress actually shook our hands good-bye when we left. Marty asked the receptionist if they see many Americans and the girl exclaimed, "No! You are our first this year!" I attribute that to the fact that this hotel does not take credit cards and they insist on payment in advance via a bank draft. Not too many Americans would cater to the extra work involved in holding the room. The place is very nice if anyone is ever interested in visiting Zell am Ziller.

Although we knew that we had lots of ground to cover in driving to Vienna, we decided to get out early and attempt to see some of the local sights along the way, prior to picking up the Autobahn and driving into the big city. We stopped at the Museum Tiroler Bauernhofe, which we found with no problem due to excellent sign posts. This is an Open Air Museum very similar to the one that we visited in Slovakia, but this one was located in the countryside rather than near a large city.

The museum is set up with typical Tirolean houses from the Northern, Southern and Eastern areas of Tirol. These are actual houses dating from as early as the 16th century, that were donated to the museum. We were able to rent an English audio guide to help us understand the way of life of Tiroleans. The day was beautiful and the walking was pleasant without the rain. Typical to the area of Southern Tirol, we needed climb up a rather steep grade in order to reach the village. Once again we were surprised to see Stations of the Cross set up along the path to the village. Perhaps there is some connection between the suffering involved climbing up the hill and remembering the suffering that Jesus experienced. Who knows? I definitely have to read up on this when I get home. I can't imagine this would be a coincidence.

After trotting through a lot of houses, we decided to hit the road and stop in nearby Rattenberg. This beautiful village looks like it stepped right out of the Middle Ages. It has been kept up in Medieval style and it has a certain charm about it. Walking through the town was exciting for Marty, as the cobblestone streets were filled with antique cars due to an auto rally being held there today. It was tough dragging him away to view some of the historical sights of the town, but I promised him that I'd be brief and he could look at the cars in his leisure.

We couldn't stay too long because we had a long drive ahead of us. Traffic was pretty busy, since it is Friday, but we arrived at our destination west of the city around 6:00 p.m. We managed to find the hotel quite easily with the help of Garmin Girl.

This place is on the top of a hill and we have a beautiful view of the city of Vienna from our room. Actually, our room is large enough for us to have brought the entire family, with one masterbed, a twin, a baby port-a-crib and a sleeper sofa. It is on the top floor, which seems to have been a trend for this trip. There wasn't one place where we didn't have to lug our suitcases up several flights of stairs. I find it amusing that one must put the room key into a lock and turn it in order to use the lights in the place. Not a bad idea!

We strolled down the street to a local Heurigen restaurant, also known as "new wine" bar. What fun that was to experience. We were directed downstairs where we were met by the woman in charge, a lovely, exuberant local who spoke English like a pro. There were foods in a case, like the deli, and you could choose what you wanted, and everything was weighed. You paid by the pound. So, I had a Spinach strudel with sheep cheese and Marty had roasted pork, a huge dumpling and sauerkraut. Then, we took our food upstairs, and outside at a table and we were able to order from a rather extensive wine list, all wines made locally by friends of the owner. We chose to eat outside at a table and enjoy the beautiful view of the city. And, we only had to walk a few houses back to our hotel. Can't beat that!

Internet is available here only in the public lobby so Marty is reading up on possible sights for us to visit tomorrow in Vienna while I write this and post my photos. Can't wait to see what adventures await us!