Tuscany Italy - the last 2 weeks

 You can see something familiar at the back of the pic

 Fortification of a city in a tiny town in our region....it was market day.

 Lucca

 Home....complete with the occasional scorpian

 Another local town .... Bagni di Lucca

 Our view of Abetone - their snow fields in winter.

 Another shot of home

 Devil's Bridge 11th Century

 This is a 2 way street through a town called Barga

These mountains are in Serbia and are very rugged and lined with snow....unfortunately we were on the motorway and took this at full speed out the window.

offline

Offline while we are in Italy.....back online 18th June with some luck!

Austria - so much beauty

We are only here for 4 days but have hit Salzburg (birth place of Mozart and home of The Sound of Music)....amazing...although we had rain for the first half of Day 1.....then Day 2 at their Lakes District....formed by the Ice Ice melt when glaciers filled depositions in the landscape and turned to water....and the water is crystal clear and slightly coloured with a calcium like green...large fish can be seen from shore....I am in love with this country...its simply awesome. The most stunning image I saw, we couldn't photograph as we were on an elevated strip of motorway driving at 130 km/hr ....then it was gone. They should put in a parking bay or something....anyway the pics never do it justice but here goes....

 Ceiling of the cathedral....the whole place was a piece of intricate art.

yep....this is a church

 The Lakes are kept so clean that the boats...even the big toursit ferries....are electric

 Every home looks like a Cookoo Clock

Italian restaurant by the lake....an uncommon luxury for us

 View from our front yard

 Noah at a marionette museum

Atop the Salzburg Castle looking over the city. I have left out images of the castle itself but it is an extensive thing and a must visit!

Last day in Germany

We spent some more time in Rothenburg as well as explored the Romantic Road tourist route to the north. Note the integrity of the fabulous walled cities walls. You can walk the old military installation in the walls for some great views. This last pic shows some of the detailed engravings in the timber framed homes. The Germans have been very warm and friendly ....and helpful. Shopping here was so much easier than France....not that France was bad, just here you don't need to worry about translations etc, as they smile and want to help....generally the kids get given lollies at any shop you buy from which is a nice touch. I will miss the German beers....that come in 500mL bottles (haven't seen anything smaller) and their slabs contain 20 beers which start at about 8 euro for the slab!!! Remarkable. And when you order a beer from a pub....it comes in a huge glass....often 1L in size....what are they thinking?? Will miss the fairytale towns of Bavaria.

Ella's pony ride

 Ella managed a pony ride through the forest with our host and his daughter and friend. they returned a couple of hours later! This is the scenery around our home.

Noah's turn - albeit brief!

Bavaria still, forests and towns

 This is the signpost that signifies that you are leaving our little hamlet....notice that the next little town is 1 km away....you simply pass through numerous little towns some with several homes....others with many.....but usually there are no shops, no petrol stations etc maybe a pub if you are lucky.....the chain supermarkets have put them out of business.....so these towns are purely residential. Each home might own land that surrounds town but they cluster their homes together which harks back to old times .....it was safer that way....back in Australia we all live on our plot and fence it off so that farm homes are on their own discreet property.

 The forest owned by our host

 Frogs everywhere around your feet.

 More Romantic Road stuff here...this town is called Schwabish Hall...note the covered bridge behind me....there are heaps of them here.We loved this place....it was Saturday arvo and there were street markets too. The locals are friendly and come up and talk to you....in German first of course!

 Inside a bridge.

These scenes are typical of the Romantic Road towns. It has a very different feel to Belgium.

Medievel Bavarian Walled City

 This place is an enormous walled city with a couple of entry tower gates perfectly preserved and functioning as a city. The rest of the city resides outside the walls as the town outgrew itself. Its part of the Romantic Road which is probably the best known and visited tourist attraction in Germany. Essentially there is an old trade route that joins a bevy of German towns in Bavaria that goes south past Munich and is characterized by medieval towns and castles. Pretty spectacular....and thankfully since its touristy....many speak English which helps!

 The town square - this is where the executions occurred in front of townsfolk!

 These are similar to the English tudor constructions and are of similar vintage but the German timber work is far more ornate.

 On the edge of town on a  hillside spur overlooking a valley once stood a castle which was ruined by an earthquake. The Emperors sons did not live long so there was no reason to repair the castle. These are the gates leading from the castle site back into the city. there was a defense structure for pouring boiling oil onto would-be intruders. It was interesting to read that these were dangerous times to live especially at night.

A small part of the castle ruins were restored into a chapel that is dedicated to the memory of the mass murder of  Jews who had established a learning centre and community here in 1241 AD. An impoverished nobleman who was unable to pay back a loan to Jewish people apparently started  rumours that led to their hatred. These feelings spread throughout many regoins of Germany and saw murders of tens of thousands of Jews. With Rothenburg's history, the Jewish community sought refuge in the castle but were attacked by a mob and burned alive. Inside the walls of the chapel are engraved stones with names....and beautiful artwork painted on the stone. Shocking stuff.