Saturday - November 1
We had a nice breakfast in the hotel (included in room). Ron went for a little walk while I worked on computer in the lounge area with tea. The naughty children were unbelievable. On a level right above me was the worst culprit, a blonde girl about 3-years old. She would constantly scream "MAMA, MAMA, MAMA" hundreds of times. This particular morning she apparently spilled something which set MAMA off screaming loudly. MAMA then apparently left the table to get something to clean up the mess, and the little girl proceeded to SCREECH and cry her lungs out. LOUD!!! Finally this commotion died down. After awhile I heard a strange rasping sound above my head. The teary-faced little girl was staring down on me and making weird sounds. Ron says he thinks at our age we are "allergic" to children.
 |
| Looking back at Bad Kleinkirchheim |
We had to travel the long distance of about 30-miles to our next stop, but we took a detour to drive around the Millstaettersee (Lake Millstaett). It is the second largest lake in Carinthia, and about 463-feet deep.
 |
| Villa Verdin |
We stopped in the town of Millstatt at an unusual place, Villa Verdin, one of the many Habsburg-era villas in the area. It has been owned by the same guys for 30-years, and the parlor is something like "grandma's" - well-worn and cluttered. Stacks of magazines and books covered the parlor tables. Very unusual and eclectic. We aren't prudes, but one of the photos (explicit male full-frontal nude) seemed not to be in good taste!
We eventually reached Velden am Woerthersee, and arrived at our hotel, Barry Memle, named for the founder - Emely Barry. She was the granddaughter of the original owner of the property, a famous admiral. Woerthersee is Carinthia's largest lake, and the resort is very popular in summer. The area was favored by the Austrian aristocracy in the 19th-century.
We had reserved through booking.com, and our assigned room did not have a lake view. The desk clerk, Claudia, said she could upgrade us, but the room was on the third floor (US 4th) with no lift. We said no to that. Ron asked if there was anything with few steps. At that time she noticed the Seabourn tote bag I was carrying, and was excited to meet someone who had sailed on Seabourn, as she had worked on one of their ships. She said she had the same tote bag, and had never seen anyone else with one. She then upgraded us to a 2-bedroom "suite" with huge terrace looking out at the lake. Although the hotel was rated 4-star, it was not fancy, but it was very comfy. It was nice that we had a small fully-equipped kitchen. There were two types of coffee makers and a hot-water kettle, so I was able to have my morning tea. The fridge enabled us to keep wine chilled, which was good - because the hotel did not have ice available in the winter!
That afternoon we went to the Casino, and were pleasantly surprised to find a modern place with the same type of slot machines we have in the US. In the past, Austrian casinos have been very unusual and not much fun. Men were required to wear a jacket, so Ron left me and went back to the hotel to get his blazer rather than "rent" one from the casino.
That evening we went to the luxurious 5-star Schloss Hotel Velden, and read our newspapers in the lovely library. It first became a hotel in 1890, but was then used as a private chateau in the 1990's. It was re-opened as a hotel in 2007 under the direction of Horst Schulze, founder of Ritz-Carlton and Capella Hotels out of Atlanta.
 |
| Schloss Velden (pic from hotel web-site) |
 |
| Relaxing in Schloss Velden library |
We then walked a block or so to the Sternad's Restaurant Pavillon. We were served a complimentary appetizer plate with proscuitto and cheese, and then shared a quattro-staggione pizza. I'm not very fond of pizza, so I only had a bit - like the artichokes.
 |
| Dinner at Pavillon (Sternad's Restauant) |
 |
| Appetizer |
No comments:
Post a Comment