In our snow-starved Bangkok mindframe, we also took the gondola ride up nearby Hungerberg mountain to see lots more snow. It's mostly a ski run but we just went for the views, and too be even colder than we were in town. We were eating local food the whole time, which Somchai didn't really like, because it's very heavy. I don't remember much of the food, but I do remember we had lunch at the top of the mountain, a huge plate of sauerkraut with a dumpling the size of a volleyball perched on top. Maybe a hearty finish to a hard day on the slopes, but a bit much to stomach after a half hour of posing for photos!

The same Austrian emperor (I think Maxmillian) who was responsible for the underwhelming Golden Roof also had the much more impressive Hofburg, or royal palace, built for him, pictured at left. The building at right is just an example of the baroque feel for much of the old town architecture. I don't have a good photo of our hotel, the Goldener Adler. It's 500 years old, and feels it, very atmospheric. It had about 20 rooms, and much to our surprise, Thailand's crown princess was a recent guest, along with hundreds of other royals over the centuries. I remember our room being quite horrible, but also having the feeling that that was the only terrible room in the place.

There aren't that many must see tourist attractions in Innsbruck, it's more just the feel of the place, a busy, pleasant Alpine city with very typical architecture surrounded by the Alps. At left is the city's most famous landmark, the Golden Roof. It's invariably a disappointment, like the Mannekin Pis in Brussels. It's attractive enough, but you'd walk by it several times before you really noticed it, but for the crowds looking at it trying to figure out if that's really the landmark. Anyway, it was built in the 1500's for the Austrian emperor when he was visiting Innsbruck. At right, the various pastel buildings throughout the old town, many with baroque flourishes, are a more interesting sight.

11. Innsbruck

I remember when our family was planning

our first trip to Europe, and I was so excited about all the planning involved. I was trying to work out a trip covering about 30 countries in the two weeks available, which is not as easy as it sounds. But I remember that all the trip variations had to include Innsbruck; for some reason I had become obsessed with the place. Then one day, my intense trip planning was interrupted by a family announcement: my mother was pregnant and the trip would have to be cancelled. I was crushed, no Innsbruck! Well, for many years now I've had to view my little sister Aimee as if perpetually on a scale, her "charms" always being weighed against the loss of my Innsbruck fantasy. So it was with great relief that I finally made it to Innsbruck, and could judge for myself that, on balance, it was better to have had Aimee than the family trip.

Austria, December '98

We decided to flee the decidedly un-Christmasy feel of Thailand in December, where Christmas is even a work day, and take a two week trip around the main tourist spots of Austria, where we certainly got the White Christmas we were looking for.

It was a last minute trip, so the hotel and restaurant preparations were pretty slapdash. And there are some definite downsides to an Alpine Christmas, chiefly the fact that it's so bitterly cold that sightseeing quickly becomes a chore, and it seems to get dark around 3 pm.

We started the trip in Innsbruck by flying to Vienna from Bangkok then transferring to a cute Tyrolean Airlines flight where I remember the flight attendants wore cute little costumes like they were auditioning for the Sound of Music. But maybe I'm just imagining that. This photo is of Innsbruck on the banks of the Inn River, which eventually flows to the Danube.