First kick off to my new adventure - Colorado

Before I start my new journey to Portugal, I decided to go to Colorado to visit family and friends. Many thanks to my friends Rollie and Kathleen for allowing me to take over their guest and family room. 

Their townhome sits on the 7th tee of the Country Club of Colorado Springs and has a lovely view from their deck. The wildfife was incredible. Everyday deer, rabbits, birds and squirrels graced their outdoor area. 

And, what would a deck be but the best place to have a dry martini?

Although I spent many days relaxing and visiting with my brother and sister, I did have time to do some touristy activities and enjoy the outdoors of Colorado's finest.

Kathleen and I hiked the 7 bridges of North Cheyenne Creek Park. Up North Cheyenne Canon road the moderately difficult hike is 5.78 miles out and back. The trail starts at over 6,000 ft and follows a mountain stream in a 1.597 ft gain.

It was a beautiful day and wonderful exercise for getting your heart rate going. So clean, and the sweet smell of fall was in the air.  

Seven Bridges

View half-way up the trail

Changing leaves

The bridges are sturdy and wooden and run criss-cross across the creek.

Finally the last bridge

The Winery at Holy Cross Abbey

The working abbey produces their own wine and the tasting room is open for standing room, or you can register a table. Kathleen, her daughter Joanna and I did register for 10 tastings, and a picnic lunch of crackers, cheese and shrimp. 

We started with white, then reds (along with the reserves) and finally sweets (not for me)!

Wine haul

The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

The zoo in Colorado Springs is an attraction, not just outside visitors but all Coloradans and we do love our zoo. 

Kathleen and I stuck to the African area; hippos, giraffes, penguins, and elephants.

Now my time in Colorado has come to an end. I'm so glad I took the time to come visit family and friends before I start my trek abroad. 

Keep checking back to robinsgreatadventure for more posts.

Swirl, Smell, Sip, Savior, Swallow; Wine/Bike Tour in Austria

I've been on many adventures over the past month, but I have to say, my Wine & Bike Tour with Vienna Explorer was a highlight. Sixteen miles, two wineries, one beach and the beautiful Wachau Valley, makes for a wonderful day.  After a train trip from Vienna to the bike "studio" to pick up our transportation, we first went to Domane Wachau Winery and had some very refreshing white wines.

All the Gang

Normally I'm not a white wine drinker, but these wines were quite nice from dry and light to a sweet ice wine. Josh was not only our guide, but also our wine expert on the tour.  He has a great sense of humor and knows his wines. He gave us the 5 "S's;" Swirl, Smell, Sip, Savoy and Swallow. The group was quite diverse; all ages, couples and singles and nationalities range from American, Canadian, Australian and Irish and we all got on famously.

Durnstein Castle

After the first tour and feeling a hungry, we rode to the little village of Durnstein to have a bit of lunch and look around the area.  It is everything you might imagine an Austrian village to look like, complete with a castle.  The photo of the castle above towers over the village.  It has quite a history.  King Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned in the castle by a relative during the crusades in 1192. 

After lunch I hiked up a ways to the castle to take this photo of the valley and village below. The village sits on the Danube. Josh told us the Danube starts in Germany in the Black Forest and travels through 10 countries and four capital cities to the Black Sea. 

The Village of Durnstein overlooking the Danube

As with most places in Austria, the town has exquisite architecture.  There was a wedding  that day and the church bells were ringing through the valley.  Charming!

Filled to the brim with food and wine, we continued our bike tour to the next village, Weissenkirchen and a wine tavern.  Josh told us the Austrian wine community is small and about 10 percent of all Austrian wines come from the Wachau Valley.  Again, we tasted more incredible wines but I think most of us were just ready for the beach.

Wine Tavern

We all took to our bikes again for one last tour through the countryside to the ferry and then on to the beach to see Durnstein from the other side.  The weather was hot, so the nice cool water was really refreshing.  

View of Durnstein from the beach

We finished all the day with a bike back to the garage and on to the train home.  It was such a lovely day and we all had a great time drinking our wine and talking about our experiences.  Thanks to Vienna Explorer and our guide Josh for a memory I won't soon forget.  I'll be posting my photos on my Facebook page.

I'll be writing our my day in Salzburg soon.  Auf Wiedersehen