Austria 1970 and 1980

(Except Vienna, Salzburg, Melk, and Hallstatt)

We left Salzburg early one morning, headed toward Venice, Italy. We drove through the very pleasant Austrian countryside and passed some very nice resort areas. If the weather had been sunny and pleasant, we planned to drive over the mountains, but since it became very cloudy and was raining hard, we rode the auto train, that cost about $4. When all vehicles had been loaded, the train went through a very, very dark (like black) halfway up side of the Austrian mountain in nice sunny weather.

A few years later we arrived in Austria from Yugoslavia on a nice four lane road, and for no apparent reason found ourselves in stop and go traffic, then noticed the signs that said, “UMLEITUNG,” or detour. We then saw the police talking to people in cars up ahead, and when we got there, discovered the Austrians had a speed trap, and each and every driver was being issued a speeding ticket, and paying for it right there.

A week later we drove across the Gross Glockner Alpine Highway. It’s supposed to have the most beautiful mountain scenery of any highway in the world, and maybe that’s true, but after a little while all we could see were clouds, but they still charged an expensive toll, about $20, to cross that mountain. We drove less than a hundred miles in Italy, then re-crossed the border and drove over the Brenner Pass to Innsbruck. After driving on the Autobahn for 30 minutes, found they charged a $10 toll. We had missed the signs, if there were any, telling about the high cost for a short drive. Needless to say, we weren’t too happy with Austria and the Austrians that year.

In Austria, snowcapped mountains and waterfalls were everywhere. They have installed large heavy duty snow fences, constructed using steel rails, to make sure people can get here, and so the ski resorts can stay in business during the ski season.

After miles of beautiful mountain scenery, we came to a parking place on the side of the road. Several cars were parked there, with people enjoying the scenery and a small lunch and souvenir stand. Would you believe it, right next to this lunch counter, right where cars drove through the parking lot, a man and his wife had set up their picnic table, complete with chairs, tablecloth, plates and silverware, candlesticks, wine and all the trimmings. Lunch included the exhaust from passing vehicles.