Today was a busy one…I packed up my car, MJ and I hit balls for an hour, and I did grocery shopping at Hofer and Billa while MJ and Rudy ate lunch. Then we were off to Gmund, Austria, a small town of around 5000 about 40 minutes from Feld am See.
Gmund has a castle, a small private Porsche museum and a small, medieval town center enclosed by walls, with a graveyard just outside the walls, dotted with flowers. Outside the walls on the far side of the castle was a really nice shopping street lined with beautifully painted buildings. The Rathouse, or city hall was also there.
We first walked up to the top of the castle, and the view was worth the walk. We could see the town, encased by its walls and the distant mountains in every direction.
After descending, MJ and Rudy went to the Porsche museum (the first Porsches were built in Gmund in the mid-1940s to 1950). It’s a private museum with 30-40 cars. I walked through the old town and found the aforementioned shopping street and well…shopped.
After Rudy and MJ found me, MJ and I did a bit more clothes shopping and I found a few souvenirs for gifts. I also checked out a grocery store to get something to drink…the Austrians seem to really love their sweets! It was not a big store but there were 3 aisles of candy and sweets…plus the jam/nutella area.
It was a nice afternoon and the weather was not bad, though as we approached Feld am See it was raining again. The drive over and back along the Millstatter See and through many lakeside towns was very pretty and on the way over the mountains topped with snow were always in the background. Austria really is lovely.
After we returned to Feld am See, we said good bye and I drove to Villach, where the next tournament is taking place, and checked into my apartment there in Villach. It was raining the entire time but I found my apartment all right, the owner’s father (no English, but we communicated ok anyway) was out in front and checkin was smooth. And two more big pluses: 1: no stairs! 2: ample and free parking right in front.
I’m practing a lot and starting early tomorrow, probably no touring tomorrow.