Salzburg! We had had a confusing time booking accommodation in Salzburg, and had ended up booking two beds in a gästhaus, knowing the phone number, but not where it was or anything about it. On arriving at the train station we made use of the excessively helpful staff in the information office (they were brilliant!) and while I booked a tour for the following day they found out where we were to go, and gave us all sorts of helpful advice. We turned out to be staying in Kasern, an outer suburb of Salzburg reached by train. It was lovely, as it had a rural aspect - we spent our walk up to our room peering at beautiful slugs on the pavement and pausing for Robyn to fish a €5 note out of a drain (a delicate operation involving removing a largish section of grating while keeping an eye out for oncoming traffic). We made it to our destination, where we were greeted by our hostess and shown to what in New Zealand would be advertised as a bed and breakfast, but at hostel prices! A lovely double room with a proper bathroom, and nice and quiet!
We dumped our stuff and popped back into town, where we wandered for a short while, looking for tea, before catching the funicular up to the fortress which overlooks the town. It's a beautiful fortress and, as it was raining a bit, was practically deserted. We had a lovely time peering at the cannons and peeping through doorways and taking lots of photographs. The earliest buildings dated to the 15th century and there were turrets and corrigedors abounding. Back down again by funicular we returned to our gästhaus and enjoyed sleeping in beds with big downy doonas and huge European pillows - so squishy and comfortable!
Friday was our extravagant day. I had booked myself on a Sound of Music bus tour (cheesy, I know, but I felt the need. Robyn felt that she really couldn't, so she abandoned me to my fate and did some sightseeing in the town). I was collected at my door in a wee shuttle and had a nice trip into town to the coach with Pieter, who turned out to be the tour guide. We were a bit early, so I had a look around the Mirabell Gardens for 10 minutes or so. Lovely gardens - the Do-Ré-Mi fountain is there, but I admired even more a wee fountain with a statue of Papagena in it. There turned out to be only twenty of us on the coach (nice not to be too crowded). We began just driving through Salzburg past various places of interest where we were not able to stop, but could gawp at from afar - for instance the von Trapp's home, the Benedictine Abbey, the train station, etc. Our first stop was the summer house (I am sixteen), no longer in its original location, and glassed in to prevent sprained ankles. Very sweet. We then went to the lake where the children fell in from the boat and the terrace where they drank pink lemonade. It is a very pretty lake, and there were swans and their baby cygnets swimming around. Driving out of Salzburg itself Pieter told us about the history of the city, the von Trapps, and the movie making. We sang a bit (don't laugh) and stopped for a break at a completely random place where there was a kind of luge thing down a hill. I couldn't go, as I was stony broke, but it was fun to watch the others whizz down and hear their squeals. Went on to Mondsee, home of the church whose interior was used in the movie where Maria and the Captain are married. Famed for its long aisle, it was a little disappointing to find it being renovated, and the aisle blocked off halfway with scaffolding. I found this a bit anticlimactic, so wandered off into the town to get some cash and sample an apfel strudel. Very nice it was, too. Back to Salzburg I was dropped off at the hauptbanhof (main train station), where I had arranged to meet Robyn.
Robyn had bought us some lunch, and we hurried to catch a train to our next attraction - Werfen, a town some 40 minutes south of Salzburg. Werfen is home to the longest/largest ice caves in the world - 1km of a 42km long cave network inside the mountains. We reached the entrance by shuttle bus, walking, cable-car, more walking and some more . . . walking! Very steep. At the entrance we were greeted by our guide, who divided us into English speakers and German speakers (we were at the front). We were provided with cunning little kerosene lanterns (open flame) and set off. Our trail consisted of some 700 steps uphill inside the mountain. It wasn't too chilly to start with, but carrying the lantern soon caused ones fingers to turn numb. We took turns, thawing out alternately. The caves were stunning. There were ice lakes and falls and stalactites and stalagmites, and other beautiful formations. At certain points our wee guide lit a fuse and left it behind sculptures, so's to light them up from behind. It was terribly pretty. Back down our 700 steps, we scurried to catch the shuttle again and then the train back to Salzburg. We had tea at a very cool place - Indigo - where we indulged in curry and couscous.
We were to leave Salzburg the next morning, but as we hadn't seen much of the town we left our cases at the station for a few hours while we looked at some shops and then sat and read for a while in the Mirabell Gardens (whilst watching about a dozen wedding parties trot past - it's quite the place to have your photos taken, it seems). Our next stop was Innsbruck. . .
We dumped our stuff and popped back into town, where we wandered for a short while, looking for tea, before catching the funicular up to the fortress which overlooks the town. It's a beautiful fortress and, as it was raining a bit, was practically deserted. We had a lovely time peering at the cannons and peeping through doorways and taking lots of photographs. The earliest buildings dated to the 15th century and there were turrets and corrigedors abounding. Back down again by funicular we returned to our gästhaus and enjoyed sleeping in beds with big downy doonas and huge European pillows - so squishy and comfortable!
Friday was our extravagant day. I had booked myself on a Sound of Music bus tour (cheesy, I know, but I felt the need. Robyn felt that she really couldn't, so she abandoned me to my fate and did some sightseeing in the town). I was collected at my door in a wee shuttle and had a nice trip into town to the coach with Pieter, who turned out to be the tour guide. We were a bit early, so I had a look around the Mirabell Gardens for 10 minutes or so. Lovely gardens - the Do-Ré-Mi fountain is there, but I admired even more a wee fountain with a statue of Papagena in it. There turned out to be only twenty of us on the coach (nice not to be too crowded). We began just driving through Salzburg past various places of interest where we were not able to stop, but could gawp at from afar - for instance the von Trapp's home, the Benedictine Abbey, the train station, etc. Our first stop was the summer house (I am sixteen), no longer in its original location, and glassed in to prevent sprained ankles. Very sweet. We then went to the lake where the children fell in from the boat and the terrace where they drank pink lemonade. It is a very pretty lake, and there were swans and their baby cygnets swimming around. Driving out of Salzburg itself Pieter told us about the history of the city, the von Trapps, and the movie making. We sang a bit (don't laugh) and stopped for a break at a completely random place where there was a kind of luge thing down a hill. I couldn't go, as I was stony broke, but it was fun to watch the others whizz down and hear their squeals. Went on to Mondsee, home of the church whose interior was used in the movie where Maria and the Captain are married. Famed for its long aisle, it was a little disappointing to find it being renovated, and the aisle blocked off halfway with scaffolding. I found this a bit anticlimactic, so wandered off into the town to get some cash and sample an apfel strudel. Very nice it was, too. Back to Salzburg I was dropped off at the hauptbanhof (main train station), where I had arranged to meet Robyn.
Robyn had bought us some lunch, and we hurried to catch a train to our next attraction - Werfen, a town some 40 minutes south of Salzburg. Werfen is home to the longest/largest ice caves in the world - 1km of a 42km long cave network inside the mountains. We reached the entrance by shuttle bus, walking, cable-car, more walking and some more . . . walking! Very steep. At the entrance we were greeted by our guide, who divided us into English speakers and German speakers (we were at the front). We were provided with cunning little kerosene lanterns (open flame) and set off. Our trail consisted of some 700 steps uphill inside the mountain. It wasn't too chilly to start with, but carrying the lantern soon caused ones fingers to turn numb. We took turns, thawing out alternately. The caves were stunning. There were ice lakes and falls and stalactites and stalagmites, and other beautiful formations. At certain points our wee guide lit a fuse and left it behind sculptures, so's to light them up from behind. It was terribly pretty. Back down our 700 steps, we scurried to catch the shuttle again and then the train back to Salzburg. We had tea at a very cool place - Indigo - where we indulged in curry and couscous.
We were to leave Salzburg the next morning, but as we hadn't seen much of the town we left our cases at the station for a few hours while we looked at some shops and then sat and read for a while in the Mirabell Gardens (whilst watching about a dozen wedding parties trot past - it's quite the place to have your photos taken, it seems). Our next stop was Innsbruck. . .
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