A Wedding in the Alps

After Munich we went to the little Austrian village of Kitzbuhel, where the elite go to ski (it is the most valuable real estate in Austria). In the summer it is a little less upscale. Fun wedding - Val’s nephew, Chris, married Alisha, whose family are Kitzbuhel regulars. Lots of meat, lederhosen, and even some yodeling from this colorful character who sang for us:

She even sang “Edelweiss,” much to the delight of the crowd, who joined in.

Salzburg, Austria was next at hand, with a couple of Val’s siblings and their families, all in for the wedding.

(Side story: Val’s older brother, Peter, was in the Navy Seals when he came to our wedding in 1984, and met and fell in love with Val’s maid of honor, Karla. Three months later they eloped to Salzburg, and honeymooned in Kitzbuhel.)

Salzburg is very proud of the Sound of Music. Peter and Karla and family took the Sound of Music Tour. While we did not, we did manage a picture of Val in front of the actual gazebo where Leisl sang “Sixteen Going on Seventeen”:

The gazebo was at the amazing Schloss Hellbrunn estate. The building hid fountains everywhere - amazing feats of engineering for the 1600s. The owner liked to seat his guests and then turn on the hidden fountains and soak them (but not him) - and by protocol of the time they were not allowed to rise until he did.

Salzburg was an impressive and interesting city. For example, you will be fascinated to know that Salzburg has the “largest Dwarf garden in Europe.” And of all the many, many dwarf gardens I have visited, it was certainly the largest.

From there we drove through the alps to Hall in Tirol, a lovely town where we stayed for a night, and then to Alta Badia, a gorgeous area high in the alps - so high up I could scoop up and hand Val a snowball.

(Side note. We had to pack for nine weeks in Europe, including wedding dress clothes, warm enough clothes for the very chilly high-alps, and light clothes for the 90-degree weather of Europe in the summer. I don’t advise traveling like this.)

One final point. It is still difficult for me to travel through Germany and Austria. At each place I visit I can’t help but think, “I wonder if the Jews of this place hid in those mountains I’m seeing”, or “Did the officers of the SS lounge around in this estate in Kitzbuhel.” Salzburg famously, publicly burned Jews in 1492, expelling the rest, so it did not have a Jewish population again until the 19th century. That lasted less than 100 years, as the Jews of Salzburg were all killed again. It is challenging being Jewish and traveling in these countries.

Now, on to Lake Garda and then Lake Como. More later!

Ciao, Paul