The Days are Dwindling

I received another expenditure notice on my son's Visa cash card. He spent almost $80 at the Swarovski Crystal shop in Innsbruck, Austria.

Sure hope that means he was thinking about me. :-)

So Monday they left the beauty of Switzerland and headed off toward Austria and the village of Seefeld. Another early morning and they hopped on their coaches.

First stop after crossing the Rhine River was a few hours in the tiny country of Liechtenstein for an early picnic lunch in Vaduz, a touch of exploring, and a little bit of shopping (he used the card in Vaduz too). I wonder what all he chose to see here - can hardly wait to ask and see the pictures.

Then it was a scenic drive through the Tyrol region of Austria and onto Seefeld where they checked into their hotels in the late afternoon. The beautiful little church that was represented on their tour brochure cover is here in Seefeld. They mentioned something about searching for the "yodeling bear", but I have no idea what this may truly pertain to. Something else to ask him about when he returns. After dinner, they ended the long day with a concert at St. Oswald's Church.

Tuesday was spent in Innsbruck, Austria (where he bought something(s) at the Swarovski shop), with planned stops enroute to Wilten Basilica and the site of the Winter Olympic Games. The morning and lunch period were spent sight-seeing around Innsbruck starting from the Old Town Square beneath the famous Golden Roof, added in the year 1500 by Austria's first emperor, Maximilian, from which he could watch in private the tournaments and other festivities in the square below. An early evening concert-in-the-park then back to Seefeld for dinner and lights out.

Oh my goodness, Wednesday was one of the biggest things my son was looking forward to the entire trip - VENICE, ITALY. When he received the itinerary, he was disappointed to learn that they were only spending the day in Venice and not at least one overnight. But hey, beggars cannot be choosers.

So Wednesday they got up REALLY early to go from Seefeld, Austria to Venice, Italy for the entire day. At their drop off at the coach park at the Isla del Tronchetto, they collected an early boxed lunch and set off in their vaporetto, or water taxi, for a thirty-minute jaunt into the heart of Venice to meet their tour guide. After an introduction of the wonders of Venice, including the Grand Canal, gondolas, the Bridge of Sighs and ending with a glass-blowing demonstration, they trumped off to St. Mark's Cathedral for their concert then the rest of the afternoon they had free-time to explore the Piazza San Marco, Rialto Bridge, and Italian ice cream.

I can only imagine the incredible views, and I'm getting sick of only imagining at this point.

Their day ended close to midnight as they returned to Seefeld to prepare for their morning departure to Germany, the last stop in their incredible adventure.

The days are rapidly dwindling in his Europe adventure.

He's Alive!

My son is alive!

Okay, a little dramatic and over the top, but it's sure good to know he's still kicking it up in Europe. Throughout his travels thus far, I've yet to hear hide nor hair of him. But my philosophy in his regard is no news is good news. Before he left out for Europe, I'd told him not to worry about calling home unless he just wanted to, because I wanted him to know it was okay to just focus on where he was at the time and enjoying the experience, not worrying about back home and all.

So I sent him off with various denominations of pounds, Swiss francs, and euros and with a Visa cash card for extra reassurance so he felt comfortable spending money for food and souveniers without concern of running out of cash. The nice thing about the card is that I can track where he's spending that money and "follow" him throughout his travels.

Only problem is that he hasn't used the dadgum thing! I was beginning to wonder if it wasn't working or if he felt okay spending the money, or what. I'd previously called the bank to let them know the dates he'd be gone and where he'd be so that he wouldn't have any trouble using it when needed.

I'd had a problem like this when I went to Alaska once and the card wouldn't go through because it got flagged by security - I rarely ever used the thing, but a quick call fixed the problem - couldn't be mad or anything, but learned a valuable lesson.

So this morning there was a lovely post reflected in my email - a card transaction. Oh goodie! Of course, it was a souvenier shop in Zermatt, Switzerland, a village near the base of the Matterhorn. I just knew he'd love this portion of the trip. :-) Snow, mountains, and cooler temps are our favorite treats.

So where did we last leave off? Oh yes - they left Paris and arrived in Switzerland on Friday. That was an early morning and a long drive. They were allowed to spend the late afternoon/evening to themselves in the town of Crans-Montana.

Saturday was a morning all to themselves, if they wanted to sleep in a little or get up and around to explore Crans-Montana (I'm wondering what his decision was). At noon they boarded the coaches to tour the Chateau du Chillon (better known as the Castle of Chillon), incorporated into the Lord Byron poem, "The Prisoner of Chillon." A lovely stroll around Lake Geneva to the village of Montreux with a stop at an ice cream delicacy shop along the way completed their afternoon.

After dinner upon their return to Crans-Montana, they prepared for their two-hour sundown Concert in the Alps. Can you imagine the sound of instruments and voices floating in the mountains of Switzerland?

Then Sunday was their incredible day of sight-seeing in Zermatt at the Matterhorn. First it was a thirty-minute cog rail ride from Tasch to Zermatt, then boarding the funiculaire for an IN-mountain ride. Disney's could not possibly match such incredible adventure and breathtaking beauty as the real thing. Deep breath!

While exploring Zermatt, they might have happened upon the famous Climbers Cemetery to view the historic markers or the old log granaries where residents would pilfer "mazot" - thin circular stones, to stop rodents from illicit grain harvesting. Dinner that evening was a special treat, as the Ambassadors were honored guests at the annual Swiss Folklore Celebration, an evening planned with folklore, music, laughter, and general all-around foolishness for their Swiss send-off.

Today it was once again an early morning as they loaded the coaches to spend time in Liechtenstein on their way to Austria.

Just a little more than halfway there - I'm just glad to know he's made it this far.