This video clip was taken on July 31, 2007 during my trip to Austria, my home country. First I did some discoveries in my home town of Weiz: I explored the famous pilgrimage church called Weizbergkirche which was built in late baroque style and consecrated in 1776. What astounded me was the size and beauty of this church, considering that it serves a city of barely more than 9000 people. Then I moved on to another architectural gem in the Weiz area: Schloss Thannhausen or Thannhausen Castle was built in the 1500s and features a gorgeous Renaissance courtyard with three levels of arcades and is still often used for concerts and special events.

After an interesting drive through the Weizklamm (Weiz Gorge) on a main road framed by vertical limestone cliffs that is so narrow that often it doesn't accommodate two cars side by side I arrived in the mountain village of St. Kathrein am Offenegg, a popular tourism destination with a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains. Then I explored another touristic highlight of the Weiz area: the "Katerloch", one of the largest limestone caves in Austria with a wide variety of dripstones, many of which are reminiscent of animals, human beings and other identifiable objects. The highlight of this cave is the so-called "Seenparadies", the "Lake Paradise", an underground lake located 135 metres below the cave entrance. I had a chance to interview the operator of the cave after visiting this underground wonderland and learning about the interesting history of this cave.

I am actually a travel writer who loves to explore international destinations. Feel free to check out some of my 700+ articles and interviews on http//www.travelandtransitions.com. My personal travel stories are located at http://www.travelandtransitions.com/stories_photos.htm and my Austrian travel articles will be published in the next few weeks.

Pulling one out of the archives here!

Wake up and relax to a colorful fall sunrise on the coast of beautiful Hobart, Tasmania. The final clip is a sunrise from Lake St. Claire National Park in Tasmania. Music by The Cynic Project.

Part of the "Soothing Tasmanian Scenes" feature on my Visual Guide to Tasmania (included on my DVD portfolio).

Throttlejockey visits Cornwall - part 1, a visit to Cornwall in June 2007

Italy Rome. The Vatican city is the residence of the popes and the smallest independent state in the world, an enclave surrounded by Rome. It dates back to the Lateran treaty of 1929, when the area around St Peter's basilica was set up as an independent state run by the catholic church. The Vatican city contains St Peter's basilica, St Peter's square, St Peter's Church, the Vatican museums and other areas.

Travel in style down the Grand Canal in Venice from Accademia Bridge to St Marks Square.