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If you have never connected through Heathrow, or are planning to connect, you have a miserable treat in store for you. This is a cautionary article - just so you know what to expect among Heathrow's FOUR terminals.
We flew Munich to London on Lufthansa, landing in Terminal 2, and then had two hours to connect to our United, London-Chicago flight out of Terminal 3. You'd think that's plenty of time, right?
This is the routine:
1. After getting off Lufthansa in Terminal 2, walking close to a mile as rapidly as possible, there is SECURITY in front of you. Hundreds of passengers who had just gotten off planes being directed into TWO lines for additional scanning. We had a 3:40pm flight and it was now 2:30pm. ONE HOUR later, finally through Security. Next?
Continue reading "Traveling Through London/Heathrow Airport" »
We have noticed four major changes over our 30 years of European Travel.
1. Food - The Portion Sizes. The two of us used to walk away from a meal, starving, because European portions were much smaller than ours. A quarter of a chicken was normal for them, but not for us Americans used to eating a half-chicken, probably raised on steroids. How that has changed! Portions are now Huge with a capital H. Dinner the other night included: soup, salad bar, a dinner plate of Mixed Grill (small steak and pork chop) surrounded with enough French Fries for three people, grilled vegetables and desert! This was a normal, half-pension size meal for 8 Euros! Not that we're complaining and not enjoying every single morsel! Unfortunately, we can eat up to and beyond any amount of calories expended exercising. We admit it - willpower is not in our vocabulary.
small salad
Continue reading "Changes in European Travel Over the Years" »
Today, is a huge Musik Festival commemorating and celebrating two things:
- The first celebrates the 50-year anniversary when St. Johann went from village status to town status (I guess it was an important move for them); and
- The second is a big music fest where 14 local Brass bands are judged to see who is the best in the Tirol.
There will also be a great parade with all the bands, 20 colorful floats, followed by concerts of the Oberndorf and Going Brass Bands and other musicians.
Everything starts after 10am Mass in the local St. Johann church.
Continue reading "St. Johann di Tirol Musikfest" »
We hiked (walked) from the bottom of Kitzbuhel to the top of the Kitzbuhler Horn and were amazed by the amount of people that drove up (there is a road from the bottom), took the 4-person gondolas up and were hiking all over the mountain! They will even load your bicycle on the outside of the gondolas and send it up to the Alpenhaus at 1670 meters, the end of the gondola line.
From the Alpenhaus, people then hiked (basically walked) or rode their bikes up to the Kitzbuheler Horn at 1996 meters ...View image...(with my Garmin GPS, it was about 6,400').
Continue reading "Hiking Up The Kitzbuhler Horn" »
If only a glitzy, up-scale resort (but still with lots of charm) will do for you, then Kitzbuhel is the place to stay. There is a Louis Vuitton there...need I say more? We decided to stay in St. Johann because their hotel prices fitted our smaller budget. The official website is www.kitzbuchel.com for whatever information you need. In the summer, there are four local golf courses, 500 km of walking trails, 750 km of cycling trails, mountain biking routes and much more.
Kitzbuhel has a historical town center loaded with charm. ...View image... There must have been four to six little Konditorei/Bakerei/Confiseries within a two-block area and a multitude of sidewalk cafes, horse-drawn carriage rides, etc..
Continue reading "Kitzbuhel Sightseeing" »
Here too, are many activities and celebrations planned for tourists. On July 22, there was an International Accordian Meeting with the best accordian players from Tirol, Salzburg, Bavaria and South Tirol demonstrating their musical skills, and August 5 was a major Mountain Bike Race.
St. Johann has a summer sled track, called a Rodelbahn, with two tracks running parallel to each other. It's 1km long and a chair lift takes you to the top of it. Looks like great fun!
For a small little area, it's surprising how many people are visiting, walking around (not hiking) through the area. And of course, eating.
Continue reading "St. Johann di Tirol, Austria" »
Tonight was a big Pro Bike Race, 70 (I think) laps around Mayrhofen, with many Tour de France bikers taking part. We stopped to talk to some local announcers trying to find out exactly what was going on....View image....went in for dinner and came out to watch the proceedings.
Sorry, all your fanatical bike fans. Watching a bike race is like watching paint dry (for us). You stand there and the bikers zoom by in a split second! It wasn't exactly engrossing plus we were leaving for St. Johann di Tirol the next day. However, we showed some esprit, clapping and shouting encouragement for heavens knows who they were.
We learned another new travel lesson at the Zillertalerhof (there is always something). You had to pay for all your drinks in cash...not on a credit card. This is the first time we've ever run across that while staying at a hotel, and it certainly made no sense to us. The personnel in the restaurants and maids were wonderful but the reception person was rather condescending which left a bad taste. (When I asked a question, he would reply, "I already told you and will tell you once again.") Otherwise, the hotel was wonderful.
Continue reading "Mayrhofen Bike Race and On to St. Johann di Tirol" »
If you happen to bring your children to Austria, Mayrhofen (for one) has a children's program that changes weekly with free things to do. For a nominal cost, there are many things for them to learn and do in their weekly program for a fee. For example: Wednesday is "Action Day." You can choose between Paragliding at 35E (a tandem flight) and rafting at a cost of 20E. Thursday is "Adventure Day - With Climbing." For 10E, a trained mountain guide will take your child climbing and abseiling. What great chances to learn something completely different, and I bet it's a lot less than summer camp in the U.S.
There is almost too much to do and decide on.
The weather was still unseasonably hot and many people spent their time at one of the area swimming pools with water slides and other activities. We were still hiking and eating up to and beyond every single calorie we've expended and it seems that everyone else was on the same wave-length. Eating and drinking is a favorite pastime here.
Continue reading "Mayrhofen and Other Activites" »
After a humungous Austrian buffet dinner: Roast Pork, different kinds of meats and potatoes, salad buffet, cooked vegetables, shrimp, two kinds of cake, mousse, ice cream and whipped cream for the cake and fruit, we were ready to exercise hard!
What do do today? If extreme sports interest you, there is Paragliding, Hang-gliding, Canyoning. There are several companies that specialize in this but I'm a coward.
Fishing, hydro speed on the Ziller River using a hydro speed board and flippers, kayaking, climbing routes, a boulder (climbing) hall with 1,300 handles, mini-golf, mountain bike tours, rafting, riding and tennis? Or, renting a bicycle to ride along the many kilometers of completely flat bike paths.
Continue reading "More Mayrhofen in The Tirol" »
After a huge buffet breakfast with the usual Meusli (four different kinds), cereal, yoghurts, fresh fruit, nuts and grains, eggs, all kinds of luncheon meats (salami, ham, etc.), four kinds of cheeses, salads, breads, rolls, marble cake, juice, coffee, etc., we felt much better and ready to cope...fat, but ready to cope.
First stop? The Information Office with its varied information. Maps, bus schedules, information about a 6-day pass that covers all trains, buses, outdoor swimming pools and working cable cars/gondolas for 39 Euros. It is called the Zillertal Card and is good from June to October. There is even a family ticket, and if two parents purchase, children born between 1991-1999 travel free.
The Mayrhofen Tourist Board even has daily free guided walks and bike rides for their guests.
Continue reading "Spending A Week in Mayrhofen" »
Cement this thought into your brain while traveling - nothing will leave or arrive on time. Whether there is going to be a three-hour plane delay at O'Hare because of terrible thunderstorms...or a mechanical... something is going to go wrong and throw all your plans off. We ended up getting into Munich too late to make our train connection...and practiced some deep breathing! Get used to the notion that you are probably going to miss your plane, train and anything else you counted on. If you have a tour or cruise that absolutely can't be missed, leave an extra day early.
Trains in Europe used to take pride on arriving and departing exactly on time. That too, has long gone by the wayside. Not one single long-distance (or local) train arrived or left on time during our two weeks. Resign yourself and always leave enough time between train connections in the eventuality that your train is late (which it will be).
But once we actually arrived in Munich (finally), it was a simple matter to find the Bahn (train) desk right after arrivals to get new train departure schedules. We already had our tickets. Then, a short walk across the open courtyard (with Burger King and a Beer Garden) to the S-Bahn/Train Station.....View image
Continue reading "Using Trains in Austria" »
Planning is relatively easy. You just have to decide where in Austria you want to visit. There are festivals galore in the summer including: The Salzburg Mozart Festival (impossible to get tickets), Innsbruck Music Festival and much more.
Air? Air is high in the summer but persist and perhaps you can find a reasonable fare buy using Airfarebasement.com, Economytravel.com or trying other airlines. We found tickets on United into Munich with a return on Lufthansa from Munich to London/Heathrow, then United from London to Chicago. It was $400/person less doing it that way than a non-stop flight. Worth it to us.
Continue reading "Planning Your Austrian Trip" »
If there is a choice between trekking or hiking, I'll take hiking every time. There's nothing like getting out of a bed in the morning (rather than crawling out of a sleeping bag), eating a hearty Austrian breakfast, hoisting my day pack and heading up into the beautiful mountains for some exercise.
Surrounded by wildflowers, evergreen trees and clear air, I plod along uphill, humming my favorite hiking song, "Up on a hill is a lonely goatherd..." And end of the day, a downhill, heading back to our hotel - stopping on the way back at a Konditorie (bakery) for a yummy desert - into a steaming, hot bath (most European hotels don't have a hot water regulator and it's literally possible to parboil yourself in the tub), read a little and eat a wonderful dinner with wine. That is what I call living!
Looking for a fast, relatively inexpensive hiking and walking holiday, we decided to go back to Austria.
Continue reading "Walking and Hiking in Austria" »
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