kindred spirits

Breakfast was incredible and one of the highlights of the trip. When we were invited to breakfast we expected to meet in a cafe somewhere in town but Andy, the designer of the park hotel, opened up his home to us and put on a huge breakfast from whatever he had in the fridge, cheeses, fresh homegrown tomatoes, bread, homemade jams and real coffee... it was all so delicious! And just look at the view, overlooking the Danube!

By mid morning more and more of his friends had joined us and each one of them were such friendly and generous people. We now have genuine offers to stay with them in their homes if we return to Austria and we've made them promise to look us up if they're in London. They were all so interested in the fact that we live on a boat and our way of life and particuarly with Woz's design aspirations.

We were so inspired by them all. We're convinced that Andy is going to be huge as a designer in Europe. He is now at the point as an artist where people give him grants and ask him to do a project. The funny thing was though that when we left (after several hours and turning down an offer to join them and some more friends for lunch) Andy kept saying how inspired he was after meeting us and how much he was jealous of our life in London. After five minutes at his house we said we'd happily swap!

The icing on the cake though for him and the team that worked on putting the project together was finding out that the whole reason for our 5 day trip to Austria was to stay in his hotel. He was absolutely beaming and kept saying "I feel 10 cm taller now!"

I am absolutely struggling to convey how much of an incredibly inspiring experience this was for Woz and I to continue to pursue our dreams and passions. An experience we'll never forget.

the skylight

our room

a room with a view

park hotel

... and this was it. Three concrete tubes in the middle of a park which had been converted into three separate hotel rooms. Woz had stumbled across them in an architecture magazine and the "hotel" joined our list of must sees.

On arriving in Linz we weren't able to find them and so called the 24 hour helpline which we had been given. A very friendly man who turned out to be the artist himself gave us directions and invited us to join him for breakfast the next morning, at first we declined but instead decided to throw caution to the wind and take up his offer.

waiting for the train back down

Not your average railway platform!

We had such an incredible time in St. Wolfgang and there was so much to see that we decided that although we had been heading towards Salzburg for the last two days we wouldn't have time to see both and so we made the hard decision to drive in the opposite direction towards Linz to the very reason we chose to visit Austria.

360 degrees of beauty

From the train station (you can see the building in the photo) you were free to roam anywhere you dared on the mountain with no viewing platforms or fences. It was very liberating and a definite hills are alive moment! From the peak there was a 360 degree view.

arriving at the station

dad would have been in his element

The rest of the afternoon was spent at the peak of the mountains. We boarded a train which pushed two carriages up the mountain winding in and out until we reached the peak and what a view ...

a beautiful spot

The water here was crystal clear and full of life,ducks, swans and huge fish which seemed to surge towards you when you dipped your foot in the water.

another gorgeous spot on the lake

now that's a boat!

a view to die for

The view from the courtyard behind the church. Check out the hotel swimming pool in the background.

timber!

With so much timber available the town was decorated with carved statues. There were so many to choose from but this one, which stood outside the church, was one of my favourites.

the main square

the streets were lined with ornate buildings

woz and nate cruise st. wolfgang

a romantic dinner for two

Our night in St.Wolfgang was the night of our anniversary and so after pitching our tent we walked into the historic town which was just too beautiful for words and dripping with culture. We found a beautiful restaurant (we wanted to try them all!) and ordered our meal which was a standard choice of either meat and potatoes or meat and potatoes. Just as it arrived Nate started to fuss and cry inconsolably which of course had everyone's attention. Woz had started to cut up my meal into small pieces so I could use a fork to eat it and hold Nate at the same time when an Austrian lady from another table came over to us and proceeded to chat away to us in German of which I understood ... "Let me take your baby ... you must eat .... I will take the buggy ... he will walk with me .... I insist!" I then uttered one of the few phrases I know in German and said "Thank you very much" and handed Nate over to her. She insisted on keeping him until we had both finished our meals. When she returned with Nate who was happily cooing away and well versed in German I tried to explain to her that because she had looked after him we were able to have a meal together on our anniversary but I'm afraid it was lost in translation.

and just when we thought it couldn't get any better

We had two swans come and visit us in the morning! I took this photo lying in my sleeping bag inside the tent.

oh the serenity...

and what did we find?

And on the other side of the lake was this incredible spot, secluded from the rest of the campsite but with an incredible view! So close to the water. We were lulled to sleep by the water gently washing against the shore.

our second night

On our second night while looking for a place to camp we came across a huge lake with a beautiful town across the water. The view was incredible but the campsite there was very busy and just didn't have the same feel as the night before so we decided we could always come back there and camp but we'd explore a little more first. We decided to head across the other side of the lake to the town we could see which was St Wolfgang.

every home had one

pit stop

another village along the way

ah the serenity ...

happy anniversary

What a morning! If only it had been this sunny on this day five years ago!

the lake

first night camping

Our first night was spent at a camping ground in the Gemäuse National Park. Although there were caravans there we were the only ones camping so we had a huge open green to pitch tent wherever we liked. We soon discovered why no one else was camping in the middle of the night when we had to put on extra layers. I'm sure it got to sub zero temperatures!

a village just outside of vienna

The first time we picked up our camera was outside of Vienna in lower Austria, once we had moved away from the main motorway and hit some of the smaller winding roads. This was about the point that Woz began to say "This would be amazing on my Ducatti. I wish Ruffy could be here to see this. A motorbike is the only way to see this sort of countryside." He then proceeeded to repeat this phrase at every breathtaking turn along the way for the next five days, and believe me, they were countless!

let's start from the very beginning .. a very good place to start ...

Doe, a deer, a female deer ....

Woz and I have just arrived home after the most incredible holiday we've ever spent together. Every moment was amazing, each day better than the one before. Between us we've taken hundreds of photos in just five days but I'll attempt to select a few that will show you what it was like. once again I've post dated each entry to show the date each shot was taken.

Our trip to Austria was to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary on September 1st. We flew into Vienna and had intended to visit the cities of Vienna, Linz and Salzburg over the five days and camp outside the cities. On our first day we picked up our hire car and headed straight for the hills, eager to see some of the mountainous peaks the land of 'The Sound of Music' had to offer. We had no idea just how spectacular it would be and quickly discovered that tis trip would be less about the cities of Vienna and Salzburg but about everything in between.

growing strong

One of Mum's contibutions to the Marina when she stayed was to plant some cherry tomatoes and some green peppers for us. I have to admit I didn't think they'd last under my care but in my newly domesticated state I have managed to keep them alive, flourishing even! They taste fantastic and very rarely make it to the kitchen.

water baby

Today Woz and I took Nate swimming for the first time. He absolutely loved it ... until Woz dunked him under the water. I was too scared to do it but I'm going to have to be strong! I'm going to try and take him once a week as it is less than a ten minute walk away. No photos for the blog unfortunately - we live in such an age that it is banned for child protection. Sad really. We'll always remember it though.

splish splash

Nate is beginning to smile more and more now for longer periods of time and more times in the day than before. Usually when he is in the bath or on his change mat and it is soooo lovely. At his age he really only really needs to be bathed every few days but it's so much fun and he enjoys it so much that we are starting to do it everyday.

three generations of parker men

Not sure if Nate qualifies as a man just yet ....

pop and nate

goodbye

Sunday was a sad day for us as we said goodbye to Ron and Fiona who have very much settled into their new roles of Nanna and Pop. We had a great time with them but as usual the week they were with us flew by very quickly.

museum crawl

Saturday meant a day off for Woz and so we took Ron and Fiona gallery hopping, starting off at the Design Museum to see a Formula One motorsport exhibition and then on to Hyde Park to the Serpentine Gallery.

the view from above

swingin' around