Austria Sept 13

We had a great day. Our cousin Albert, and his wife, Marion showed a part of Austria we hadn't visited before.

I should say that Albert and Marion, and their son David, have been perfect hosts. Their home is beautiful, a lovely location, and they are fun to be with. They all speak excellent English, which is nice for Sandy.

We started our day with a fantastic breakfast, and then left on our trip. The first stop was in Mönchhof, which is restoration of a typical Austrian village from the early 1900's. It was fun trying to figure out what some of the gadgets were. There were a lot of "My mothers had one of those" moments. We followed that visit by a delicious lunch, one of the best restaurant meals I have enjoyed in a long time.

After that we went to Halbturn a small palace, on beautiful grounds. It is now a museum of early 1900 history. It covered a variety of topics, from Art Noveau and Art Deco architecture to fashion. The displays were well presented, and it wasn't too large. Very enjoyable!

On the way home we stopped at the Neusiedler See, which is partly in Austria and partly in Hungary. It is large, 36 km by 16 km, and it is quite unique. There are no outlets, such as rivers. The only water into the lake is from rain, and the equilibrium is maintained  by evaporation. Another interesting fact is that it is very shallow, the maximum depth is only 1.8 m. It's a long way before you get water over your knees. It is very popular with locals as a way to spend the day. There is a bicycle path all around the lake, about 100 km long. For those who want to do less, there is a "bicycle" ferry that goes across the lake, so you only have to cycle half way back.

The lake is in a flat part of Austria, so it is very windy.

There is a large marina, with mainly sail boats. 

There is also a great number of wind surfers. They are very colourful, and we watched them zipping around.

On the way home we drove through the Wienerwald, The Vienna Woods. Lovely drive.

As I said, a wonderful day, thanks to Albert and Marion.

Photo 1 a gypsy wagon at Mönchhof 

Photo 2 Albert, Marion, Sandy and Sonja at Halbturn 

Photo 3 a fashionable dress from the 20's

Photos 4 and 5 windsurfers at the Neusiedler See