Stunning Alpine Scenery
On the road in Bavaria
Not all of the trip was about sobering 20th century history. We did spend a pleasant couple of days in Salzburg in the beautiful Salzkammergut area of Austria. I almost consider this part of Europe to be a second home (in addition to the Netherlands) as each time I return I grow more fond of the area. The culture and natural beauty is simply spectacular. After the all too brief stay in Salzburg it was on to Vienna for my biannual law school international reunion. An event I always look forward to, this year's reunion was quite simply the best yet. Good friends and accomplished professionals in their home countries, it is always a pleasure to meet and network and enjoy an interesting European city. We had a great time enjoying the Viennese nightlife. Two of the hip clubs we went to: Bar Italia and The White Line. Bar Italia had a nice lounge feel and the White Line had pretty people and great dance vibes. Check out Bar Italia and click on the video link to get an impression of this fashionable lounge.
Welcoming new Austrian graduates into the extended law school family at the opening dinner at the Vienna Radisson Hotel
Bar Italia, central Vienna after the reception/graduation dinner. The middle point of a very long night!
The party continues back at the hotel as the sun rises... almost time for breakfast!
Reception later in the day (after very little sleep!) at a Viennese law firm overlooking the Danube River and the city of Vienna
At the law firm reception
Entrance of a Viennese Heurigen (vineyard), site of the second evening's dinner and wine tasting. Turned out to be the first stop and then it was on to the nightclubs of Vienna... and another morning watching the sun rise before calling it quits! Don't believe anyone who says that attorneys don't know how to party!From Vienna it was time to head across Austria to the Dolomites of Northern Italy and Riva del Garda for a business conference. Instead of driving the quicker route back west to Salzburg and over the Brenner Pass into Italy, I decided to travel south on the A2 via Graz (my home state of California Governor Schwarzenegger's hometown), Klagenfurt, Villach, and over the border to Udine, Verona and on to Riva del Garda. The drive was beautiful, especially near Villach and the Slovenian border. Northeast Italy is very industrial especially the region surrounding Venice and the traffic on the roads reflected this. Lots of freight on the move! After the hard weekend of VERY late nights in Vienna I needed to take a couple of breaks to get some seriously needed rest on the approximately 8 hour drive.
Beautiful scenery on the way to Italy
On the shores of Lake Garda in Northern Italy. Spectacular location to do business!
Business discussion at Riva del GardaSeveral days of serious business talks followed in the supremely beautiful setting of Garda lake in the Trentino area of the Dolomites Mountains. Then it was back up through the Brenner Pass and Innsbruck Austria and then on to Munich for the return home.
Skoda Update:
So how did the Skoda fare over the 10 days of travel? I was pretty unimpressed during my initial encounter with the car. Rubbery shift feeling, long throws and a long reach to the shifter, a lack of steering feel, a top heavy feeling, all of the foregoing did not bode well for the Roomster. However, the 1.9 liter twin turbo diesel proved to be a fairly peppy motor and allowed me to pass a fair amount of traffic with gusto. I adjusted to the steering and though not a precision tool, enough feel exists to give confidence within the car's performance limits. The small tires and top heavy feel made me refrain from making quick maneuvers in favor of smooth inputs, especially at speed. The center armrest was a pain when in the down position since my elbow would always hit when I wanted to shift.
I attained approximately 180 kmh (111 mph) at about 4000 rpms (max approx 4500 rpm) on a derestricted portion of the German autobahn. Pretty good for a fairly high profile vehicle. Sure, I had to move over quickly for the true performance vehicles but torque and decent speed allowed for fairly easy overtaking.
Final verdict: After well over a one-thousand miles behind the wheel I found the Skoda Roomster to be a competent vehicle with decent space for luggage, roomy rear seats given the vehicle's size with good visibility and lots of glass, good fit and finish with quality VW feel, awkward styling, decent power, smoothness, and good fuel economy with highest spec diesel motor. Definitely not an enthusiast car, but it is a competent European travel companion.
Final Note
Before I sign off on this post I have to thank Jennifer for taking most of the photos and video. She joined me on this trip and also reconnected with several of my friends she got to know back in my post-grad study days and also helped with the business conference. Without her camera I'd have a lot less to post about!
