Saturday, January 19, 2013

Austria and Switzerland Winter Trip

Hi.  It's me. 
I'm back and feeling quite contrite. 
I'm sheepishly peeking out into the midst to see if I have any readers left. 

I hope I didn't really offend anyone with my little hissy fit or the photos.  
It was all very tongue in cheek and I promise I won't do it again.  
Much.

If you are reading this then you can relate or you have just forgiven me.
Either way, I'm glad you are here and I'm lovin' the comments you left.

Now as promised, I'm on to nicer endeavors.  

Let me tell you about our Anniversary Trip to Switzerland and Austria.  


 After much discussion, TE and I decided that instead of heading South in search of warmer temperatures,
we would just embrace the cold and make it a Winter Trip.

We flew out on Friday evening after work to Zurich, Switzerland. 
It was a quick two hour flight with only about 15 people on board.
After two nights in Zurich, we boarded a train to Innsbruck, Austria for one night. 
And our last stop was Salzburg, Austria for our last two nights.
We flew home on Wednesday afternoon

We pre-booked our hotels with advice from Tripadvisor.com and were happy with our choices.  
We aren't too fussy about hotels.  Location, cleanliness and good customer service are the things that we value.
The three that we picked all fit the bill very nicely.

 Zurich
 Innsbruck

Salzburg

All three of them were close to the Old Town Center and the river
which are common characteristics of each city.

We splurged a little on first class tickets for the three hour train journey from Zurich to Innsbruck.
Nice big comfy seats with lots of room and amazing views.


On a side note.  Did you know most trains have seats facing both ways,
meaning you could be facing backwards at times on a journey?
How did I not know this until recently?

Riding backwards happens to really do a number on my stomach.
I go a crazy shade of grey and my insides start making awful noises.
(I told you I was a bit of a princess nightmare.)
 I do get really sick so TE always tries to make sure he books seats for us facing forwards.

The challenge on this journey was that for part of the trip, we were facing one way.
Then after a particular stop the train reversed and we were facing the opposite direction.  

TE thinks he deserves lots of sympathy that he had to try and make sure I was facing the 
wrong way for the least amount of time. 
I think I deserve the sympathy for having a wonky stomach.
  

 It's a good thing we had the extra room because I actually spent part of the trip 
sitting in my seat on my knees facing the back of the seat.
TE just pretends he doesn't know me.
 
 After less than an hour, I was happily facing in the right direction with a settling tummy
so I could focus on the amazing views along the way.

Crisp, blue skies and pristine snow.  Majestic mountaintops and charming cottages.
Fuzzy evergreens and floating clouds.
It was just beautiful.

 There is something so relaxing about watching these views flash by
and thinking about the people that live and work in these places.


From Innsbruck to Salzburg we were in standard class.
The train had a hallway along one side of the carriage.
On the other side were compartments with glass doors that each seat six people.

Three facing backwards including TE and three facing forward (me).

There is plenty of room above for storage and the seats are comfy.
Everyone just settles in reading or watching the world go by in comfortable silence.


It was five wonderful days and I think it was one of my favorite trips so far.
We had really good weather, just a few random showers.
 There was plenty of this.


And a daily serving of this.  


Pork Schnitzel with a nice squeeze of lemon, parsley potatoes and cranberry sauce.
So nummy!

Over the next few weeks I'll be posting about each of the places we visited
and some of the things we did along the way.
 I hope you will follow along.  

And please tell me I'm not the only one that gets sick from facing the wrong way on a train!

xoxo
Selena

Sorry about the quality of the pics taken from the train windows.  And as usual, this is not a sponsored post.  However, if anyone would like to sponsor a future excursion, please make yourself known.   


5 comments:

  1. It sounds and looks like a lovely trip. I am a bit odd in that when I book train tickets I tend to book a backward seat.

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  2. Hah! Yes, you still have readers.
    Riding backwards is a skill one acquires, after having mastered the art of reading on a train. It does give a different perspective, pondering where one's been, rather than where one is going... but that's getting a bit deep.
    Did you bring home a funny cow? I like them very much.

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  3. Look forward to seeing more from your trip. Germany and Austria have been our favorite places we've seen so far.

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  4. Poor thing! Was it a very fast train? I ask because I often sit facing backwards in the afternoons on my train journey home because I find it really relaxing. However, if I catch the Pendolino up to Liverpool, I have to insist that I face forwards because I get really, really sick on them.

    It sounds like you had a great trip! Looking forward to reading all about it!

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  5. Richard always books forward-facing seats as he always gets upset stomach when 'riding the wrong way'! Looking forward to reading more about your trip. x

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