Alps - Fun day in Davos July 18, 2014

Today was one of my favorites.  Not only is the area around Davos breathtaking, we went to a cheese making farm, a brewery, and we got to go to a chocolate factory and make our own candy bars ... what???  oh boy!!!

               Isn't she pretty?  Very happy cow enjoying the lush grass of summer. 

Gorgeous landscapes everywhere you look

Here we are for our cheese making demonstration

Stirring the milk and separating the whey from the curds

Back outside to learn about the alp horn. 

 Orin trying it out - not too bad, at least he tried.  I took pictures :-)

Lunch at a little Swiss Cafe - geraniums are everywhere - have you been noticing? Here's a little factoid... you'll find geraniums in most window boxes throughout the Alpine regions.  We were told that, since summers are so short, there is little need for air conditioning so windows are left open.  Flies do not like geraniums and will avoid passing over them.  Interesting!

Making our chocolate bars - I could do this activity every day!!!

So yummy!  They taste a lot like the Cadbury milk chocolate.  Look how mine bulges over the sides of the tray... lol... I had to make sure it was FULL... :-)

Back down the hill - we are now going to a micro-brewery in Monstein

The fermentation process - after the chocolate, this didn't appeal much to me.

Scenic little Monstein

 See those guys on the hill?  They are cutting and rolling the tall grass to feed my pretty cow during the winter.

A fun day - we're back in Davos now for another night at the Intercontinental

Come back tomorrow when we will be leaving Switzerland for Vaduz, Liechtenstein and then back into Germany to visit Neuschwanstein Castle before our farewell dinner.

Alps - Cortina to Davos - July 17, 2014

Today we'll be travelling to Davos, Switzerland from Cortina by way of a stop in Bolzano, Italy.  At an elevation of approximately 4000' Cortina is surrounded by the Dolomites.  

This will be the last of the Dolomites as we make our way down the mountains into Bolzano

Of course we needed a hot chocolate and strudel pit-stop

Bolzano

We went to this museum completely dedicated to the research surrounding the discovery of this 500 year old mummy.   The exhibition in the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology consists of a collection of the most important archaeological findings of South Tyrol, like the world famous chalcolithic ice mummy called "Ötzi, the Iceman" who was found with all his belongings on the glacier in 1991.  It is a fascinating discovery which was the subject of a recent National Geographic feature.

The streets are lined with local vendors

Back at the town square where we meet our group to go on to Switzerland

Switzerland

This was interestng.  Our coach boarded this train... yes, the entire vehicle with us inside.  This allowed us to go through the tunnel without having to go miles out of our way to get around.  A ramp drops down and Ivan very carefully drove us onto the train bed ... pretty tight squeeze...

A beautiful Swiss Alpine lake - Lake Davos

Our hotel

A room with a view.........

Alps - St. Gilgen, Lake Wolfgang, and the Dolomites, - July 15 & 16, 2014

                                    Day trippin' out of Salzburg - July 15 - Day 6

This was pretty much a day of leisure as we had the morning to explore Salzburg on our own and then take a tour of the Lake District, St. Gilgen and Lake Wolfgang. 

In 2005 St. Gilgen was promoted as the "Mozart Village" by the Wolfgangsee Tourist Board. Although Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart never visited St. Gilgen (as he had intended to), his grandfather worked in the town, his mother was born in St. Gilgen, and his sister Nannerl moved there after her marriage.

                                               Lake Wolfgang and the town of St. Gilgen

check out the lederhosen

Leaving Lake Wolfgang and St. Gilgen,  through beautiful mountain towns.

 Enjoy the beautiful scenery.  I had a hard time choosing which pictures to include as they were all super.  This region is so serene and beautiful.

It's tiny, but I could live here!

Here we are at the apple farm

Gathering at the farmhouse for a wonderful lunch - oh yes, apple strudel for sure!

Wondering about the plastic covering the orchard?  We all thought it was to prevent birds or bugs... no, it is because they get a lot of hail and that knocks the unripened apples off the trees... interesting.

Back outside, and guess what I found?  A kitten ... such a cute little baby.  One of the children brought it over for me to hold.  The perfect end to a perfect day!!!

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Last night we were in Salzburg again but today we checked out and are on our way to Cortina, Italy by way of the Grossglocknerhochalpenstrasse - um, ok, let's just call it the High Alpine Pass 

This will be our first introduction to the Dolomites - truly majestic

Time out for a hot chocolate

Italian Alps (Dolomites)

Remember "The Sound of Music" when Julie Andrews danced and sang "The hills are alive..."?  It was filmed in this meadow.

What an awesome drive up this winding road through these magnificent mountains

Entering the town of Heiligenblut

                                                  We visited a schnapps distillery 

Entering Cortina

This has been a long post, I know, but I hope you've enjoyed our Alpine adventure.  These two days were filled with gorgeous mountain scenes so I decided to combine them.

Tomorrow we'll leave Cortina and go to Davos, Switzerland.  Stay tuned.