This will have to be short, because internet access in Austria is expensive (.50 euro a minüte), also the keyboards over here are whack. Anyway, after leaving Cuenca, in Spain, a lovely town set on top a set of cliffs formed by the convergence of two rivers in the Mancha, we headed into Switzerland. We found Interlaken to our liking, ringed by towering mountains and filled with things to do, although we passed on the chance to either kayak, heli ski or skydive the Alps. We did manage to get up in the hills below the famous Eiger, and took a delightful hike in the snow and ice to the little village of Murren. Set on the edge of a cliff below the peak of Schilthorn, Murren stares boldly at the permanently snow-covered peaks of Eiger and Jungfrau, both over 4000 meters. Huge, in other words. Massive. Sublime.

So we nestled in to Murren, staying at the cheapest place which we coud find, our room looking directly up the majestic valley. Skiing season is in its final throes, so we rented old-fashioned wooden sledges and headed down the Schilthorn slopes, stopping for a beer and soup halfway down. We managed to make it to the bottom with a minimum of injuries, though I did get into a snowball fight with two little Swiss kids, which I think I lost. A delightful two days. We even woke up at midnight on the second night and walked out onto the hotel´s snow-covered tennis courts (!) to view the Alps by the light of the full moon. A truly amazing spectacle.

But as I mentioned, Switz is so overpriced that staying long is painful and foolish. So now we´re in Innsbruk, Austria, about to take a train to the top of the local peak for a grand view of Tyrolian beautv, the snow-coverd peaks surrounding this quaint, friendly town. We´re on to Venice tonight!