Werner and Rosi Wanderlust

At first, Austrian driving appears to be not much different than in the US, but upon more careful inspection, subtle but extremely important differences appear. Austrians are astonished and appalled at the lack of driver training required of Americans. The following short diatribe serves as a condensed "training" to overcome this obstacle. 1) Measurements - It may seem redundant to point out, but important to note, that in Austria everything is metric.  Driving involves thinking in meters, kilometers, and Kmh (kilometers per hour (don't know why they insist on using "hour" rather than "stunde"). Speed limit signs are round, not rectangular. The limits at first seem extreme.  Wow, I was flying down the Seestrasse going 80! Then you whip out your calculator, do the math, and realize that 80 Kmh is only 48 mph.  Speed limit signs occur often, and at frequent intervals. Beware! You may see a series of 120, 100, 80, and 50 Kmh signs in quick succes

Found a web site that listed castles in Austria by province, with descriptions, history, etc. Spent a couple of days going castle hopping.  Just pick a direction and go! This one perched on top of a hill overlooking the Donau, has been turned into a private residence. A little big for my tastes, but impressive. They turned this castle into a hotel and wedding reception center. Almost interrupted a wedding taking photos. You can stay overnight, and go horse back riding through the countryside. This little castle was not quite as well maintained. A bit of moss in the main courtyard, and overgrown with trees. Wow, it used to be several stories high inside. No floors remain, just exterior walls. Peek-a-boo Hohenwerfen's tours and falconry demonstrations start in April. This one was turned into a private school for girls. Some rich guy bought this for a private residence.  The lake and multi-acre gardens are well hidden behind

As I went through my photos  so far I  couldn't resist sharing a few of the best (hopefully not too many).     Enjoy! Hallstadt Wandering Hallstadt's tiny streets Salzburg is beautiful, even in the winter A drive through the woods up our neighborhood street "Schloss Ort" in Gmunden The "Almtal" Grünau on the way to Almtal Wow, incredible sunset Malaga's sidewalks are paved with marble Sunset over the Mediterranean Life's a "beach" Wandering through the "Cuervas de Nerja" Aaahhh! Sand and Sea Wien opera house at night "Stephan's Dom" at night Watching the Lipizaner stallions at the Spanish Riding School Why don't we build cool houses like this? Wandered through the local cemetery What can I say? That's our lake! The scenery on our way home from church