Week 41-43: 300 Days in Austria
300 days ago we left America and moved to Austria.
3 days ago my family left Austria and headed back to America after almost two weeks of vacationing with us.
The past two weeks were filled with non-stop adventure. From Paragliding off the Dachstein mountain, walking side-by-side with alpacas and boating across the Traunsee, to exploring every nook and cranny of Venice.
Below is a brief summary of what we did each day with not one but three videos!
August 1
Our cat, Denzel, reunited with us! He had been staying in Kentucky for the last 10 months with my parents, because we were not able to bring three animals on the plane with us back in October. It is stressful bringing an animal on a plane with all the paperwork and the worry about whether or not they can hold their bladders. Thankfully, our animals have been really great travelers! I wrote a how to bring your dogs abroad post a few months ago, so I will probably write a “how to bring your cat abroad post” in the near future! Stay tuned.
Denzel unsure what is going on.
Dad and Denzel about to get on their first plane ride of the day.
Our Charlie pup and Denzel are best friends and the first few months after moving he seemed sad his cat brother was not here. When they were reunited two weeks ago, Charlie could hardly contain himself. Watch the video to see the reunion (at the 1:10 mark).
The Pack is back.
August 2
We drove to Hallstatt and paraglided off the Dachstein mountain. 25 minutes of gliding down to the bottom. We flew with SkyClub Austria and cannot wait to go back to do it again!
Living my best life 2900 meters up.
Mom making her way down.
Dad just landed.
August 3
We took the Grünberg cable car and hiked an hour to The Ramsaualm hut at Laudachsee. We did this hike on halloween during our second week here and said we would be back. We remembered it being a flat and easy hike, but my Mom would probably tell you different. Oops! 😊
Curious about what we carry in our hiking backpacks? I will share a post about that someday soon, too.
Hiking with our baby dogs.
August 4
For my 29th birthday we took a road trip to Český Krumlov – a city in the Czech Republic just under 2 hours from Gmunden. The town is intertwined with the Vltava River.
Here is a video of our day in Český Krumlov and a brief recap of our time there.
We arrived around 10 AM and started our morning with a free walking tour. On the tour we saw the castle, the tower, the Bears' moat, Cloak Bridge, the Jesuit Garden (best view point in town), the gothic church of St.Vit and much more.
Standing in front of a view of the town.
We learned the paintings on the buildings are to mimic bricks because it is cheaper to paint the bricks than to actually use them.
Standing in the courtyard of the castle.
After the tour we sat along the Vltava River and had lunch at Laibon, a vegan friendly restaurant. A popular activity to do in the summer here is the raft down the river, so every 15 seconds a new group of rafters floated by cheerfully yelling “ahoj!” or “ahoy” to all who could hear them.
Our table along the Vltava River.
Our vegan plate Eric and I shared.
Homemade lemonade with mint leaves.
August 5
We dressed up and drove to Salzburg to attend a Mozart dinner concert. First, we stopped at Schloss Hellbrunn, other wise known by Americans as the residence of the Von Trapps in the Sound of Music.
Standing at the entrance of Schloss Hellbrunn
August 6
We got home late the night before, so we stayed close to Gmunden today cleaning and catching up on some laundry. In the afternoon, we walked down the Esplanade and took a boat ride on the Traunsee. Charlie was so worried about my parents and sister being in their own boat. He watched and whined for them throughout the entire boat ride.
Charlie on the boat
August 7
We started our day at the best view point in Gmunden – The Gmundnerberg.
Eric and I on the Gmundnerberg
After recreating Julie Andrews singing “The Hills are Alive”, we left and drove to the Ebensee Memorial Tunnels – a sub camp of the Mauthausen Concentration Camp.
Eric walking down the tunnel
We came here in April, but the tunnels were closed due to the cold weather.
The main purpose of Ebensee was to provide slave labor for the construction of the enormous underground tunnels which were to be used for research purposes and the development of the intercontinental rocket. In all, almost 5 miles of underground facilities were built by camp inmates within about 16 months.
Inside the tunnel.
After visiting the camp, we drove to a farm 30 minutes away and walked three alpacas. Simba, Bacardi, and Tzar are all half brothers with the same dad.
With the Alpacas
August 8-10
After a week of Austrian adventures, we made our way south to Venice! We were lucky to come here when we did. Normally the streets are packed with people and it takes hours to get on a water taxi. Because of covid, there are no cruise ships and only a fraction of the people usually here.
No one drives in Venice. Transportation is all done by boat. We parked our car and then took a ferry over to the Island. After we arrived at our hotel and got settled in, we purchased our 24 hour water taxi passes. These passes allow unlimited travel on the island and the islands surrounding it.
Our Hotel, La Palazzina Veneziana.
Our first water taxi ride was to Burano Island. A very Instagrammable fishing village known for the extraordinary artisanal production of Venetian lace and colorful homes.
Shannon, Mom, and Dad posing in Burano.
The homes are so colorful because fisherman needed to be able to navigate back home and, on foggy days, the bright colors would be visible from a distance.
It was funny to see the juxtaposition of trendy tourists capturing their Instagram content with local women stitching their latest lace creations.
Lace makers in Burano
We spent about 2 hours on Burano and then headed back to Venice and meandered through the alleys, admiring all the canals and architecture.
One of many canals at sunset.
The canal at night.
The next morning we hopped on the water taxi and went to the San Marco area. You still have to wear masks on the ferry, so that, mixed with 90 degree weather, make for some pretty hot rides.
My reflection on the water taxi.
I had not planned for a tour or reserved tickets to go inside the museums and cathedral, so we just walked around them instead. After taking an ice cream and coffee break, we took another water taxi over to Lido island and ate lunch by the Adriatic Sea!
Our view for lunch.
The Rialto Bridge on the Grand Canal.
August 11-12
After a lot of walking and a sweaty few days, we made our way back into Austria. Since my family was flying out of Vienna, it made the most sense to stay there the last nights before their flight. We stayed at Hotel Stefanie, the oldest hotel in Vienna and strolled through the Augarten.
A building visible through the trees at Augarten.
During the Second World War, military authorities chose the Augarten as one of several places to house massive buildings for anti-aircraft defense – flak towers - to protect the inner city from Allied bombing.
A flak tower in Augarten.
We also checked off the Spanish Riding School, old town, St. Stephens Cathedral, and Cafe Landtmann.
Standing in front of St. Stephens Cathedral.
It was a long 12 days, but it went by so quickly. We saw a lot, walked a lot, and sweated a lot more. If you made it this far and are still reading, thank you! I love capturing our adventures and sharing them with all who want to follow along.
We have never been homesick in the 300 days we have been here, but once my family left I was reminded of what we left back home. We are excited for more friends and family to come visit us in the coming months.
