Back to local shopping!

We have certainly had a busy week so far in Austria, our visit to Salzburg was lovely and whether we are in the city or the country it is just so clean and pleasant. When in the city or towns we are just amazed with the colourful architecture and woodwork, going into the country you then see rich greens like you have never seen before. You can understand why they filmed the Sound of Music here as they keep the grasses and fields cut so nicely, and the flowers, there are flowers everywhere. One thing that stands out is that it's like Switzerland,  everything is so clean, no chewing gum on pavements, run down properties or litter. Everyone seems to take great pride in their country and that reflects around every corner. Food standards are incredibly high and we have learnt to shop differently. There are no large 'out of town' shopping areas and certainly no massive supermarkets, DIY or electrical stores. Instead there are small versions of each, often family owned along the high streets of most Cities, towns and large villages. It works well as it makes you go into the picturesque streets to explore and like many years ago the smaller local street shops are thriving. You buy things fresh here, no weekly shopping pushing overloaded trollies with defective wheels towards long checkout queues!. Yes, you get trollies but they are smaller and a bag or two is your limit at the checkout. The 'sell by' dates are far shorter and you may only buy a couple of dinners but they are fresh and you visit the small well stocked supermarkets every 2 or three days. We were worried how this was going to effect us travelling in a motorhome but we have quickly adapted and are enjoying the cuisine that these marvellously organised countries have to offer. Fresher food means less processed food and we feel we have a far healthier diet as well which means healthier people as can also be seen by the amount of cycling. Everyone seems to own a bike and the authorities provide cycle lanes and walkways (Wanderwegs) everywhere. The pedestrian and cyclist is well respected as can be seen by the way traffic will instantly yield and give priority to anyone on foot or riding a bike. We tend to walk everywhere to take full advantage of these excellent safe facilities and Bradley loves it, we also sleep very well!We are currently by the Wolfgang Lake near St Wolfgang and this whole area just comes alive at Christmas with original and authentic Wolfgangseer Christmas Markets. We found this massive floating metal structure beside us on the lake and eventually realised it was a giant Advent Lantern which is floated out with stars all over the lake at Christmas. We are seriously considering returning here over the Christmas period as it just looks so nice. We will be moving further East soon toward the great Danube. I was considering a brief visit to the Czech Republic or Slovenia but Lorraine is not too keen. Also there are insurance implications if we enter these countries and we met someone who had just returned from Slovenia, who said it was really empty and there was nothing to do, so we may well stick to plan A and go into Germany for a month.  

Auf Wiedersehen