It's been raining all day, so I have transported myself back to Schloss Kapfenstein, a fabulous converted castle we visited in Austria. The fortress was originally built in 1065--just before the dastardly Normans invaded England!--but, as you can see, it is now quite peaceful and lovely.
Looks like my photos from Hochosterwitz are still in the "to do" pile, so I thought I'd post a few from Riegersberg, another Austrian castle up a BIG hill. The castle itself is not as exciting, but great views up there! I hope you get an idea of scale from the hubcap in the last photo.
Hallstatt, Austria, is one of the most magical places I've ever visited--you drive through a mountain, and you go find yourself in another world. We very nearly didn't stay, even though we had a reservation! When we arrived, there were so many tourist buses we weren't sure we wanted to stick around; plus, you had to leave your car outside of town (in the mountain!), which means lugging suitcases to your hotel. So we went to Baden, the closest city, but were not able to find a hotel. We were so lucky! When we got back, all the tourist buses were gone and we were in Brigadoon.
