Austria

After our somewhat relaxing but refreshing stay in Cesky Krumlov we headed south for Austria on our way to Venice.  We figured that we'd drive until we (or the kids ) had enough.   We stopped in Salzburg for lunch and walked around the old town.  It has a very impressive (from the inside at least) Cathedral and it is a pretty city but couldn't hold a candle to Prague so we headed on after a few hours.  We enjoyed the drive through the Austrian Alps and I was struck by how much flat land there is in both Austria and Switzerland.  I guess I only ever remembered the beautiful Alps!

We pushed right through to the Austrian/Slovenia/Italian border and spent the night in a nice little bed and breakfast in Villach.  The next am we tried to go up the mountain as Jen was in one of her mountain climbing moods again but thankfully for the kids and I the ski resort we were going to use to get started on the hike was closed for some unplanned maintenance.  It was a pretty spot however and we could see a castle ruins across the lake so drove over there to have a look.  We wandered around the ruins for a bit and then found a monkey sanctuary that the kids begged to visit.  Jen had seen enough monkeys in Africa and Asia and doesn't like zoos after that so begged out so I took the kids in while she took some well deserved quiet time for herself.

They had about 100 acres of fenced in forest with about 150-200 Japanese Monkeys.  They would only let you in as part of a guided tour (which was in German of course).  The monkeys knew what to expect and were ready at every opportunity to show off for special treats.  They stayed away from the tourists for the most part and it was fun to watch them interact with each other and perform tricks and or act up to single themselves out for a special treat.  We even got to see a few of them swimming.

After that, it was back in the car for the drive to our campsite in Cavallino on the northern peninsula surrounding Venice on the Adriatic Sea.

Here's some more pictures.