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Trip Overview |
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Austrian hiking and Venice An illustrated itinerary of one of our many gay travel adventures. This information supplements our Hike the Austrian and Italian Alps at our own pace and enjoy the camaraderie of other gay travelers. Our Alpine Odyssey begins in Innsbruck and ends in Venice--the most romantic city in the world. We stay in quaint family-run inns and enjoy hiking, local food, wines and fresh mountain air.
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1-2: Innsbruck
Upon arrival at the Innsbruck Airport or train station, transfer to the Romantikhotel Schwarzer Adler in the center of Innsbruck, where our rooms are reserved for two nights. Here you will meet our tour leader who will effect introductions for the group and host our Welcome dinner. The hotel's typically Tyrolean dining room boasts handsome wood wainscoting, beamed ceilings, stained-glass windows, antique clocks and ancient copperware. The hotel's history dates back five hundred years. It was originally a coaching inn and at one time a nobleman's palace, and since the beginning of the 20th Century has been run by the Ultsch family who provide an ambience of great friendliness. From our hotel in the heart of the old city, our full day tour will take us to some of the splendid buildings of this capital of the Tyrol region. The city stands beside the river Inn, surrounded by a circle of high mountains. Originally settled by Roman legions, the city as we now know it was founded in the 12th Century. Innsbruck became the capital of the Hapsburgs in 1420 and continued for many decades to enjoy great prosperity. We will see the symbol of the city, the Goldenes Dachl, a late Gothic balcony with a gilded copper roof. We tour the Imperial Court Palace with its magnificent rooms and gorgeous chapel embellished by the Empress Maria Theresa in 1754. The Imperial Court Church is known for its massive and highly impressive monument dedicated to the Emperor Maximilian I, featuring 28 larger-than-life-size bronze statues of the emperor's ancestors and contemporaries in mourning robes.
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3-5: Vorarlberg Valley
In the morning we depart Innsbruck by motorcoach and drive west through the Vorarlberg valley to Gargellen (4839 feet) where we will arrive for lunch. This afternoon our tour leader plans a short introductory hike. We stay three nights at the charming Alpenhotel Heimspitze in Gargellen. The core of the hotel is an old farmhouse that has been expanded over the years to encompass comfortable guest bedrooms provided with all modern facilities. The lounge is very cozy, with a low ceiling and walls paneled in wood. A ceramic stove, pewterware and copper pots create an inviting, rustic atmosphere in which to meet friends and sip the local wine. The hotel has been in the Thöny family for four generations. Gargellen is a small mountain air and health resort, situated in beautiful meadows and dominated by the Madriner Spitze (9101 feet). Tour leader Tim Browne writes of it that "the town is tiny and the hiking is super." On one of our hikes you may be able to look down into eastern Switzerland since Gargellen is very near the frontier.
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5: Carinthia
Today's drive through the Austrian Tyrol takes us back along the valley through Innsbruck, then off the main road and up the idyllic Alpbachtal valley to the small village of Alpbach. There, on a sunny plateau at 3192 feet we can make a short hike before luncheon at one of the timbered inns. Because of its pretty old houses and the masses of flower decorations on all balconies, Alpbach was awarded the title of Europe's most beautiful flower village by the Council of Europe in 1993. From here we drive on into Carinthia and over the Grossglockner High Pass, a truly spectacular road with views of the snow-capped Eastern Alps all around us. En-route we will stop at the Franz-Josefs-Hohe viewing platform which offers us a magnificent panorama of Austria's highest mountain, the Grossglockner (12,458 feet), and the Pasterze Glacier below, six miles long by a mile wide. We arrive in the afternoon at Haus Senger in the small town of Heiligenblut (4196 feet), where we stay three nights. Our tour leader says it is his favorite place to stay in Europe, with the scenery green and unspoiled by development. Haus Senger is a chalet-type hotel whose dark wood facade has three tiers of balconies overflowing with geraniums. Guests enjoy stunning mountain views. The hotel, known especially for its excellent meals, was founded by an Austrian ski champion and is run by his family. The guest bedrooms were recently modernized with full respect for their traditional Alpine ambience.
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6-7: HEILIGENBLUT
The town derives its name from a vial said to contain Christ's blood, brought here by Saint Briccius, who died during a heavy snowstorm on his way from Constantinople. On one of our hikes we may see a chapel built at 5288 feet on the spot where the saint's body was found. The vial is venerated as a relic of great sanctity in the town's church that was built in 1483. Heiligenblut lies in a valley at the base of the Grossglockner peak, and is the perfect base for making hikes into the surrounding mountains. We will undertake some wonderfully rewarding hikes along alpine meadows with the famous snow-capped summit in view. Our tour leader will plan the program to suit the tour members' capabilities. A favorite trail leads up the Aston Valley where we can observe the highest year-round farming community in Europe. We will see ancient waterwheels, savor luncheon at a local inn, and catch a glimpse of the snow-covered Dolomite range in northern Italy.
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8-10: RADEIN
This morning's drive takes us across the Italian frontier and on into the gentler, sunny, southern Tyrol which the poet Goethe called "the land where the lemons bloom." Here we stay for three nights at Radein (5125 feet), a primarily German-speaking Italian town situated amidst lush, green forests and commanding fine views of the Brenta, Presanella, Ortler and Otztal Alps, with rewarding hiking opportunities. Our hotel here is the Berghotel Zirmerhof, built around an ancient farmstead dating from about the year 1100. It is set amongst meadows and reached by a private road. Since 1890 guests have been received here in the old parlor, library, comfortably appointed lounges and dining room. As befits a traditional country lodge, guest bedrooms come in all shapes and sizes and meals are of very high standard. Mrs. Hanna Perwanger, grandmother of the present young and handsome owner, wrote a delightful book of her reminiscences and her favorite recipes for some of the dishes we will savor here. Most of the produce is from the hotel's own farm, whose apples enjoy great fame! The variety of hikes is extensive, and the European Long-Distance Hiking Trail No.5 runs right past our hotel on its way from Lake Constance to Venice. Other paths lead through forests, along meadows, and past gorges and waterfalls. The Bletterback Canyon is a great favorite, with a stream flowing past unusual rock formations. Riding horses are available as well. Our tour leader's favorite hikes are to the Weisshorn with its white peak, and the Schwartzhorn with its black summit.
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11-14: Venice
In the morning we drive by motorcoach from the Italian Alps to Venice's shoreline. There we leave our coach behind and embark by motorboat to join the amazing bustle on the Grand Canal. Our boat makes a turn onto a much more tranquil canal adjoining the Galleria Dell' Accademia that houses some of the finest art in Venice, then docks at our hotel, the Hotel American. Actually a traditional Venetian mansion that has been converted into a friendly, intimate hotel, it is just a few minutes' walk from the Piazza San Marco. With all its complexity and variety, Venice has been said to be in itself the greatest surviving work of art in the world. Today's expertly guided walking tours will take us to some of its major historic and artistic sights. In the morning we visit the Piazza San Marco and its surrounding buildings: the Doges' Palace and the basilica of Saint Mark. In the afternoon we stroll through the fascinating Dorsoduro district, inspecting the gaunt Frari church and the nearby Scuola di San Rocco with its incredible Tintoretto masterpieces. Weather permitting, we will take a twilight boat ride to our restaurant for dinner. In the morning we visit a colorful fruit and vegetable market, then continue by motorboat around Guidecca Island and go ashore at the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. There we visit the church and stroll in its cloisters and gardens. We finish our sightseeing at a nearby Armenian monastery before returning to our hotel for a free afternoon in this magnificent city. Lunch will be on your own today. You may wish to shop in the elegant Italian shops, visit the Accademia gallery, or just sit at one of the cafes in the Piazza San Marco and watch the world go by. Napoleon called it "the finest drawing room in Europe." Tonight we enjoy our farewell dinner. Today we bid farewell to Venice and travel by motorboat across the lagoon to Venice Airport or to the train station. There are direct flights to several European cities with connecting flights to North America and Delta Airlines offers a non-stop flight to New York. Because of varying flight and train schedules, this transfer is not included in the tour price, but our Venetian guide will assist with transfer arrangements.
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