For my mom’s 75th birthday, we traveled to Austria – a lifelong destination trip of hers.  Innsbruck residents for three years, my cousin and her husband generously offered to be our hosts and tour guides as we ventured out on the streets of Innsbruck, wandered the grounds of castles, forts and churches in Austria and neighboring Germany, traveled by car to Venice, Italy and, as a special, last minute adventure we flew to Vienna – a dream moment for me that found us experiencing a live performance by the Vienna Chamber Orchestra at the Wiener Konzerthaus, a performance that literally brought me to tears.  What was a trip of a lifetime for my mom ended up being the trip of a lifetime for me as well. Thinking I was taking my mom on her dream trip, I found that I was living a dream never dreamt.

Due to the sheer number of photos, I’ll break the trip down into several different posts.  I hope you take the time to come along with me on holiday and visit the places of interest that we found most memorable.  First stop – Innsbruck!