even the football was beautiful!

Back on the road again we continued to see breathtaking scenery.

Time after time we drove past football fields with the most incredible view. I wouldn't mind going along to watch Nate playing football if I got to sit on the sidelines and look at this view.

andy with the youngest hotel guest

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