Europe '05

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Italy and Austria 2005
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We had a wonderful vacation visiting Italy and Austria in January 2005.

We visited Innsbruck, Austria and stayed with the WONDERFUL Weger family. They could not have been any nicer to us during our extended stay. We had a nice crib on the first floor of their very cool three-level home. We had many surprises while we were visiting them with one being the chance meeting of the wonderful elder Regenfelder's also affectionately known as 'Oma' and 'Opa'. They were the mom and dad of Beatrix. Oma was a terrific cook preparing lots of traditional dishes and desserts. Opa is a very interesting man who was soldier in the Wehrmact during WWII. He was captured by the Allies on his birthday after serving a brief time in France. Again, we thank all of you for such a wonderful visit to your home and to your hometown. We will not soon forget your kindness.

INNSBRUCK, AUSTRIA & SURROUNDING COUNTRYSIDE


Hiking in the mountains. L to R: Luke, Clara, Jim, Lisa & Beatrix (missing is Siegfried who was taking this beautiful picture)	OHHHHHHHH Luka with the lovely Clara in the picturesque Innsbruck landscape	Lisa, Jim and Luka getting ready to sled down the trail we just spent 1-1/2 hours climbing.	Jim and Lisa	Luka, Lisa and Jim

MORE INNSBRUCK


We visited a schnapps manufacturer in the Innsbruck area. We sampled toooooo many flavors and got a little tipsy. This stuff was absolutely delicious BUT potent!	Here is the brew meister Lambert of Draxl Lambert Schnaps (sic) with cousin Luke the sharffer. Click here for their website (it is in German!).	Lambert with a tipsy Lisa. We purchased four bottles of our own schnapps and Lisa guards them with her life.	Wonderful view over Innsbruck on New Years' Eve. There were fireworks ALL over the city but the main display was cancelled and the cost donated to the Asian tsunami victims.	Lisa taking a well deserved break on the way up to the top of another Innsbruck mountain. OHHHHH what a cutie!

AND MORE INNSBRUCK


Siegfried and Beatrix said to us..."Hey, you guys want to go for a little hike?"	So up to the monastery we go. About two hours up into the mountains.	This was a beautiful church and fortunately there was an attached restaurant. We ate well and drank even better	Lisa outside the beautiful church. I was hesitant to take pictures inside the church but it was very ornate and beautiful.	Siegfried with an icicle stuck in his neck

& MORE INNSBRUCK


Cool ice sculpture	This was an interesting wood sculpture shop	Outside of another mountaintop restaurant. Only access is by foot!	Great looking Austrian post office	What a backdrop!

PISA, ITALY


Arriving in Pisa	Crossing over the river Fiume Arno from the new city to the old city	Some of the many sights at the leaning tower sight		Finally at the tower. It was such a beautiful sight on such a beautiful day.

FLORENCE (FIRENZE), ITALY


Shopping	Point Vechhio	More shopping	A statutory performer pauses to take a picture with Lisa

ROME (ROMA), ITALY


	Outside the coliseum	Inside the coliseum		Lisa bought a watercolor of this ancient ruin

PIETRAMELARA, ITALY

We visited this quaint hometown of Benny, Mario and Ralph Fusco. It is about an hours drive northwest of Naples. These three guys and their late brother/uncle Ed have been my barbers and friends for over 15 years! Pietramelara is not a place where tourists normally visit but it should be on everyone's agenda while in Italy. We visited on Sunday Jan 10th and walked two hours to the town from the one room, unmanned train station of Riardo (unfortunately, there are no taxis or buses in the area). This beautiful town is full of history and historic ruins. The whole area is a great reminder of Italy's fabled and storied past. While visiting the town, we were fortunate to find Professor Gianni in the square/piazza. Gianni is a science teacher in a local school and he was one of a few in the town who spoke English. He told us he would take us back to the train station and he would pick up his English speaking wife on the way. He and his lovely wife took us to a well-lit, manned train station where we boarded a train to return to our hotel in Naples. We are looking forward to returning to this wonderful place to say hello to all of our new friends. Thanks again to everyone for your warm hospitality, kindness and generosity. Here are some pictures of this quiet small town.


We walked over 5 Km from the closet size train station to the city of Pietramelara.	Beautiful church in the town square	These three cutie women (mom and two daughters) were operating a cafe in the town square. They make a great cup of tea and a better cup of cappuccino!	Professor Gianni, Jim and Officer John in the lovely town square. You HAVE GOT to see this place!	This is Professor Gianni's lovely wife Angela with Lisa and Jim at the train station. THANK-YOU sooooo much for being so kind to us while we visited Pietramelara!

TRAVELING AROUND


Traveling from Rome to Innsbruck with 1st class train accommodations	Heading out of Austria and down to Florence. We were sad to leave our friends in Austria			Comfortable???