I started my trip in Salzburg after spending a week in Germany. Salzburg was the birthplace of Motzart and has classical music performances that rival Vienna (bring a nice set of clothes). It is also where "The Sound of Music" was set. After talking a day trip to Lake Fuschl, a beautiful alpine lake that was surprisingly warm, I went to Vienna.

   Vienna is the modern day capital of Austira and the city has a rich history. Vienna is known world wide for its music and its opera house (rebuilt after bombs destroyed parts during World War II). The museum district has many nice museums that you can spend the day immersing yourselves in. I was also impressed with some of the modern day governmental buildings that were built after World War II. You'll see from the pictures why. And I cannot forget the Hapsburgs, the rulers of the Austro-Hungarian empire. They have 2 grand palaces, the Hofburg in central Vienna and the Schönbrunn Palace. It is said that the Schönbrunn Palace is the only European royal palace to rival Versailles.

   From Vienna I headed to the city of Linz to visit a friend of mine. I am very greatful that I did, for I not only got to spend several days with my friend but I also got off the beaten tourist track. As another website put it, I got to see a truer Austria (which I enjoyed greatly.) Most of my photos are from around Linz. I spent most of my time outside of Linz though. My sight seeing was limited (Florian, a nice Cathedral, and Enns, one of the oldest cities in Austria. The rest of my time,I spent visiting with my friend, bike riding, enjoying the countryside and trying to understand German. A side note on Linz, the city has been named Europe’s Cultural Capital for 2009. Note, my photos of Linz, Vienna and are slid shows only. Therefore, I put a little more text in here.

     I then whet off to Innsbruck. Innsbruck is a town in the western part of the Austrian Alps that is set at the base of a picturesque mountain. From Innsbruck, I went hiking in the Austrian Alps, and visited the town of Hall.

    That itinerary took me about 2 weeks. I wished that I had planed for longer in retrospect for I really enjoyed Austria. I could have spent more days in every place I visited (as well as going to parts of Austria that I did not. The one nice thing is when I went traveled from Innsbruck to the Dolomites, I felt like I was still in Austria. That is because that part of Italy prior to World War I was part of Austria and still feels emotionally attached to Austria. In fact in Kastle Rut, where I stayed, there is a monument to commemorate when Franz Joseph came to visit.

   One last side note. When started doing my web pages over 10 years ago I had something that I no longer have. That something is free time. When I started doing my web page, I had the time to do research before posting my pictures so I could talk about the places where I visited. However, I no longer have that luxury. In fact, 3 of my galleries are just side shows. Therefore, I would like to apologize to all Austrians about the about the lack of detail I have provided on these pages. I am fully aware of your rich history. I just do not have time to give that rich history what it deserves. Any comments, please E-mail me,