Austria and the drive South...

So, we left the castles of Germany behind to get over the Alps and into Austria for the night. The drive was just amazing. Alex was very funny as she kept seeing thing after thing that was so beautiful she could not stop saying "Wow!"

So here's the famous Cooper for which we drove three days to Germany. Lenny said we'd share it, but since it's been over a month and the only chance I've had to date was on the drive here from Germany, I suppose it's really his car. This problem was solved by the fact that my car did finally arrive (in early June that is) and now I have the big "Mommy Mobile" and can keep up with the Italians.

So, back to the trip home. Driving the Alps was quite an experience. One that while I was not overly eager for, I would love to do again!

The views were tremendous.

And...now we are on the Austrian side.

We drove a few hours and ended up in Innsbruck for dinner. We found a lovely little hotel that had a great restaurant. Turns out they eat the same foods as the Germans and so we had a traditional "German" dinner of Schnitzel.

We did not have a lot of time in Innsbruck but we did do a little touring downtown before getting on the road. I long to go back there soon as spend more than half a day.

We spent the morning in the town square and visiting the famous Dome of St. Jakob. This place is the most amazing and just simply ornate one I've seen outside of St. Peters.

Can you imagine preaching from there?

So, those who've followed my photographs know that I tend to find the odd in midst of the normal everyday. Well, as we walked through the town I saw this tag on the street - No Cops. Lenny and Alex were forced into my art and did so in an agreeable manner - which is to say that Lenny went along with it because it shuts me up and Alex, of course, is game for anything! Don't be surprised if this shows up on our Christmas cards!

On over the border we went and crossed into Northern Italy. This border is amazing and the vineyards are tremendous. This view is of a cloister of nuns who make wine. We drove up the hills - with zig zag turns and all to have a great lunch on the Italian side of the border - only to realize that in Northern Italy the first language is actually - you guessed it - German!

It was Mother's Day so we just enjoyed the view and a great meal. Hmmm...sounds like food is a top priority, well, it's Italy after all!

We made this journey into a four day event. We drove further south to Verona, Italy. Which for Shakespeare fans is the famous home of Romeo and Juliet. Unfortunately, we had bad weather and so we did not have any good photos to share. The most interesting thing that happened after spending all that time in Germany what do we find in downtown Verona but a German Beer Festival! So, we had the traditional oversized cup of beer and on we went toward home.