Sunday, April 11, 2010

Back to Austria

Thirty years ago when I first went through the Brenner Pass, this flatlander thought to herself, 'I will never, never, never do this again.' The narrow road twisted around the mountainside with steep drop-offs at tires' edge. Large trucks and buses took more than their half of the road, and meeting them meant we had to move even closer to the edge. It was beyond scary for me. Now there is a lovely four-lane elevated road through the pass that makes the trip stress-free. Thank you, thank you, thank you to the engineers, governments, construction companies and everyone else who had a part in creating that great, smooth road.

So this trip to and through the Brenner Pass was almost a non-event, even in a snow blizzard. This time I could relax and enjoy the scenery. Here are a few of my favorite sights (that I could capture in a moving car).

In Italy:



The piece-of-cake Brenner Pass today that was no-sweat, even in the snow. But we heard from the man who sold us snow chains that the original twisty road still exists and is still very dangerous.



In Austria now:





2 comments:

  1. Dear Martha, it was a pleasure meeting you and your husband on the Naschmarkt at the Indian Pavillion. Your pictures show what we already suggested you are. A lifeloving, sensuous lady with a good taste and a splendit eye for fotos.
    It is also a pleasure to get the benefits of the hometown explained from a kind of guest, remembering and apprecciating the nearly already forgotten. Thank you for everything! Best regards to you and your husband. Elisabeth & Alexander (a.konitz@aon.at)

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  2. Dear Elisabeth and
    Alexander,
    Thank you for your kind, kind words. I'm very happy to know that my blog has brought someone in the world a moment or two of pleasure. It certainly is a pleasure for me to see and photograph such beautiful places. Hope to see you both at the Indian Pavilion again soon. In the meantime, I'll be looking for "Alexander's Prater!"

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