Photo Gallery for Austria and Switzerland, 2017

This is the charmingest place we have ever lived in, for repose, & restfulness, & superb scenery whose beauty undergoes a perpetual processional change from one miracle to another, yet never runs short of fresh surprises & new inventions. We shall always come here for the summers if we can.

― Mark Twain in a letter to Joseph Twichell
from Weggis, Switzerland, 31 July 1897

This summer, the hills were alive with the sound of music… And cowbells and alphorns! The slideshow below shows a selection of pictures from my trip to Austria and Switzerland, including views of Vienna, Hallstatt and the Salzkammergut region, Salzburg, Lucerne, Interlaken and the Bernese Oberland, Montreux, Bern, and Zurich. For even more, click here to see the entire collection on Flickr.

Planning my trip

Onboard a Swiss Air flight from Montreal to Zurich.

Café Hawelka, a classic Viennese coffee house.

Dinner at Zum weissen Rauchfrangkeher

A dapper driver and his carriage.

The Kunsthistorisches Museum

The Kunsthistorisches Museum

Gustave Klimt spandrel

The Kunsthistorisches Museum

Vermeer’s “The Art of Painting”

St. Stephen’s Cathedral

Vienna, Austria

The Belvedere, Vienna

Klimt’s “The Kiss”

Scene from a gay pride parade

Dressing for the opera

The State Opera in Vienna.

A post-opera snack at Gerstner

The Vienna Boys’ Choir performs during a mass at the Hofburgkapelle

The Vienna Boys’ Choir

Schönbrunn Palace, summer home of the Habsburg=]=

Bad Ischl, Austria

Bad Ischl, Austria

Dirndls

Bad Ischl, Austria

Hallstatt, Austria

Hallstatt, Austria

Hallstatt, Austria

Hallstatt, Austria

Salt mines tour, Halstatt

Salt mines tour, Hallstatt, Austria

Hallstatt, Austria

Hallstatt, Austria

Zwölferhorn Mountain cable car, St. Gilgen, Austria

St. Gilgen, Austria

St. Gilgen, Austria

St. Wolfgang, Austria

St. Wolfgang, Austria

Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg, Austria

“Sound of Music” gazebo on the grounds of Schloss Hellbrunn

“Sound of Music” tour, church in Mondsee

“Sound of Music” tour, church in Mondsee

Monsee, Austria

Mirabell Gardens, Salzburg, Austria

Mirabell Gardens, Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg, Austria

Luzern, Switzerland

Luzern, Switzerland

Luzern, Switzerland

Luzern, Switzerland

Mount Pilatus, Switzerland

Mount Pilatus, Switzerland

Mount Pilatus, Switzerland

Mount Pilatus, Switzerland

Mount Pilatus, Switzerland

Mount Pilatus, Switzerland

Mount Pilatus, Switzerland

Mount Pilatus, Switzerland

Mount Pilatus, Switzerland

Luzern, Switzerland

Kapellbrücke, Luzern, Switzerland

Mürren, Switzerland

Allmendhubel, Switzerland

Allmendhubel, Switzerland

Edelweiss

Mürren, Switzerland

Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

Swiss fondue in Interlaken

Jungfraujoch

The peak of the Mönch from the Jungfraujoch

Jungfraujoch

Alpine wildflowers, Kleine Scheidegg, Switzerland

Stechelberg, Switzerland

Schilthorn, Switzerland

Schilthorn, Switzerland

Schilthorn, Switzerland

Zweisimmen, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland

The flower walk in Montreaux, Switzerland

Château de Chillon, Montreux, Switzerland

Château de Chillon, Montreux, Switzerland

Château de Chillon, Montreux, Switzerland

Lake Geneva, Switzerland

Gruyères, Switzerland

Gruyères, Switzerland

Gruyères, Switzerland

Gruyères, Switzerland

Gruyères, Switzerland

Cailler’s chocolate factory in Broc, Switzerland

Bern, Switzerland

Bern, Switzerland

Bern, Switzerland

Murten, Switzerland

Murten, Switzerland

Murten, Switzerland

Murten, Switzerland

Bern, Switzerland

Bern, Switzerland

Bern, Switzerland

Bern, Switzerland

FIFA World Football Museum, Zürich, Switzerland

FIFA World Football Museum, Zürich, Switzerland

FIFA World Football Museum, Zürich, Switzerland

Kunsthaus Museum, Zürich, Switzerland

Van Gogh self-portrait with bandaged ear, Kunsthaus Museum, Zürich, Switzerland

Zurich, Switzerland

Zurich, Switzerland