Last day of vacation!

What a wonderful vacation we had, I was not at all ready to go home. This blog is just a small sampling of the amazing adventure we had. Once I get all of our pictures together, I'm sure we'll have over 1,000 photos and they capture only a sliver of the joy we experienced.
This trip far surpassed all of my expectations, and not because the weather cooperated, we all got along or we saw incredible beauty; the best part of it all was sharing such an intimate and precious time with my wonderful parents who make my life rich and blessed in a million different ways. This blog could never capture that joy, but my heart is enlarged by the memories we created and I will be forever grateful for the time we spent exploring Austria and Venice and the depths of our love and appreciation for the family bond we share.

On the last day, we took a beautiful gondola ride together and got to experience the quiet and peace of the lesser canals. 

Venice

What a city! There is no place like Venice and we had a wonderful time exploring it (and getting lost, which is what you do in Venice!).
St. Mark's square...so crowded with tourists but you can't miss it.

Inside the Basilica, just a small close up of the millions of mosaics inside...simply breathtaking.

The Grand Canal

 Gondolier reading the paper.

My favorite picture! This is what we did, over and over, all over Venice, along with just about everyone else!!

Water taxi on our way to Murano

Glass making demonstration in Murano...there's Kaybrie's horse!

In the garden at Cipriani for our birthday brunch celebration. We were there for almost 3 hours enjoying our delicious meal and each other's company.

Sunset in Venice. After a short rest back at our hotel, we walked over to Academia for a Vivaldi concert at the Chiesa San Vidal. I wish this blog supported music, I would add it! It was the perfect ending to a perfect day in Venice.

Grossglockner Highway trip to Venezia

As our farewell gift from beautiful Austria, the cows came out to say a proper goodbye...it was almost the highlight of the trip...

The beginning of the scenic highway

 The road that brought us here!!

 The glacier

Who could resist????

 This visitors center is at the top of a mountain, next to the glacier and overlooking Germany's highest peak, Grossglockner. On the right is a huge parking garage, restaurant and viewpoint. I'm so glad we weren't here during peak tourist season!!

At the end of the highway is the town of Heiligenblut (which means Holy blood) where we stopped for lunch and a requisite visit to their church. I saw this sign out front and had to take a picture.

And then it was off to Italy....

Jim's first time here...it was a long day driving (more on that later) but we arrived at 8 last night and have been walking all day today. Around every corner is a new picture waiting and Jim is having fun playing on dads camera. They are sharing quite well!

Bridge of sighs...

We went to the Rialto market today....delicious fish that we will likely eat tonight at our first birthday dinner celebration at Osteria alle Testiere...

The fruit market...wonderful figs and branches of rosemary...

More later...time to get ready for dinner.

Ciao!

Hohenwerfen Castle, Berchtesgaden, Germany and Hitler's Eagle's Nest

First stop today, Hohenwerfen Castle which stands high on a hill on the main road to St. Johann. We passed it several times on our journeys and had a perfect day to visit.

Cute little girl on the unicorn

 4 meter thick walls!!

 View from the bell tower...I severely challenged my acrophobia on this trip!!

 Coming down from the bell tower. It was a little disconcerting that the bell weighed 5K lbs and the entire tower dome was made of wood...really, really, old wood!

 Falconry demonstration outside the castle...of course it was all in German so we couldn't understand a thing..but enjoyable nonetheless. Beautiful birds..

This is a picture from the top of the Eagles Nest in Berchtesgaden, Germany where Hitler had his hideaway.

http://www.uncommon-travel-germany.com/eagles-nest-germany.html

Crazy trip up on the bus...and back down.

.

In the town of Berchtesgaden..

Street performer who just happened to be playing "Here Comes The Sun"...Tim stopping by to say hello....always thinking of him...

Wood carvers shop with beautiful Nativities and figurines, just a little out of my price range!