Monday, September 14, 2009

Top 10...day 1 in Austria

Oh, what a day...a long day, but a really fun day. We left at 9AM, and I am still posting pictures/blogging at 11PM. I still have to pack an overnight bag and then take a shower to get the chill out of my body - it rained most of the day, and we were out walking around in it. It was probably about 45 degrees and pouring, so the thought of a shower is intoxicating.

So, without further ado, here is Monday's top 10.

10. Spatezle for lunch - it is a regional dish I have had several times while in Germany. It was very yummy today - I had it at a cafe near the castle...a nice hot meal before we went into the castle. It is a noodle dish of sorts...really noodly macaroni type of thing for lack of a better description.

9. Living through the night after killing what to me was a HUGE spider on the wall. Spiders creep me out. I posted a photo to my FB page of it...eww grossed out thinking about it.

8. Getting to see the beautiful countryside of Germany. Green and lush and beautiful...why? Because it rains here - it rained on us all day.

7. Schloss Neuschweinstein - During my previous trips to Germany, I had only gone in the yellow castle. I always hoped to make it back to see the white castle, and I did. Crazy King Ludwig's castle!

6. I drove on an A Autobahn!!! A7, north to Ulm. Our driver wanted a nap, so I said "I will drive!" Went over 100 mph..well within the posted limit! I still got passed!

5. I got a hat from this cafe we ate dinner at - we needed translation help with the menu, and the lady that helped us out was crazy! Gave us all hats from an event they had last week and some Austrian schnapps. The stuff burns going down and would probably knock you out before you knew what hit you. One mini sip was all that was necessary.

4. Tomorrow's plans are to go to Innsbruck and spend the night in Salzburg. We are going bobsledding in Innbruck!

3. Jet lag not too awfully bad! I would be lying if I said I was not tired, but we went nonstop all day and it is 11 15.

2. I saw cattle being herded down the street from the window of my hotel room. There is a lot of grazing pasture around here, so cattle are prevalent. However, you don't see cattle being herded down an aspahlt road every day!!!

1. Got stopped by the Austrian border patrol upon re-entry into Austria. The other car got stopped first and then they flagged us over. Turns out we did not have the proper toll pass to drive on the highway in Austria - they got us when we came back into the country from Germany. Apparently, there are signs all over that say you need a pass, but 10 people in 2 cars never saw it. The border patrol guy was scary - I of course was driving at this point, and could not figure out why we were being stopped. I tried to tell the guy we didn't know, that we were tourists, but he had no part of it. He kept saying the same thing over and over, and I finally asked him what he wanted me to do. He said "Get out of the car" and my blood froze. I got out, and he said "You come pay". I said "I have cash" he said fine. I gave him 120 euro and off we went. I can laugh about it now...but I was terrified. We will get the right pass tomorrow.


That about wraps it up for the night...hope you are all well!

3 comments:

Infrequent Flyers said...

Sounds like a great time! I can't believe you can drive that fast over there--that's just crazy like King Ludwig! Hope you sleep well!!

the youngbergs said...

Sounds like a fabulous day overall! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip.....ENJOY!

Becky Andrews said...

Oh sounds awesome and that you are off and running - hopefully some sleeping too.