No Kangaroos in Austria!!

Wow, we are loving Austria!! They sell t-shirts here that say "No Kangaroos in Austria"! Ha! Reminds me of the begining of Dumb and Dumber!!

We got here on Wednesday after a full day on the trains. The train from Venice to Verano Italy was a friggin cattle car! It was so hot and of course the AC was not working. We knew we were in trouble when we boarded the train and all of the windows were open. It was what they call a "regional train", so there was no first class (the rail passes we bought only come in first class and we have been loving that), no restaurant car, straight back vinyl seats, and a very bumpy ride. Fortunately that part of the trip was only 1 1/2 hours. Then we got on a really nice train for the next 4 1/2 hours to Innsbruk Austria. We met a young girl from Italy and a guy from China on the train. They shared our little compartment and we talked the whole way. It was very interesting talking about the governments and daily life in each of our different countries. Especially the contrast of China! The 4 1/2 hours flew by and we hated to say goodbye to them.

We got off the train with no idea of where we were going, but we found a room right away and were able to walk all around Innsbruk. It is another adorable town that looks like a little Disney Land village. It is surrounded by the Alps, snow-capped mountains all around. One thing we noticed right away was how clean it is! We couldn't find a single piece of trash on the streets or sidewalks. Definitely the cleanest place we have seen so far.

We took a bus to the airport the next day and rented a car. Another Mercedes just like the one we rented in Germany. Then we programmed the GPS for "No Highways" and took off for Salzburg. It was a beautiful ride through the Alps all day. We stopped at a town called Zell Am See, where we were hoping to spend the night. We were shocked right away because there were muslims everywhere! Maybe I shouldn't call them muslims, I don't know... Arabs, Indians?? I'm talking about women completely covered in black with just a tiny slit for their eyes while their husbands where shorts and tank-tops and ray ban sunglasses! It was 100 degrees and I can't imagine how uncomfortable it must be under all that material! We thought we had taken a wrong turn and drove to India somehow. They were everywhere! Anyway, we checked out 2 hotels and were about to check in at one when I off-handedly asked about air conditioning. The lady said there is no A/C in the whole town! It is never this hot here and today's temperature was extremely out of the ordinary. We checked another hotel that was over 350 euro a night and had no A/C. Needless to say, we got back in the car and drove the rest of the way to Salzburg, where we did find AC in the hotel rooms.

Yesterday we drove over a $35 toll road that winds through the alps. It was absolutely amazing. The road itself is impressive in how difficult it must have been to build and the views were outstanding. We drove it from end to end and it took all day. Then we found a room in an adorable place at the end of the toll road that had great views of the Alps. There was a full moon last night too, so that was a bonus.

Today we took a similar ride that brought us back into Italy. We had a bit of a scare at the border too! Italy is the only country that we have seen any kind of border control. There was a soldier there when we got to the border and he didn't speak English at all. He came up to my window and barked out some Italian, I said "I'm sorry, I only speak English", then he barked out a whole bunch more Italian and eventually held his hand up and told us to wait. So, we waited, and waited, and waited a little more, we started to get a little anxious and then suddenly he flagged us on and directed us down a narrow side road. The road eventually became almost too narrow for our car and seemed to be going nowhere. Then, it curved around and we were back on the main road and on the Italy side. Another soldier waved us on and we were on our way! Not sure what all the hoop-la was about.

This mountain road was not a toll road and at times was pretty darn scary! It often became a single lane with sheer drops on the side. The temp dropped to almost freezing and it poured rain and hailed on us a bit too!! That didn't last very long though and the views were just as impressive as yesterday. Funny, it's way up in the mountains and there are free range cattle. We came around a sharp bend and there were a bunch of cows in the road!!

Tonight we are back in Innsbruk. Tomorrow we are going to drive into Germany to see the Van Ludwig castle. It is only about an hour and a half from here. It is the castle that the Disney Land castle is based on and is supposed to be pretty cool.

Well, enough babbling. Here are some pics...

The view from the train station

In Innsbruk, I assume it is important

Innsbruk

Cool detail, just one example

That's in Euros, and it's in liters. 1.32 dollars to the Euro, 3.8 liters to a gallon, you do the math (it eqauls too much!)

This is the walking around view in Innsbruk

Alps!

This is a sporty Smart car.

Free range sheep too!

That's a glacier!!

We hiked up to this waterfall

This was awesome!! We happened upon it today and we had such a blast! It's like an alpine slide / roller coaster. I stopped and waited for Teeny. When you go full speed it really flies and it was a pretty long trip down the mountain. We took a gondola to the top and rode this back down.

This is part of the road in Italy.

Moo!

There was a music festival going on here in Innsbruk tonight.

I don't know what this has to do with traditional Austrian music, but she was drawing the biggest crowd!

Rome to Venice - Hit it and quit it!

We had one hell of a train ride from Sicily to Rome! The AC was broken in our little compartment and the train was very full. Three loud Italian guys shared our compartment and carried on a heated conversation for about half the trip. They may have been talking about the weather for all we know, but we have noticed that Italians always sound like they're arguing, and they talk so damn loud! About half way through the trip the conductor came by and told us he had found another compartment with good AC and we could move. Teeny and I chose solace over comfort and remained in the compartment with no AC. It got pretty annoying to have three guys screaming at each other in Italian in the tiny compartment. Once they were gone it seemed so quiet!

We got to Rome at around 11 pm and found our hotel with just a bit of aimless wandering. We stayed at the Hotel California (which was operated by a Chinese man)! We had great entertainment watching three prostitutes working the corner below our window! Crazy place, prostitutes doing their thing right next to an outdoor restaurant with families eating dinner.

The next morning we did laundry at the laundromat across the street and then we bee-lined it back to the train station. We got there about 5 minutes before the next train to Venice and we were off. This was a nice Eurostar train that goes about 130 mph and had great AC! Oh, the best part was when we went to use the automated ticket machine in Rome (I wrote about this scam in my previous posting on Rome). We were so ready for a scammer to approach us and it didn't even take ten seconds. No sooner did we start punching buttons on the machine and this street person was in our face trying to "help" us. Teeny and I were so ready for it and as soon as she opened her mouth we attacked! I think we shocked the hell out of her when we both got right back into her face and told her to get the hell a way from us! It was almost comical!!

The trip to Venice went fine and we met a nice young couple from Norway that told us a lot about their country. We really want to check it out, but it is one of the most expensive parts of Europe.

Unfortunately, Venice was a bit of a bummer from the start. The place is beautiful, just like all the pictures, and it is very impressive when you walk out of the train station and suddenly there it is right in front of you. However, it is such a tourist trap. As you walk around you feel like you are walking down the midway at a carnival. The vendors up and down the streets haggle you and try to coax you into their store or restaurant. They will even grab your arm and try to hold you up so they can finish their pitch. It gets tiring as you are always trying to not make eye contact with them, or pretending you don't hear them, and then finally fighting them off when they get in your face. It didn't help that we are experiencing the hottest weather we have seen so far. Yesterday had to be in the nineties and it was extremely humid! Other than all the pushy vendors, Venice was great. A really unique place that looks just like all the pictures and movies we have seen over the years.

Well, gotta run, we are heading back to the train station this morning to catch a train to Innsbruk Austria, we are finally getting out of Italy!!!

Ladies of the night in Rome, they seemed to be having a pretty good time. The little chubby one was dancing around and bouncing her boobs and the other two were laughing hysterically.

This is the view of Venice as soon as you walk out of the train station, very impressive. You don't get a glimpse of it from the train.

Classic Gondola boat. We did not take a ride, they want 100 euro for a 40 minute trip!

All of a sudden this mob of hara-krishnas came out of nowhere. They had 2 drums and a microphone and were jamming out pretty good!

Freaking graffiti is everywhere. I mentioned it before in Pisa, but we have seen it all over Italy. Such a shame!!

Typical canal. They are like streets in Venice.

The view from our hotel room window.

I didn't know these were a thing in Venice, but they sell them everywhere.

Streets of Venice, no cars are allowed.

Backpacker Teeny!

Leaving Sicily!

I only have a few minutes to post as Teeny and I are packing up to catch a train back to Rome this morning. I wish I had more time, I could go on for several pages abut our experiences over the last 10 days!
In a nut shell, we have had the time of our lives here in Sicily! The VR Club (that we were so suspicious of in my last post) turned out to be amazing! Basically, we got to stay in a very exclusive resort while they were preparing the place to open for the season. The place is obviously very expensive, but we made a deal with them and got it for 40 euro a night! By far the cheapest place we have stayed in so far. We kept saying that the place was like being on a cruise without the boat. There were several restaurants, multiple bars, an outdoor theater, a botique, a salon, a private beach with lounges and umbrellas and a bar, and a spa center. The staff was great and we made a lot of great new friends. We have not seen any Americans in Sicily and everyone treated us like we were celebrities. Every staff member that we got to know said that they dream of coming to America. We were practically the only guests there until the last night. They told us they were expecting over 400 people to check in on the Saturday that we were leaving. There were perhaps 50 people that came in on the Friday night before we left and that was a great way to end our stay. It was the first night that they put on a show at the theater and even though it was all in Italian, it was very funny and we really enjoyed it. Then we went to the bar! Holy crap these Italians love to party, and they really wanted to include us in their good time. They wanted us on the dance floor and wow do they love to dance! They have a funny thing about bringing chairs onto the dance floor and dancing on them. The "band" was a lady singing and a guy with a sax. The music was karaoke style and the lady sang and the guy filled in with his sax. His sax had a cordless mike and he was on the dance floor most of the time. It was really great to see the place rocking after being the only ones there for a week. I can't imagine what it must be like when they are full. Also, while were there we took a train to a town called Cefalu. It was a gorgeous village built on the mountainside next to the sea. There is an old castle ruins there that dates back to the 11th century. It is on the top of a very steep cliffside right above the sea. Beautiful views of the village and the whole area. The castle itself was pretty amazing too. They had systems inside to support all of the people with food and water for months at a time because sometimes the enemy would try to wait them out outside the castle walls.
Shoot, I gotta fly! After leaving the VR Club we went to the other side of Sicily so that we could take an excursion on Mount Etna. It is a huge volcano that last erupted in April of this year! The town we stayed in was called Masacali. There is ash everywhere. Actually, it is like black gritty sand. Mount Erna was really cool. We got to hike, see old lava flows, and explore a tunnel.
More to come. We will be on trains for the next 2 days so I will have plenty of time to write some of this stuff up. The best part is the pictures anyway, so here you go....

Our new friend Daniel, stars in the video I posted.

This is the way we wash our clothes, wash our clothes, wash our clothes....

Castle at Cefalu

Looking down on Cefalu

The beach at the VR Club

The view from our room at the VR Club

The show, it was a riot!

Our new friend Mariellla.

Mount Etna, brewing slowly...

Old lava flow

More lava, imagine that when it flowed red hot!

Here the lava crossed the road, there is still a road sign on the right.

This crater blew ash and rock for 2 days