Austria & the Alps 2000 - 2007

In Europe's classiest capital we'll tiptoe through the palace of Maria Theresa and be dazzled by the Hapsburg crown jewels. Then we'll picnic on the Danube, nibble strudel in an old world cafe, blush at slinky Art Nouveau, and waltz to the three-four beat of Johann Strauss.

The birthplace of Mozart — and everyone's Sound of Music fantasies — Salzburg is a baroque jewel of a town. It's also the springboard for lots of alpine fun — from thrilling summer bobsledding, to idyllic boat rides in the Salzkammergut lake district, to exploring the delightful romantic town of Hallstatt.

From high on the Zugspitze at the Germany and Austria border, Rick makes his way down to popular Innsbruck, the historic provincial capitol of the Hapsburgs. We explore a medieval museum, get a resident's tips on cuisine — especially dumplings — and slap dance the night away in a nearby Tyrolean village. By way of historic Brenner Pass, we turn to feudal Italy at Reifenstein Castle. Then we're out-of-doors, as we zoom up rock cliffs in a cable car and hike through Alpine meadows in the Italian Dolomites.

Rick makes a home base out of Chamonix, the original French Alpine resort, ever popular with international skiing and party crowds. Who says there's no easy way to conquer Mount Blanc? Just hop a gondola and you'll soar past the great peak, over glaciers and into Italy. We train over to Appenzell, Switzerland on the Glacier Express Railway and find Swiss traditions thriving in yodel-happy, cowbell country.

If Heidi is alive, she's in this sky-high corner of the Swiss Alps, with cowbells ringing on breathtaking ridges. After settling into a traditional village where locals scythe hay by hand, we hike and bike. We blast an alphorn, get sprayed by waterfalls raging deep inside a mountain, and munch muesli for breakfast at 10,000 feet. For a finale, we ride Europe's highest lift up the mighty Jungfrau for hot cocoa and oh-wow views.