Saturday 19th September Nauders

We are leaving at 8 o'clock today and I wander down to breakfast at seven, along with just about everybody else in the hotel! It is all a little confusing with no spoons, cereal bowls or waiters! There is another coach from Weston super Mare staying here on his way home and both groups seem to be hungry at the same time. I know it is a bit annoying but if you just sit back and wait a few minutes everything is sorted and we are all happy.
We depart at eight and are soon on the motorway towards Switzerland. We travel past Srasbourg and Colmar to the Swiss border at Basle and then via Zurich into Austria.
The sun has been threatening to come out all day and once we are in Austria it is out. As we approached and crossed the border we could see a white Zeppelin airship in the sky, with the mountains in the background it was quite a sight. We are near to Lake Constance and the resort of Friedrichshafen where the Zeppelins are from. This is where Brian stayed when he did the Lake Constance tour last month.
We have had a fantastic run through and reach Landeck before 5 o'clock. It is here where we turn off the main Innsbruck road and drive towards the Reschen Pass and Nauders.
This is my absolute favourite drive as you know you are on the last leg of your journey and only have 45 minutes to go. Add to this the stunning scenery and then the destination and you have it all. I am already starting to relax.
We arrive in Nauders by 17:30 and Brian reverses the coach down to the hotel entrance. We are soon greeted by Patricia, Charly's daughter and his wife Chrystal. Linda, the lady who works here, also says hello and then Charly appears and gives me a hug. Makes me feel very happy to be back here.
Charly speaks to everybody while they are still on the coach and between us we sort out the menu for tonight and hand the key cards out.
The luggage and people soon disapear off to their rooms and after parking the coach Brian and I soon disappear to ours!
I manage to unpack and shower before being the first one in the bar! Sat in the corner of the bar with a beer after two long days is pure heaven. I enjoy visiting many places and hotels but this is without a doubt my favourite and somewhere I look forward to visiting each year. The hotel is excellent, the food very good and Charly and his staff are fantastic.
Before dinner we have a welcome drink in the bar and Charly gives us a welcome speech about the hotel and town. Every year his English improves and this year is no exception. His little speech sets the tone for the week and makes everybody smile.
Dinner is the usual five course with soup, a starter, salad buffet, main course and dessert! I am sat on a table with Brian and his two daughters, Kim and Lisa. Kim has been here before but this is Lisa's first time and I think she is already falling under the Nauders spell!
We have a couple of drinks after dinner and then it is to bed. We are not driving tomorrow so it is a nice feeling to be able to go to bed without putting on the alarm and having to worry about getting up at a certain time.