Tell us a little bit about your most recent Untour and why you chose that particular destination?
It was a delayed honeymoon for us. I love Switzerland and this was my 7th trip but the 1st for my husband, David. I really wanted to go while our legs and knees “worked!”
Why did you choose to go there?
I love the simplicity of traveling there—i.e. if you get on a wrong train or bus or boat, stay on and have an adventure cuz every place is wunderbar! I liked my past landladies/landlords. I like the friendliness of the people. I like the old traditions. I LOVE their trains.
What is your favorite UnTours memory?
I have two. One is on our first Untour: complaining of walking on a cow path and my late husband remarking “Why do you complain? You said you wanted to be Heidi.” We had taken a shortcut back to the village and it was on a cowpath. I was put up in a chalet in Goldern after telling Hal (Taussig) that I wanted to live like the Heidi in my childhood book and he put us in the milkhandlers chalet—a lovely chalet. We walked across the street and got our milk in a stainless steel litre pail!!
My other memory was in Vienna where we spent a week in an Untour apartment in Golling and we had gone to the Kurssalon for a Strauss concert. I was selected from the audience to dance with the male ballerina on stage! It was “The Beautiful Blue Danube.”
My absolute dream was to be at the MusikVerein on New Year’s and dance; this came very close to that dream! I had a smile pasted on my face for hours afterward. Still giddy, we danced at the U Bahn station waiting for our ride back to Golling, plus I JUST had to tell someone what I had done and I phoned my best friend back in the USA (woke her up!) to share with her and she DID understand!
I listen to New Years Day from Vienna every year and when they begin to play the Blue Danube, I get teary with my amazing memory.
How is taking an Untour different from other ways of traveling?
The anxiety of how to live and get around in a foreign country is all resolved for you at the orientation session. There is always someone to phone who knows the area and who speaks English if you have any problems. In 8 UnTours, I never had a problem as the Dream Book and other literature given you by UnTours is full of good information. UnTours will have you experience the area but not get in the crowds nearby.
If you could describe an Untour in just 3 words, what would they be?
Memorable travel experiences
The Untour Apartments they chose |
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| 2012 |  |
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| 2005 |
Esther, in Swiss Oberland |
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