Food In Salzburg

Salzburg was one of the most authentic places we visited and there was a festival of food and culture etc while we were there. The streets were filled with markets and food stalls packed with locals getting stuck into sausages and beer! I ate the biggest pretzel in the world - it was chocolate coated. We had sausage with sauerkraut and mustard but didn't try the wheat beer.

Below a typical market stall full of bread, cheese and pretzels, notice the big cheese cutter on the right!

Vienna

We spent a couple of days in Vienna, lovely city but not alot to do unless you are keen on museums etc.
We went to the Spanish Riding School (middle photo) which was a big highlight for me! It is a very famous riding school in which they practice the highest school of dressage and it still functions just as it did many years ago. We saw morning training - where I got 3 photos before they announced photography is not allowed. We also went on a tour of the stables.

Below is the summer palace of the Austrian Royal Family

Murren - Switzerland

Murren - as the lonely planet describes "you might think you have been to heaven and back" was stunning. It's the highest alpine resort in the Swiss Alps and is everything you imagine the Swiss Alps to be. We stayed in the cute Chalet Fontana below which is a ski chalet during winter. We did several hikes around the area, caught the cable car up to the Shilthorn and enjoyed glorious sunny days surrounded by the 3 famous peaks - the Eiger, Monch and Junfrau. We stayed in the loft room of the chalet (the little windows at the top) and had views of the peaks. We ate lots of swiss cheese and chocolate!

Below is the view from the Shilthorn

Murren - Switzerland

Pictures from Murren

Paragliding in Interlaken

Here we are paragliding in Interlaken! It was a big achievement for Liv who isn't so keen on heights and adventure sports! We also went canyoning which was fun but very scary. Paragliding was really peaceful and really like flying with the swiss alps behind you.

Switzerland

Switzerland was no doubt a major highlight of the trip. It would be hard to show it all on here but here are some of the highlights. Below we are at the top of the Jungfraujoch - the highest train station in Europe. The train passes through the rock of the mountain and is very steep! Up the top there are many attractions including the ice world we are standing in.

Interlaken - the view from close to our hostel in Interlaken.

Slovenia - Ribcev Laz

Slovenia was a little hidden treasure! We went there on Ben & Corinne's advice and it was beautiful. We stayed in the Julian alps in a tiny village called Ribcev Laz. The scenery was amazing and all the little farms and gardens were just perfect. It was pretty cold as you can see by the look on my face above. We hired bikes and rode through tiny villages where they cut and rake the hay by hand then hay it on the famous hay racks. The view of the lake from up high is taken from a ski resort which you catch a cable car up to. We spent most of the time walking to waterfalls and lovely views.