We are now 4 travelling across Austria from East to West. We have managed to jam all 8 bags
& 4 people into our Opel Zavira, which is a fairly large station wagon.
Austrias' reputation for being a pretty country is well earned, as we found on our trip
through rolling farmland, with kilometres of corn & wheat & the tall, dense & dark forrests
that are scattered over the country. We spent our first night back on the road at a guest house
in a very small village. The guest house was the only thing in town & was actually closed as they
were hosting a very large wedding, but they took pity on us & allowed us to stay. As this
was the only venue we had to travel to the next village for dinner.(about 2klm).
Great dinner & we appreciated it as we had missed lunch.
The next evening found us in Braunau (Hitlers birth place).This is the area in which our
family came from, in the nearby town of Ranshofen. Our mother used to work in the konditerei
(coffee & ice cream shop)in the main square of Braunau & used to cycle the 5k to & from
work in summer & winter. We had coffee & pastry at this shop & thought of mum walking these
same floors 60 years ago.The same family still owns this shop.
We think we found the factory where dad worked & will confirm this with some research when
we get back. We found the first house that dad built, near the crystal clear creek where
oma used to kneel on a pad & wash the clothes. The same creek where Rudy fell in during a
wash day. The little platform is still there.
We found the second house that dad built, where oma hand made the bricks. This is the house
& oma they left behind & never saw again when they came to Australia.
We visited the school Roz attended & had a beer in the Brauhaus at the town square.
It was a melancholy experience.
Our guesthouse where we were staying had an incredible lady running it & she gave us plenty
of entertainment during breakfast & dinners.
The next day saw us heading South through colourful rural areas & through the outskirts of
Salzburg & onward into the early hills of the Austrian Alps(think Hiedi & Sound of Music).
The scenery is truly storybook pretty & we spent a pleasant night in on of these postcard
villages. The next day we completed our southerly heading at Villach near the the Slovakian
& Italian border & started heading Northeast slowly heading toward our departure point of
Vienna.We have again spent the night in a lovely old building on a hilltop near another
old church & castle. We are now so fat we are ready to explode.
& 4 people into our Opel Zavira, which is a fairly large station wagon.
Austrias' reputation for being a pretty country is well earned, as we found on our trip
through rolling farmland, with kilometres of corn & wheat & the tall, dense & dark forrests
that are scattered over the country. We spent our first night back on the road at a guest house
in a very small village. The guest house was the only thing in town & was actually closed as they
were hosting a very large wedding, but they took pity on us & allowed us to stay. As this
was the only venue we had to travel to the next village for dinner.(about 2klm).
Great dinner & we appreciated it as we had missed lunch.
The next evening found us in Braunau (Hitlers birth place).This is the area in which our
family came from, in the nearby town of Ranshofen. Our mother used to work in the konditerei
(coffee & ice cream shop)in the main square of Braunau & used to cycle the 5k to & from
work in summer & winter. We had coffee & pastry at this shop & thought of mum walking these
same floors 60 years ago.The same family still owns this shop.
We think we found the factory where dad worked & will confirm this with some research when
we get back. We found the first house that dad built, near the crystal clear creek where
oma used to kneel on a pad & wash the clothes. The same creek where Rudy fell in during a
wash day. The little platform is still there.
We found the second house that dad built, where oma hand made the bricks. This is the house
& oma they left behind & never saw again when they came to Australia.
We visited the school Roz attended & had a beer in the Brauhaus at the town square.
It was a melancholy experience.
Our guesthouse where we were staying had an incredible lady running it & she gave us plenty
of entertainment during breakfast & dinners.
The next day saw us heading South through colourful rural areas & through the outskirts of
Salzburg & onward into the early hills of the Austrian Alps(think Hiedi & Sound of Music).
The scenery is truly storybook pretty & we spent a pleasant night in on of these postcard
villages. The next day we completed our southerly heading at Villach near the the Slovakian
& Italian border & started heading Northeast slowly heading toward our departure point of
Vienna.We have again spent the night in a lovely old building on a hilltop near another
old church & castle. We are now so fat we are ready to explode.
Cornfields in rural Austria.
Braunau town square.
The house our family left to go to Australia. I took this picture from about the same angle as one we have at home in black & white with our oma in front. The house looks the same.
Morning tea in the shop in which our mother worked.
The outside of the above shop.
The first house dad built. It is actually L shaped but you can't see the other leg.The house has been recently renovated as the external woodwork is all new.
The creek in which oma washed. Note the little platform on the right.
Leaving our guesthouse & the very colourful lady running it.
Entering the foothills of the Alps & the many picture perfect villages in it.
A scene from the road side.
Although we chose not to use the Autobahn, so that we could take our time & see more, it was never far away, usually above us.
Another road side stop.
