[INSIGHT TRAVEL - EUROPEAN GRANDEUR] - Vienna to Innsbruck

DAY 25 - SEPTEMBER 24, 2000
VIENNA - INNSBRUCK, AUSTRIA
INNSBRUCK - HOLIDAY INN
ROOM 1101

First things first : we have got ourselves a corner suite -- with a view! On the 11th floor, yet, with Dmitri and Lisa as next-door neighbors. Whoa! This is the highest up we've ever been, and if those mountains outside our window aren't inspiring,m then I'm sure I don't know what is!

The day started bright and early : we were up at the usual hour (0445H) and were the first into the breakfast room, together with Marge and Marie. I made a light breakfast of it, sitting solo at a table, with Ma and Dad next to me. Of course, having had a good night's sleep, my "good mornings" were as bright and cheerful as could be expected. Noted with satisfaction - as I have done of late - Dmitri's entrance and exit into the breakfast room. Noted with equal delight, LisaH's entrance and exit as well. Noted with somewhat less delight, the entrance of LisaJ into the room -- but tried to do the right thing and greeted her as I passed her table, and wished her well. She claimed to be feeling much better, and for that, God be thanked. One can only hope that she and her husband will give up the foolish notion of suing Insight for whatever disappointment they have experienced on the tour.

Dmitri was in a teasing sort of mood today as he loaded the bags - as I wished him good morning in French, he replied in English, adding, "Tell me everything!" which brought out the giggles in me before I fled up into the sanctuary of my seat.

A small hitch since someone's bags were late in coming down, then we were on our way to Innsbruck, via Salzburg. Weather report was ably handled by those in charge. The angels in charge of traffic were on our side, whisking us into Salzburg beneath a glorious sky, in time for our walking tour of the city, to end just before lunch. Our city guide was Gabby, a dear lady who obviously knew and loved her city well. She apologized for the fact that the town was busy celebrating its Saint's feastday in traditional Austrian style : with oom-pah-pah music, a beer tent and carnival rides in the main square. All adding up to a lot of noise! But everyone loved the buzz of activity that turned the otherwise sleepy city of Salzburg into a cheerful place to spend an afternoon.

Gabby led us from the main square through the Franciscan monastery where the von Trapp family hid from the Germans (but only for cinematic purposes); gave us a lovely view of the Fortress, brought us into another courtyard with a church dedicated to St. Rupert; through an arch to a forecourt with a statue of St. Rupert; and then down a street to a quiet square on which stood the house where Mozart was born and lived his early life. Across that house was the University of Salzburg's Cathedral. Then, it was through another archway and into a street leading us to the main square, but over on the other side of Salzburg Cathedral from our point of origin. Gabby managed to point out along the way, Salzburg's oldest coffee house (or was it Austria's?) and the city's smallest residence, just one door wide, my heavens.

Working our way through human traffic, Gabby landed us safely in Mozart Square, giving us last-minute orientation instructions before setting us free for lunch. As is our wont, the women stormed the washroom of the nearby restaurant, loose change in hand, so as not to have minds distracted for the serious business of eating and shopping.

Lunch was an al fresco affair. Stalls were everywhere selling food and drink, just like any town fiesta. We all had chicken and chips - half a chicken per plate and a huge mound of chips, enough to feed an army! Lots of mineral water to wash it all down, then onwards to the shopping! Daddy was keen on finding a Bavarian hat for one of his golf buddies, so we let him wander around while Ma and I stuck to the stalls and shops on the Mozart square. Eventually we managed to persuade Daddy to wait for Innsbruck before grabbing any old hat that came along.

At 1330H Lisa packed us onto the bus for our excursion to Hitler's "Eagle's Nest", the mountain-top retreat with its lovely fireplace of Carrara marble, given by Mussolini. Our guide for this segment of the day was named Rick, and later on we found out he was Gabby's husband. I seriously think he was an Australian who decided to take up residence in Austria - for one, his accent and idioms are still purest Outback; for another, he's just too free and easy to be a native Austrian. For all that, he's as good a guide as Gabby - they make a nice team. Rick is a splendid raconteur and made the history of Berchstesgaden and its mountain come alive with all sorts of information.

Franca and Robin were a bit on edge about the mountain drive. Not the bit Dmitri had charge of - those were gentle gradients that went by as smooth as butter. What worried them were the alleged hairpin bends further up the mountain, where we would be taken up via minibus. After Capri and Sorrento and Amalfi, one could be thought to be reasonably cold-blooded about one or two hairpin bends, but apparently not these two. Franca more so than Robin, because at least Jeff didn't tease as roundly as Joe and Alex were doing to Franca.

It was a glorious ride up, be we weren't sorry to leave the coach and get our feet on the ground and fill our lungs with crisp mountain air. Both Gabby and Rick said we had been uncommonly lucky with the weather : apparently Salzburg and its surrounds have rain one out of every two or three days in the year! Rick had us gather round a 3-D model of the entire setup at Berchstesgaden - one whole compound at the base of the mountain and in surrounding hills, just to serve the "Eagle's Nest". But strangely enough, the "Eagle's Nest" was never meant for a residence - it was just a convention center! A huge conference and dining hall to impress foreign dignitaries.

After the explanation, there was the usual scramble for the washroom, then onto our minibus - something of a misnomer, I should think, since it seated all 42 of us without protest. Since the buses operated on a strict timed schedule, the moments of suspense before we started out wreaked havoc on Franca - not helped at all by the chaffing from her mates.

But finally, off we went, and at first there really wasn't much to see, too many pine trees in the way. Once we topped the treeline, however, the views were - quite literally! - breath-taking. You could see as far as your eyes could take you - little towns glimmering in the sunlight, huge mountain alps and crags; and a lake glowing blue with the sunlight sparkling off its sapphire surface. Gorgeous!

Then came the thriller moment of the ride as the bus slid into the first of two hairpin turns. Loud gasps from those on the window side, but then our upward climb continued and people were lulled into complacency until we hit the second hairpin - on the opposite set of windows this time. More gasps, and then suddenly we were at the base of the "Eagle's Nest"!

The "Eagle's Nest" is accessed by going through a tunnel blasted out of the rock. The end of this tunnel is the foyer to a huge brass elevator that shoots up 140 meters into the mountain, where, on reaching the cliff top, its doors open into a foyer inside the "Eagle's Nest" itself.

Of course, now that a restaurant has taken over the place, it takes a great deal of imagination to picture Hitler entertaining and meeting with the likes of Stalin and Mussolini, in rooms now crowded with diners and tourists. Or that poor, pretty Eva Braun once walked there, the Fuhrer's mistress and first lady of that corner of the world. As soon as we were able, everyone with a camera was scooting out towards the terrace for those unparalleled views! The weather was such a blessing - bright and crisp and clear. Hiked all the way up to the peak for th emost awesome views God ever created for mortal man. No words could adequately describe what those views do to a person's soul - you can really feel God's hand on your heart up there, and believe that there really is a God in the first instance - no way anything like that could have been created by happenstance, as Bill said, in his quiet way.

/...to be continued