Friday, March 18, 2011

Road Trip: Part Six: Austria


Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Austria all in one day. 

All of Austria was passed through in the dark. By the time we had gone through the border crossing, dusk was setting in. It had again been cloudy and foggy most of the day, and the night was not going to be an exception. 

Driving through Switzerland and Liechtenstein had been along the foothills, other than a few incursions over some mountain passes. Driving across Austria was up and down twisty roads or through 5 kilometre long tunnels. It wasn't wasted time, driving in the dark. It gave us a view of a few lit up hillside fortification castles and ruined walls, lending an atmosphere of fantasy to the drive. In one hairpin of the road sat an old inn, overlooking the valley. 

According to a roadside sign, we had entered the Tirolian Mountains. Unfortunately, we had entered behind a series of slow trucks and micro-cars, and ahead of some locals and speedy transport trucks. The occasional jerk passed the building queue, regardless of the falling snow, the blind corners and the steep slope. 

After going down the backside of whatever we had gone up, we neared the Austrian-German border. Because we could, we had decided to stay in Austria. On the night of separate hotels, I had messaged Matt and Vicki with a couple hotel options, and the instruction to book upon agreement. By Pflach, our destination, no one could remember the name of the guesthouse. Of course, this meant no one knew the address. We found it through sheer force of will. The guesthouse overlooked the quiet rail line and main road of Pflach. It was a bit horror-film, with the settled fog minimising the field of vision. 

The next day, we stayed for a great breakfast, eaten in a dining room. Matt noticed a hotel bill from 1921, and I saw old photos of the site. Now, there are a main house and two outbuilding of rooms. Before, it was just a farm house. Whatever else it is, it is close to our next destination, Germany. 

Next Installment: German crazy castle; Munich.     

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