Yesterday, I landed in Vienna, Austria. My first stop was one of the apartments of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Only one of Mozart's apartments is still standing and that is Domgasse Number 5. Mozart lived here when he was wealthy. It is a very rich place. He wrote one of his operas here, the Marriage of Figaro. Then, I caught a cab and went to see the grave of Wolfgang Mozart. Mozart is buried in St. Marx cemetery, but the exact location of his grave is unknown. Because he died poor, he was buried in a grave with 4 or 5 other people and the grave was marked with a wooden marker. The wooden marker is gone. I wandered around the cemetery and then headed for lunch. I had lunch at the Mozart Cafe. This Cafe opened three years after Mozart's death and has been in business ever since. For 11 euros ($14) I got the Mozart Mixed Sausage Platter that had Klobasse, Debreziner, and Frankfurter sausages.

Today, I went and saw the Schönbrunn Palace. It is a huge castle with 1,441 rooms. Surrounding the castle is a garden called the Palace Park. This park contains the oldest zoo in the world. The zoo was built in 1745, this is before the American Revolutionary War. There are over 500 animals to see. I spent the whole day wandering in the zoo and the Palace.

Tomorrow, I am off on a tour of the Grossglockner High Alpine Road. For 32 euro ($41) I can get a pass for the day and drive the 48km at 2,504m (8215 ft). The brochure reminds me of Trail Ridge Road and that road is 12,000 ft. The Grossglockner is the highest peak in Austria. It is 3,798m (12,640ft) high. The Grossglocker High Alpine Road goes through the Hohe Tauren National Parkand to the Pasterze glacier.

For my last day, I hope to get to St. Anton am Arlberg. This is a ski area located in the western part of Austria. The Arlberg Ski Club dates back to 1901. The ski area has gondolas and I can't wait to ride in one. Their ski area says they have 440 km of descent. I probably won't make it down all of the trails, but hope to get down a lot of them. The snow forecast is much better than Colorado's. Their current base is 125 cm. That is over a meter of snow!

From here, I head back to Colorado. I've been gone a long time and I can't wait to get back home.