Week 157-159: Austria, Venice, Český Krumlov

We started year four with Eric’s mom, stepdad, and grandpa!

For 10 days, new memories were made, new experiences were had, and new perspectives were shared as we witnessed a magical moment 6000ft up on an Austrian mountain, explored the charming canals of Venice, and walked the cobblestone streets of Český Krumlov.

October 26

The fam arrived and Eric’s grandpa made us all matching Pack Mama t-shirts!

October 27

We spent the afternoon in Gmunden and then drove to Salzburg for dinner!

We have been to Salzburg so many times and it never gets old, but coming up with new things to say about it is challenging. So just enjoy the pictures of the castle, old cobblestone shopping streets, and the beautiful night sky we had.

October 28

The same goes for Gosau… We come here every time we have guests. It is beautiful in every season and I always try to look for something different, but for now, enjoy the pictures of the cutest alpine cows, village, lake, and mountain range.

After we finished up lunch in Gosau we rounded the corner over to Hallstatt. Arriving in the afternoon makes it nearly impossible to get a parking spot. Even my very optimistic self was in complete doubt. So we ended up dropping everyone off, and Eric and I drove around the lake to Obertraun to catch a different glimpse of this fairy-tale town while our guests were walking through it.

High above Hallstatt and Obertraun is the Dachstein five-finger lookout. Once a month, when there is good weather, the mountain hosts an evening event for the rising of the full moon. This was where Eric and I went paragliding in week 42!

After ascending 6,889 feet with the help of two cable cars, the air became colder, and the mountains much snowier. We were about one hour away from the sunsetting and the moon-rising.

*Sunsetting on the Dachstein Krippenstein*

We, along with 100 other people began the 25-minute hike to the five-finger lookout platform and listened to the Obertrauner Weisenbläser brass musicians as the sun slowly disappeared behind the mountains, and the full moon lit up the sky.

We got back home around 9 PM only to wakeup at midnight and head to the Salzburg train station.

October 29

We boarded the NightJet from Salzburg at 2:20 AM heading for Venice.

Nightjet trains connect various European cities and offer overnight travel options, allowing passengers to sleep on the train and arrive at their destination the next morning. The Nightjet offers different types of sleeping accommodations, such as reclining seats, couchettes, and private sleeper cabins.

What I would love to say is this form of travel was smooth sailing as the train glided through the night. The rhythmic clickety-clack of the tracks beneath and the gentle rocking of the carriage enhanced the overall experience. However, that could not be further from the reality.

At 8:30 AM, we pulled into the Venice Santa Lucia Train Station. Very much unrested due to the fact sleeping in the reclining compartments on the NightJet is more of a nightmare.

Dealing with nine intermediate stops between Austria and Venice, the border patrol slamming every car open and closed while shining flashlights in your face to count people on board, and other travelers continuously trying to sit in our compartments all night long were just a couple of issues we ran into.

If you decide to ride the NighJet while on a European vacation, make sure to book a private cabin. Those actually lock and have beds to lounge in during the ride. However, these beds sell out months in advance. If they are sold out, you can book an entire 6-person compartment like we did. The seats fold out and you can attempt to get some rest or at least take pleasure in not having random people sitting with you.

Here are a few tips to make the 6-person compartment a bit more comfy–

Bring Clorox wipes. I have no idea how often these cars are cleaned and it showed.
Pack snacks. While there is a dining car, it’s nothing like the magical Harry Potter train cars asking for your order.
1000% bring a bed sheet to protect your face from the scratchy, grimy seats. Eric and I brought one and it definitely made it a bit more bearable.

We made our way off the train, had breakfast while people watching, and then walked over to our Airbnb. The property manager greeted us and said there was a power outage across the city which we already knew about from the power going out at breakfast.

So instead of taking the elevator up, we now had to climb four flights of stairs with our bags. Luckily the power was restored and the Airbnb was quite lovely. The rooftop views and spaciousness was the biggest factor in our booking decisions.

If you’re heading to Venice, click here to stay where we stayed!

We all unpacked and took a power nap before heading out into the beautiful chaos of the canals.

With the first swipe of our 48-hour ferry pass, our time in Venice officially began. We took a 12-minute ferry from Ferrovia to Rialto, and then methodically meandered this floating city.

Did you know Venice has about 400 bridges?

Our first stop was the Scala Contarini del Bovolo. This spot makes all the top Venice lists because of the beautiful spiral staircase. It is the tallest one in Venice spanning six floors.

A lot of buildings have iron bars on the brick facades. These are used for reinforcement and essentially staple a building together.

Another popular photo spot is the pier behind Hotel San Moise.

*Posing on the pier behind Hotel San Moise.*

We crossed one of the 400 bridges to see one of the most famous Venetian bridges–The Bridge of Sighs. This enclosed bridge passes over the Rio di Palazzo connecting the New Prison to the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace.

Since we were all tired, we hopped back on the ferry, got back to the Airbnb, and ordered pizza for dinner.

October 30

Our big tour day started with a tour to Murano, Burano, and Torcello.

The first stop was Murano.

Known worldwide for its glassmaking tradition, this tour brings travelers into a workshop where a glass master spins a vase and creates a horse in 10 minutes. The blistering heat of the kiln reaches temperatures of up to 2,912°F. For reference, the surface of the sun is 10,000°F

Click here to book the tour

As the demo was done, we got to get up close to see the masterpieces. As we got closer, the vase exploded. Sadly I didn’t catch it on camera, but I caught the pieces of the vase in the photo below!

Beyond the glass workshops, Murano's colorful canal-side houses, intimate squares, and quaint restaurants create a captivating atmosphere. It’s hard to believe people live here. Murano's present-day population is in the ballpark of 4,000 permanent inhabitants, but it was once home to nearly 30,000.

We got back on the tour boat and headed for Burano.

Burano is a Venetian town known for lace making. When Eric and I were in Venice in 2021, there were old ladies sitting outside working on lace. This time, it was a bit too cold and windy.

Colorful like Murano, this charming fishing village captures the hearts of Instagrammers and explorers with its brightly painted houses lining narrow canals. Each building seems to compete for attention with its bold facades, creating a postcard-perfect scene begging to be photographed.

For the final stop on the tour, we pulled up to the tiny Torcello island, known for the Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta, the Ponte del Diavolo, and the stone seat.

The quiet lagoon waters and the rustle of cypress trees are an escape from the bustling canals of Venice. Some may say it’s even a bit boring in Torcello. But the history of it all makes it a place to see. This was the first inhabited island in Venice. Also, Ernest Hemingway spent time on this island in 1948. As we left, we pulled olives off a couple of trees and taste-tested them!

After our 6-hour island tour, we had dinner before joining a Hallows-eve Ghost Tour

Seeing Venice after dark, and learning about its even darker history was a cool way to spend the night before Halloween. To hear various legends and thrilling stories of the Venetian past along the dimly lit streets while the tide was rising onto the streets was a cool way to kick off a spooky holiday.

Click here to book the tour

October 31

For our final day in Venice, we booked a private tour of St. Mark’s Basilica and Doge’s Palace.

Click here to book the tour

Our guide was a true Venetian. She was born and raised in this floating city. When we asked her what it was like to grow up in Venice, she said the rest of the world seemed weird to her and that she was jealous of tourists seeing Venice for the first time.

We started our 3-hour tour in front of the city’s most important landmarks and got to skip a long line of people in front of St. Mark's Basilica.

We learned the art on the exterior of the church is made up of tiny fingernail-sized mosaics. In fact, all the art seen inside the church is mosaic. No frescoes or canvased paintings anywhere which is typical of the Byzantine era. An era where domes, arches, elaborate mosaics, and a focus on interior space took priority.

*Slowly climbing the stairs to the second floor in St. Marks Basilica*

We learned about the famous four horses, known as the "Horses of Saint Mark.” These Famous Horses were looted from Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade in 1204. The horses originally had ruby red eyes, but somewhere along their travels, the rubies disappeared. Today, these horses now stand in the museum inside the basilica to be preserved and the four bronze horses above the entrance of the cathedral are replicas.

St. Mark is said to be buried in this church.

We exited the cathedral and entered the Doge's Palace–a palace that served as the official residence of the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice.

The last doge was Ludovico Manin. He failed to fulfill his duties in 1797 when Napoleon Bonaparte's soldiers entered Venice, marking the end of the ancient Republic. Today, the Doge's Palace is a museum that welcomes visitors to explore its rich history, decadent interiors, and fascinating stories of Venetian political life that unfolded within its walls.

As we walked from room to room, our guide highlighted important pieces of art, showed us how to spot the doge in a painting, and helped us understand what each icon represented while inside the Chambers and Courtrooms. From the palace, we walked inside the Bridge of Sighs and through the Prison.

For one last look at the city, and perhaps the prettiest one, we went onto the rooftop of the Venice Mall–Fondaco dei Tedeschi.

While researching the best things to do in Venice, I learned about this panoramic terrace. The only way you can go up is if you made an online reservation 21 days in advance. So I made a note in my calendar to book on October 10th to make our reservation and 21 days later we were rewarded with the prettiest views of the Grand Canal and to my delight the Dolomites in the background!

Click here to book your tickets- Several people were getting turned away at the door because they did not have a reservation. So don’t wait until the day of to try and get a spot.

Another top spot to see in Venice is the Librairie Acqua Alta. A quirky, overstuffed bookstore that keeps the majority of its books in bathtubs and boats to protect from when the high tide washes through its doors. At the back of the store, there is a tiny patio of stacked water-damaged books and now people can walk on them to pose for a picture.

I’d be remiss not to mention Suso. A classy gelateria with more than two dozen Instagram-ready flavors. Here I discovered the best ice cream I’ve ever had in my life. We visited the ice cream shop two times in 72 hours and both times I got the peanut butter chip.

We finished the night slowly walking back to the train station. While American Halloween is not prominent in Venice, we saw tons of spooky decorations and kids dressed up in costumes running into cafes and stores asking for candy!

November 1 - 4

We got back to Salzburg around 2 AM and back in Gmunden by 3 AM.

After we got back from Venice, we all became ill (except Eric’s grandpa). I guess this is a good time to advocate for getting your covid and flu boosters because they clearly worked for him while the rest of us were suffering 😅

The day before everyone had to leave, Eric and I managed to muster up enough energy to check out Český Krumlov with Eric’s grandpa!

Castles, cathedrals, bear moats, quirky architecture, delicious food, and a little one-on-one time in this enchanting medieval town was a nice way to close out the trip.

For some, the allure of distant lands, and novel experiences can feel more like a source of stress than a passport to joy. The discomfort of navigating unfamiliar streets, deciphering foreign languages, or grappling with the unpredictability of travel logistics can be overwhelming. However, these inconveniences abroad broaden your perspectives and make you more grateful for familiar routines. When you find yourself sitting on the couch at home, you get to reminisce about a corner of the world you knew nothing about before you left home, and because of that…we travel.

Week 157-159: Austria, Venice, Český Krumlov

Week 161: Basel, Colmar, and Strasbourg Christmas markets

Week 156: Three Years Abroad