Before I tell you about Austria, let me tell you about this fun trip came to be.
That means I get to tell you about Dana. Dana was our nanny when we lived in Newport. Over the year she also became a good friend…hence her current title of franny (friend+ nanny).
We were all missing her terribly when we left. One day she messaged me asking if I thought she could come live with us for a few months after she graduated college and before she started her job.
Confession? I could not type YES!!!! fast enough. She is a Godsend. She is an amazing helper…but more than that she truly loves our family and our children. We never have to worry for one second when she is with them.
Fast forward to the day Dana arrived at the airport:
We got her in the van and I told her I finally decided where I wanted to take her first in town.
I asked the girls to tell her and their little voices said:
Austria!
Germany!
Liechtenstein!
Switzerland!
I think she was just confused at first and then when it sunk in she couldn’t believe it.
And that is how (2 hours after we picked her at the Venice airport) Dana found herself on the way to Austria.
This is our shortest leg of the trip, but we cannot WAIT to go back. I kind of fell in love with Austria.
The scenery on our drive was amazing. Goosebump inducing. Truly.
I found our rooms (more like a little apartment) on Booking.com.
We stayed in Kreith, a little town not far south of Innsbruck.
As we drove through Brenner Pass (the pass that connects Italy to Austria) we got hit pretty hard with snow. It was dark and kind of scary at times.
We found our way to the area our accomodations were in and very quickly realized that the van would NOT make it down the mountain to where we were staying.
No worries! The lovely owners had us park our van at the top and they came to get us (and all of our luggage!!) and drive us down.
We couldn’t see much when we got there (it was VERY snowy, dark, and foggy) and wondered what we would wake up to.
We spent the night drinking Italian wine and playing games. The apartment was SUPER cozy.
We woke up to this:
Honestly and truly one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my entire life.
We made snowmen and played on the side of the mountain.
And honestly, I could have stayed there for days and days. It was peaceful and beautiful and warm and cozy inside. And the proprietors were SO NICE.
But we had to head to Garmisch.
So we drove through Innsbruck. It was rainy and gloomy and foggy and we didn’t get to see much. But it was beautiful despite the weather.
A stop for a delicious lunch and we were on to Germany.
Like I said…I honestly loved Austria. Its beautiful and everyone there is so so nice.
Next on my Austria list is Salzburg.
xoxo
s
I love your travel updates. You must go to Salzburg in the Summer. Something tells me you would love The Sound of Music tour. And if you are so inclined to visit the Gazebo and sing You Are Sixteen while leaping from one bench to another, be forewarned that the bench tops are not connected to their bases. Don’t ask me how I know this!!
Sounds like a wonderful trip and fun surprise for the granny! The snowy field is just gorgeous!
What a neat surprise for her!
Oh wow! These pics are awesome! My daughter, Sarah wants to see snow…we never have:)
Love Austria! Love all that snow! But, I really, really love that your franny is staying with you for a few months. What a great experience for her and a treat for the kids.
Wow, what a fantastic start to your adventure. It looks utterly amazing in Austria, and how lovely to have your friend to share it all with.
oh how i love this!! I would have done the Maria Von Trapp spin in that snow! LOL 🙂 You will love Salzberg when you go. We are big Sound of Music fans and it was really neat to see where things were filmed and learn that parts were filmed in the USA (like we got to see the gazebo- which was SOOO small, and find out that all scenes from inside the gazebo were filmed in the USA- crazy!). thanks for sharing your adventures!
We loved Salzburg! Ok I loved Europe period but Salzburg was our favorite place to visit! You are going to love it!
I seriously love reading about all the amazing adventures you guys are having!! This is something your girls will have for the rest of their lives…what an incredible journey!! Love seeing all these amazing photos!!
Happy to hear about the trip. I like it in bite size chunks. Makes it last longer. And ps: you’re a lucky girl.
I’ve been to the places you took your trip to and they are wonderful. I think Salzburg and Austria in general is my favorite EU location. The countryside of France is gorgeous also. Hope you had fun!
Honestly don’t know how you ever left! I would have wanted to stay forever!
you are so lucky/blessed to be able to travel like this! it’s a dream come true and I am so happy for you!
thanks for sharing, through you I am along for the journey!!
tara
I’ve been waiting for this post. As a HUUUUGE Austria fan, I couldn’t wait to see what you experienced. We have travelled all over Austria (and still have so much more to explore) and I love every inch of it. You will love Salzburg. I am trying to go back in May for a 10K with some girlies from Garmisch. We’ll see. It’s lovely in the summer, but Christmas market time is magical too. 🙂
What a blessing to have Dana join you guys!
However, I’m left to wonder… How do I find myself a Dana? 😉
e took our teenage boys to Salzburg a couple of years ago at Christmas. It is a wonderful place and the castle is so much fun to tour. If you can swing a chance for dinner with traditional Mozart music (sans kids) it would be memorable. I recall a skating rink outside a famous cafe. That would be fun. And shopping at the Christmas markets was a blast. We picked a hotel we could walk to from the train station. But we had less luggage than I would imagine your kids would have. So glad you are all currently healthy.
So gorgeous!!! I sooooo want to go to all these places. What a gift you are giving your kids with these experiences!!! Can’t wait to hear about the rest of your adventure 🙂