Except for a brief visit to Innsruck, we did not stay at Austria for long, but I have a fancy for Austria and the Alps, simply because of one movie: the Sound of Music.  I like everything and everyone in it: Maria, the von Trapp children, the escape through the Alps, and of course, the music.  This is the movie that I viewed three times in two days, on VHS tapes.

All pictures posted here were taken by us. Those from Google, brochure, and the web were duly noted. Most of my posted photos are still missing captions because I do not have time for them yet.

• Day 2 (6-17-2009): Arriving in London, visited Big Ben and Parliament Buildings
• Day 3 (6-18-2009): city sightseeing, Windsor Castle, & Cruise on the River Thames
• Day 4 (6-19-2009): Taking coach to cross the English Channel, then to Amsterdam
• Day 5 (6-20-2009): sightseeing in Amsterdam, and canals cruising
• Day 6 (6-21-2009): Cruise on the Rhine, and a stop at Rothenburg
• Day 7 (6-22-2009): Passing Austria from Munich, then a stop at Cortina
• Day 8 (6-23-2009): Visiting Venetian glassblowers, then Tuscan (Venice-Florence area), and a Gondola boat-ride
• Day 9 (6-24-2009): Visiting Florence and Pisa the leaning tower
• Day 10 (6-25-2009): entering Switzerland and visited Lugano
• Day 11 (6-26-2009): a Swiss town Lucerne and a cruise on Lake Lucerne；group picture before heading for Paris
• Day 12 (6-27-2009): Visiting Paris, including the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and the Palace of Versailles.

Note: Day 1 was flying from PDX (Portland, Oregon) to JFK (Kennedy Airport in New York), then to LHR (London), while Day 13 was flying home from Paris.

"Sound of Music" being played while passing Austria

100 Best Things to do in Austria （by Jen Reviews）

Innsbruck, Austria, & the Golden Roof

Below from Wikepedia: Innsbruck is the capital city of the federal state of Tyrol in western Austria. It is located in the Inn Valley at the junction with the Wipptal (Sill River), which provides access to the Brenner Pass, some 30 km south of Innsbruck. Located in the broad valley between high mountains, the Nordkette (Hafelekar, 2,334 m) in the north, Patscherkofel (2,246 m) and Serles (2,718 m) in the south, it is an internationally renowned winter sports centre, and hosted the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics. It is to host the 1st Winter Youth Olympics in 2012.

The Golden Roof (German: Goldenes Dachl) is a landmark in Innsbruck, Austria built in 1500. It was decorated with 2657 fire-gilded copper tiles for Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor. The reliefs on the balcony show coats of arms, symbols and other figures in his life. It was built in the early 15th century as the residence of the Tirolean sovereigns. The Golden Roof actually is the three-story balcony on the central plaza at the heart of the Old Town. It was constructed for Emperor Maximilian I to serve as a royal box where he could sit in luxury and enjoy tournaments in the square below. Completed at the dawn of the 16th century, the Golden Roof was built in honor of Maximilian's second marriage, to Bianca Maria Sforza of Milan. Not wishing to alienate the allies gained by his first marriage, to Maria of Burgundy, he had an image of himself between the two women painted on his balcony.

 

Cortina， Italy

Below from Wikipedia: Cortina d'Ampezzo (German: Hayden) is a town and municipality in the southern (Dolomitic) Alps and the province of Belluno, Veneto, northern Italy. Located in the heart of the Dolomites in an alpine valley, it is a popular winter sport resort known for its ski-ranges, scenery, accommodations, shops and après-ski scene. It hosted the 1956 Winter Olympics, as well as various films and world cup events. The memorable 1981 stunt sequences having gunners on motorcycles chase Roger Moore as James Bond on skis were filmed on its slopes, as were several scenes in the film Cliffhanger.

Updated May 7, 2017
网页更新 2017-05-07