Travel Diary: Austria through the eyes of Mr. Bond

As of yesterday, Mr. Bond has officially conquered the movie theaters in Austria with his new movie “Spectre”. I have always loved the gadgets, perfect suits, the stunning women and the action. BUT I also love the James Bond movies for a different reason: The travels and locations. In Casino Royale I was enchanted by Venice, in Skyfall the Scottish countryside was mystical, impressive and scary all at the same time. This time around, Austria played a major role in the movie (18 minutes). As a fairly small country, we do actually have incredible landscapes to offer, which even I had underestimated – despite the fact that I’ve lived in Austria for almost 11 years now and my parents live in the mountains …

Together with Kathi, Sonja, Nina, Raffael and Sky TV, I got to explore Austria through the eyes of James Bond last week. Let’s just say it was nothing short of amazing! We got dressed up and saw the Austrian premiere of Spectre in Innsbruck, followed by a fancy dinner and private poker game at the Casino. We traveled to Sölden and had lunch at the Ice Q (which also has an appearance in the movie) with a view that left me speechless! I got to cross something off my bucket list when we flew a helicopter over the Ötztal, and it was one of those moments where I literally wanted to pinch myself. I always thought that my first helicopter ride would probably be over New York or the Grand Canyon – turns out it was much closer to home but at least as impressive as I would imagine flying over the Grand Canyon to be! I definitely left my heart in Sölden and can’t wait to plan a trip there with Mike some day. We also learned how to shoot at the Biathlon Center in Obertilliach the crew filmed for 19 days. By the way, in honor of the new James Bond movie, Sky TV has created the pop-up channel “Sky 007 HD” that serves Bond action around the clock until December 6th.
The 4 action-packed days flew by and I think it is safe to say it was one of the most exciting trips I have ever been on. But see for yourself:

*in friendly collaboration with Sky TV
*photos by myself & lady venom