Liechtenstein Wine Country and the Alps.

What a fabulous day in Liechtenstein with Gebi Andrea and family. We started with a tour of their house and a great homemade lunch of salad, bread, and cheeses. We then traveled to town to buy winemaking tools at a local store called Landi. Gebi and Andrea recently bought a vineyard where they will make 150 bottles of local wine. We saw some great scenery around town, including the swiss/Liechenstein border. The story goes that a townsman carried a brick as far as he couLd and when he dropped it that became the official border. Headed to dinner with some sightseeing around town through a local pinor noir region. Dinner was in a house that retained a large wooden wine press and the food was amazing. Apple celery root soup, steak rissotto, and apple gallette for dessert. And LOTS of different wines (sparkling, pino grigio, and pinot noir from the region). Now off

img 20120330 00088

img 20120330 00089

img 20120330 00090

jenins 20120330 00091

jenins 20120330 00092

img 20120330 00093

jenins 20120330 00095

jenins 20120330 00096

jenins 20120330 00097

Dinner in Zurich and Travel to Liechtenstein

We are up and headed to our next stop – Liechtenstein. We have an hour trainride so I have time to type. Last night we went out for dinner at a local restaurant our concierge set up: Swiss Churri. On our walk to the restaurant we found a great bar full of locals and stopped for some pre-dinner beers – tried a swiss beer that was tasty. We ate outside for dinner and had wine, cheese fondue, and raclette (you grill your meats and melt cheese onto potatoes.). We met another couple from South Africa who ended up running up to their room and gifting us a bottle of South African wine. We chatted a lot about the HIGH prices of Zurich. To give you an indication, diet cokes are $5 and a chicken sandwich at burger king was listed at $15. We ended the night at our hotel bar with one last cocktail. We both woke up at 2am and had to make ourselves keep sleeping. We enjoyed breakfast at the hotel this morning, which was a nice surprise that it was included in our rate. It was a huge buffet and we both tried rosti potatoes(a swiss specialty.). We are now enjoying the scenery on the trainride. We started with lake views and now we are getting into the mountains. Its VERY overcast and it will probably be much colder at our destination. The mountains are gorgeous but hard to capture the scale and beauty in photos. Gainey family friend Gebi and his wife Andrea will be getting us at the station in Sargans.

img 20120329 00068

img 20120329 00069

img 20120329 00070

img 20120329 00072

img 20120330 00077

img 20120330 00083

img 20120330 00084

Zurich

We landed safely in Zurich early at 7:45am (1:45am Florida time.) After taking the quick trainride (noone even checked if we had a ticket even though we did) to the city center, we easily found the Marriott. Our room was ready and we got a free upgrade to an awesome river view. We didn’t get a ton of sleep on the plane but will get moving anyways. After freshening up we made our way to the city for some sightseeing. We walked down the Bahnhofstrasse, the banking and high-end shopping mecca and then headed along the Limmat river and toward the Altstadt (old town.). Stopped for a pick me up cappucino and chocolate treats at the famous Sprungli swiss confection house – if ONLY I could send back all of the goodies for Easter Baskets! We went inside the Fraunmunster church which was beautiful but no photos allowed. Other highlights were eating sausages at the sternon grill and icecream at Movenpick. We also stopped for beers at the Restaurant Rheinfelder. The weather is beautiful and much warmer than expected. Jeremy is sad he cut his hair – everyone has the gainey long hair slicked back look – he would have fit in perfect! Another insight, all the kids ride alongside their parents peddling little scotters (kinda like Razors) After a nap, we head out for dinner and more adventures.

img 20120329 00058

img 20120329 00060

img 20120329 00062

img 20120329 00063

img 20120329 00064

Bye Bye Florida-HELLO Vacation!!

All packed and ready to go!!! Mom and Dad Hrncir and Brucie gave us a ride to the airport. After indulging in some oh so yummy ChickfilA (we see only sausage in our future…), we are ready to depart to Atlanta where we head straight for our plane to Zurich. Bye Orlando – hello vacation!!

An Easter Abroad in Europe | 2012

It was not so long ago that my mom’s family celebrated the 100th anniversary of the DUDA family’s arrival in America, with a large family reunion  trip back to the motherland.  While much of the family made the trip to Slovakia  in June of 2009, unfortunately, I was unable to attend and was simultaneously traveling in China, Vietnam & Hong Kong for a leadership program during the same timeframe.  Not to mention…that my dad and his family are also of Slovak heritage as well.  I’m proud to be Slovak through-and-through and now is my chance to make the trip back to visit my families’ roots, with a few additional stops along the way (who am I kidding…with ALOT of additional sidetrips!!)  My husband and travel buddy, Jeremy is excited to embark on the journey as well, with his mom Sandra joining us along the way.  He has had alot of input into planning this adventure  and we have picked some exciting stops as we make our way toward Slovakia.  We have a very packed and aggressive itinerary, which you can find below.  Please follow the Gainey’s on this Blog as we make our way through the following cities for the 2012 Easter Holiday.

• Wednesday, March 28th  | Travel Day | Orlando to Atlanta & Atlanta to Zurich, Switzerland
• Thursday, March 29th | Arrive in Zurich, Switzerland at 7:50 am | Train from Airport to City Center | Zurich MARRIOTT Hotel  | Sightseeing all-day
• Friday, March 30th | Morning  Train to Liechtenstein |  Visit Family Friend Gebi & stay with Gebi overnight
• Saturday, March 31st | Liechtenstein | Sightseeing and Countryside with Gebi | Stay with Gebi overnight
• Sunday, April 1st | Morning Train from Liechtenstein to Salzburg, Austria | 4 hour train ride | Check into Hotel MOZART | Evening in Salzburg
• Monday, April 2nd | Daytime Sightseeing in Salzburg | Evening Train from Salzburg to Vienna, Austria  |  2 hour 40 minute train ride | Sandra arrives in Vienna at 2 pm | Check into MARRIOTT Hotel | Evening in Vienna
• Tuesday, April 3rd | Vienna Sightseeing | MARRIOTT Hotel overnight
• Wednesday, April 4th | Early Morning Boat-Ride or Train-Ride from Vienna to Bratislava, Slovakia | 1 hour 15 minutes |  Sightseeing & Lunch with Lukas and Michaela | Hotel Michalska Brana overnight
• Thursday, April 5th | Pick-Up BUDGET Rental Car Early Morning at Bratislava Airport | Drive to Piestany | Sightseeing in Piestany & Family Sites with Jerry & Petra | Stay overnight in Jerry’s Piestany Apartment
• Friday, April 6th | Depart Piestany and Travel to Czech Paradise (Český ráj) / “Rock Cities” | Day Hike | Travel to Liberec in Evening | Hotel Radnice Overnight
• Saturday, April 7th | Depart Liberec | Daytrip to Dresden, Germany and Sightseeing | Schloss Hotel Dresden Pillnitz Overnight
• Sunday, April 8th | Easter Sunday Church Service in Dresden, Germany | Late Evening Arrival in Prague | Return Rental Car at Prague Airport | Red Chair Hotel Overnight
• Monday, April 9th | All-Day Sightseeing in Prague | Red Chair Hotel Overnight
• Tuesday, April 10th | Check Out | Travel Day | Prague to NYC Kennedy & NYC Kennedy to Orlando