All Access: Austria

A Schuss And A Slide: Dave Hits The Slopes, The Shops And The Sacher Torte

(CBS)  It was the final All Access weekend, and Dave Price and his merry band of travel elves were determined to make it the best one yet. The recipient of their last All Access pass was Margaret Ward, who recently retired after 34 years as a teacher in the Chicago public schools. Over all those years, she had sent hundreds of kids into the world, but she never had time to see much of it herself. So Margaret's trip took her to Europe for the first time, for a whirlwind tour of Austria.

With a history that dates back 2000 years, Vienna is a city over-stuffed with culture. From its architecture to its food, and everywhere you look, there's something of historical significance.

"You can see the influence of all the great musicians, whether it's right there at the café Mozart, or the music of Strauss, or the fact that Vivaldi lived right there at the Sacher hotel where we're staying," Dave explained to Margaret.

"Unbelievable ... I'm awestruck," she said.

"No," said Dave, "you're Austria-struck."

One of their first stops was Christkrindlmarkt - an annual Christmas market that's been around for 700 years. Margaret bought a souvenir - a cherub ornament for her tree.

On Saturday night, the pair took in "Pique Dame," a Tchaikovsky opera being performed at Vienna's world-renowned 150-year-old state opera house. Margaret's Saturday night's often consist of pizza and a video. But on this night - no pizza, no video, just a somewhat inexplicable plotline and plenty of beautiful voices.

After their day of sightseeing, shopping and culture, Dave and Margaret got a change of pace when they spent the next day in Innsbruck, the Olympic host city nestled in the Austrian Alps.

After some death-defying tobogganing, Dave and Margaret hit the slopes. Margaret, who had never skied before, got some elementary lessons. "I'm skiing in Innsbruck! In Austria!" she called out happily.

"You can't leave Austria without sampling pastries or sweets," said Dave, "so for the final course of our All Access weekend, Margaret and I headed back to Vienna to see how the uber-Austrian dessert - the Sacher torte - is made." The two even tried their hands at smoothing the chocolate glaze over the cake layers, almost as much of an adventure as their tobogganing.

And when it was all over, Dave toasted his traveling companion: "To you Margaret for your sense of adventure, and for being so delightful to spend the weekend with: Danke!"