Took train to Alps. Electric railways - cog wheels when grade too steep). Lots of money - banking. Expensive, limited amount of housing available to foreigners - very expensive. 3/5ths of country is mountain - Alps. Limestone - South Swiss the Italian part - Mediterranean. South Alps stone homes and roofs - now holiday houses in narrow valleys - narrow roads. Industrial and financial in northern part. Purple frog, full of frogs (large man made gold frog) covered bridge as you enter town - Lucerne.
"Twice a year, the weather prophets of the Muota valley, an area near Lake Luzern, meet to present their predictions for the forthcoming six months.
The six prophets, also known as the Weather Frogs, are all men of the outdoors, who say their love for, and proximity to, nature has endowed them with special divining talents. In Switzerland, they are also known as Wätterschmöcker, a Swiss-German term used to describe those who claim an ability to “smell” the weather." https://www.thelocal.ch/20120320/2898
Innsbruck, Austria to Lichtenstein. Very wealthy, low taxes, skiing area, Prince getting older - family well respected. Austrian Alps boarded by 6 countries, language German. Small castles walking lake. Storks on roof when babies born - mom and dad get frogs and push them down the baby's throat. Austria is the size of Maine. Little natural wealth, lots of mountains, steel. Land divided among wife and children when father dies. Train goes through tunnels in mountain - a protected roof for snow protection. Swiss and Austria fields so clean their woods and cities very clean. Swiss styles homes on hills.
Salzburg - small villages, homes very Bavarian all full of flowers. Always churches with lovely steeples. Ossuary - remains of dead people, their bones. Lots of wood especially top part of house stone or plastic bottom of house - pictures painted on houses. Gorgeous flowers - Lake District- some blue sailboats - where Sound of Music Wedding was filmed. Spooning - whittling when courting - making your spoon. Outside Slazburg - fruit trees - pear. Children sang about plague - pocket full of posies - a tisket, a tasket. Farms in squares. Stamped grapes.
Danube River - Krems - city on Danube very small and quaint - lovely.
Vienna is wonderful - opera just perfect in every way. Very "Bavarian" churches and steeples. Very hilly and green. Fire storm consumed Munich. Large salt mine in Munich area. Attended festival. Tents up, music, and beer. Life sized figures made of pretzels. 1348 Black Plague. Stucco houses - lots of flowers - painted walls - balconies with flowers. Small barns - feed for animals. Cottages with windows and shutters. Flower boxes beneath windows. All tools - ropes, saws hanging outside walls of small farms. Rattenberg - flat, farmland - full of shops. Christmas shop unbelievable.
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