Saturday, February 26, 2011

Austria, Switzerland, Italy All in One Day




Three countries in one day. An American traveler's dream.

We woke up in Nauders, Austria in our "Feiern Wohnung", or Holiday Ski House.
Add Video
A farming village, the tiny winding streets almost too much for our eight passenger VW van.



Ornate wood workings decorate the simple geometric forms of their homes and barns.


The exterior of most buildings is covered with "Putz", a white Plaster.


The inhabitants embrace the building's blank canvas and implement hand painted decoration.

The proximity of one building to another is intimately close.


One-Room Churches overlap barns filled with hibernating livestock.



The roof lines are intriguing. Their relationship to those surrounding and to the Alps.

We had lunch in Samnaun, Switzerland.

The tax-free shops teem with luxury goods that climbed the steep one way tunnels to arrive

On this storefront sketch, they implement natural stone and hand painted details.

Coffee shops provide lambswool blankets on wooden Klismo cafe chairs for cozy sipping.

The town has only about 900 inhabitants, the rest are their for their need state of their state-of-the-art Gondola.

Ice Skating in Graun, Italy.

The remains of the drowned village is the top third of the 14th Century church bell tower.


The frozen water lets visitors to walk out and interact with the once sky-high structure.




Painted detailing popular in Italy here in the function of the Bell Tower's clock.


Thanks for looking!

Saturday, February 5, 2011

The Baroque city of Würzburg

The Baroque city of Würzburg is located along an important waterway, the Main, which connects to the famous Rhine River - Great Wine. One big attraction is the Würzburg residenz. Royalty along with their horse carriages were brought directly into the building and then escorted up these stairs.
Can't take the credit for the photo.

It was a great visit but a COLD one.

Going down the narrow staircase for a drink in a local bar, modern music bounced off ancient wooden beams and landed in the topped off chilled glasses of White Wine and Beer.


This Advertisement is great.

Guests are tucked away in every tiny corner, huddled over small open fires and candlelight.

I tried hard to re-create the space's charm through a sketch or two. Really liked the variations of seating arrangements.. some up in a loft space, others down low.