14 July 2019

Alps Trip 2019: Maienfeld, Leichtenstein, and Austria

Today we say good-bye to lovely Switzerland. Its mountains and lakes are astoundingly beautiful. And Switzerland is the cleanest country I have ever been in. Streets and sidewalks are swept, graffiti is washed away, buildings are well maintained. And the roads! No pot holes, no trash on the roads, advanced infrastucture, including bridges and tunnels and overhangs to prevent snow on the roads. And the people were helpful and friendly; many of the waitresses and store workers were especially efficient.

I took a lot of photos on the drive out of Switzerland. Some aren't perfect since most were taken from inside our coach, but you get the gist of the lovely green country sides and tall mountains.

travel to Maienfeld

A castle on a hill.

travel to Maienfeld

A small house in a lush green field.

travel to Maienfeld

Water cascaded down the tall mountainsides.

travel to Maienfeld

A river rushes through a small town.

travel to Maienfeld

In Lugano, we were in the lake country, and not directly in view of the tall mountains. Today, be are back in the mountains - the Alps.

travel to Maienfeld

We near Maienfeld, right near the Swiss-Austrian border. Maienfeld is the setting of the fictional "Heidi", and is the center of the Heidiland tourism area.


travel to Maienfeld

travel to Maienfeld

20190714-coachtomaienfeld17blog.jpg

We bypass the Heidi-themed places and instead visit the Schloss Salenegg winery. Here is our coach at the winery:

Schloss Salenegg winery

This winery was once a castle. We began our tour in the courtyard.

Schloss Salenegg winery

I did not photograph the inside of the winery, not sure why! There old wooden presses with big turn screws as well as modern equipment used in the wine making process. We tasted wines and enjoyed salami, cheese and bread platters, and we bought a couple bottles of wine.

As we boarded our coach to leave, I shot a few photos of the view:

view from winery

Schloss Salenegg winery

Liechtenstein is our next destination. Road sign:

Liechtenstein

The Liechtenstein city was busy, noisy, and bustling with business people and tourists. On the plus side, it was nestled in the high mountains.

Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein

After lunch on our own in Liechtenstein, we were off to Austria. Our hotel for the next two nights is the Hotel Seelos in Seefeld. This is probably our favorite hotel on the trip, and we would have been happy spending more nights (and days) in our large room, with fancy woodwork including big beams overhead. The room opened on a community balcony that overlooks the town, mountains, and ski area.

After dinner at the hotel with the group, we had a peaceful evening enjoying the view from our room.


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