Kufstein, Österreich

Yesterday I went to Oberaudorf, Deutschland, to visit the home of a colleague at Hochschule München. Specifically, it's the professor who's desk I'm sitting at. He's been out ill this entire semester, and very kindly let me use his desk. He's definitely improved, and will be back for the Sommer Semester.

He is a true Bavarian, from Oberbayern (Upper Bavaria), and is back living in the town that he grew up in. Actually, he's living in the house he grew up in. Oberaudorf is a small town of about 3,500 nestled along the left bank of the River Inn (which, of course, also flows through Innsbruck). The "foothills" of the Alps are to the West, and, of course, great skiing is just a short walk from the center of town. It's similar to Park City, Utah, in this respect: the ski lift leaves from the edge of town. So if you are a resident, all you have to do is walk a few hundred yards (or meters, if you like SI units) from your door and you're on the slopes.

We drove a short way upstream along the Inn, across the border into Austria (which is a non-event now that there's a European Union), and into the town of Kufstein. This is a slightly larger town, with about 25,000 inhabitants. There's a nice castle, which was the scene of many battles between the Bavarians and the locals several hundred years ago. And on the bridge across the Inn is a statue of Johannes von Nepomuk.

The Festung Kufstein, occupying a commanding position on a hill above the town and above the River Inn. This view is looking south (upstream toward Innsbruck).

Johannes von Nepomuk is a national saint of the Czech Republic, who was drowned in the Vltava river at the behest of Wenceslaus, King of the Romans and King of Bohemia. (Wikipedia)