The Three Country Tour

(Sung to Gilligan's Island theme)

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip.

It started out at Garmisch stadt for a three country trip.

We settled back in our seats totally unaware that the captain of this fateful bus was a yoddler with lots of hair.

Kathy rode shotgun with Bunny by her side

Snapping photos left and right at castles in the sky.

The weather turned from stormy clouds to bright and sunny rays

with Stedel's in the meadows filled up with golden hay

The driver rounded hairpin turns at speeds in excess and

Kathy and Bunny were in deep distress!

Karen sat at the back of the bus blissfully unaware thinking of Lichetenstien and chocolate and eclairs.

Well ---you get the idea we could go on and on -- but it was another wonderful day in which we saw Austria and Switzerland and gave away all our money in Lichtenstein -- where they "take any kind of cash --- Euros, Dollars, or Francs --- but whatever currency you give them they give you change in some other currency making it impossible to know if you got you change back-- Poor Bunny wanted the passport stamped and they charged her two Euros!!

We realized quickly that they way to make money in Europe is to get someone to give you some land and then declare yourself a prince and your land a country!

Maybe that is what Rick Perry -- Gov. of Texas is planning to do! We found that it was a beautiful 28 km across and 8 km wide.

The day was cool and it was downright cold at Greialetche glacier which was at the very top of the tour. I learned today that Germany is trying to save its last Glacier --- on its highest mountain the Zugspitze -- where we were Tuesday. Here is an article about the attempt which we contributed to by ascending the mountain and buying coffee at its top. http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,2467214,00.html

We saw many beautiful little villages which seem untouched by modernity -- except for the ubiquitous satellite dishes and cars. But they really have done a great job of keeping their heritage in tact despite the numerous tourists.

Almost everyone had little garden plots probably no bigger than our school gardens in which were planted neat rows of lettuces and beans there are big rhubarb plants in the gardens and peas --- it is still quite cold here and the gardens are just going in. You can see little cold frames where people have started there plants early!

The views as we climbed through the Alps were beyond spectacular. They were breathtaking. We also loved the mountain meadows with cattle on the hillsides. Apparently the cows can come up for a couple of months, and the goats are hartier....staying longer into the cold weather. Our tour guide described a shami goat that grows a long beard which is used to make a natural brush know as a shami.. These brushes cost upward of $400! I guess I won't be bringing that back home to Dean for Father's Day or his Birthday.

The waters rushing down the mountain are white with limestone and are fed from the mountain streams. Often waterfalls cascade down perhaps as much as a thousand feed before joining the main river. We saw three different rivers today -The Inn river which goes past Innsbruck, the Rhine of course and the one nearest Garmisch which escapes me at the moment --- it starts with an "L"

Tomorrow we travel to Munich --- then in the evening to Rome.........