Austria - beautiful scenery, friendly people, and pastries! We spent May 22 - June 5th at the Seiwald apartment in Kuchl. My first impression was the view from the balcony......could have sat there and enjoyed it for the two weeks, but much more lay ahead. Terry Seiwald, the Idyll rep., was very prepared, with lists of more events to take in for our time in Kuchl than we could possibly see and do. The trip with Terry to Hallstatt was the beginning of so many special days, and a good way to get used to the trains, if you are not used to planning the times and reading the boards to learn the track number. We enjoyed Zell am See, many trips into Salzburg including Sunday Mass at the Dom, Schloss Hellbrunn, Oberndorf, Herrenchiemsee, and the trip into the salt mine above Hallein, just to name a few. In Oberndorf, we ate at the Poseidon Park, a Greek restaurant, (because we got off the Lokalbahn at the wrong stop) and began a delicious and inexpensive dinner with a complimentary ouzo.

There were three outstanding days - celebrating the Austrian holiday of Corpus Christi in Kuchl, our trip to St. Wolfgang and the Schafberg, and the trip by train over the Brenner pass into Italy and back. We also spent an enjoyable evening with the other Untourists for dinner and music at the Inn in Vigaun. A delicious Austrian dinner at the Romischerkeller made complete with music played by a three piece band, helped us regretfully, say goodbye to the group, the hosts who attended, Terry and this amazingly beautiful part of Austria.

Betty and I moved on for a week in Vienna at the Riemergasse apartments. The location is everything........most everything is within walking distance from the apartment. We enjoyed wandering through the gardens, and the Hofburg grounds. Sunday we had center seats at the Spanische Reitschule.....sitting center ring. In the rain, we rode the Reisenrad at the Prater. After hearing so much about the Hundertwasserhaus, a tour through the KunstHausWien was very interesting.........his projects left Austria a most unusual legacy.

One day was spent traveling over the Semmering Pass to the city of Graz,....we had a bit of trouble finding the WienSud bahnhof........we were on the Sudtiroler Platz and stopped to ask a young man how to get to the bahnhof.......imagine our amazement (and embarrassment) when he pointed to the building in front of us! Going and coming we met people who shared with us some of the history and sights along the route. Another day found us visiting Melk and the Wachau on an Idyll trip, with Claudia Prielerâ's father as our guide............we went places, saw sights, and shared experiences that would have been impossible. for us to do on our own. Those two days were covered by days saved on the train pass from our 2 weeks in Kuchl..........others paid the small fare to Melk and back from Amstetten. These three weeks flew by and remain one of my most memorable Untours ever............this was my 5th trip with Idyll...........because of a very beautiful country with very cordial people. If I can answer questions about this Untour, please ask. It is a trip you will treasure the memories of forever.