Days 57-61: A taste of Central Europe
Austria, Germany and Switzerland
23.07.2011
We have been all over the place since our last post. After leaving Salzburg (and returning the next day to pick up Todd’s cell phone) we spent a night out in Lofer, a little village out in the Austrian mountains. It was very pretty and we had a great day but the black clouds moved on in at 5pm and so we spent the rest of the night dodging rain drops! Still the little tent held up and we were grateful to be dry the next morning! A brief stay in Germany the following night gave us a chance to see Lake Constance and explore the surrounding villages. The area was pretty with vineyards and orchards everywhere but we were not so keen on the weather forecast and so decided to keep moving into Switzerland.
Someone needs to let Switzerland know that it is summertime. It was so cold that for the first time in months we had to delve into the bottom of our bags to find jeans and long sleeves. While it didn’t provide much sunshine, it didn’t let us down when it came to the scenery. We stayed in Interlarken but loved the whole Jungfrau region. Lauterbrunnen is the place to stay for anyone heading in this direction. It has everything one would expect from a buzzing little ski town – spectacular mountains (of course), ultra green valleys and the best wee cafe this side of the English channel.
We spent our days walking, had a few gondola rides, explored the little hilltop villages, saw lots of waterfalls and drank a fair bit of coffee. It was up there as one of our favourite spots of the trip although we couldn’t stay too long as it was killing the budget. The franc is so strong (and the pound is so weak) that even a brief stop at McDonalds set us back about $50 NZD! Ouch! Nevertheless Lauterbrunnen is on the list of places to come back to once our bank account recovers from this trip.
From Switzerland we had planned to head back up through Germany but after a few days of rain we are chasing sunshine and France looked like it was more likely to supply some rays. I didn’t tell Todd that the change in route also meant a detour through the best factory shopping in France and then of course through the centre of Champagne (what a shame)! He is going to be stoked when he works that one out!
Only a week left in Europe so starting to get organised for a busy few days in Londontown – can’t wait to catch up with all the Londoners
Au revoir,
Love H&T xx
Photos...
Austria
Camping Austria
I'm not sure the wee Golf fits in around these parts...
St Martin - Austria
Walking Austria
Lauterbrunnen
Trummelbach Falls
Under the falls
Views of the valley from Murren
Fantastic photos, glorious scenery. I bet it will be good to get home and wash your clothes and recharge your batteries for the next stage of your travels
thanks for all of the news from your European trip
Stay safe and well.
Carolyn
23.07.2011 by Carolyn