Working in the Salt Mines

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Hi All,
Our trip to Salzburg has gone very well so far. We stopped off at the Swarovski Crystal factory in Innsbruk on the way here. It was a futuristic artistic version of crystal formation. Didn't learn very much but felt very cultured by the end. The shop was the most interesting though.
Arrival in Salzburg was hectic and typically European wild driving on narrow streets with pedestrians, bikes, cars and buses all competing for the same 3 ft of space. Our friendly on board navigator insisted we could drive down a one way to reach our hotel. We finally had to gag her and find it ourselves; fortunately double parking is a way of life here.
Our hotel is just across the river from the old city of Salzburg. The streets of Salzburg actually do play Mozart music. On crossing the bridge there are speakers which pipe music consantly. The Salzburg festival is also on right now so the town is exceptionally busy. There are people walking around in tuxedos and their finest dresses everywhere in the evening.
Today we drove out of Salzburg to the Halstatt Salt Mines. This is the site of a 7000 year old salt mine. No that is not a typo there is actually evidence of prehistoric saltmining in this mountain. It was interesting but the best part was a couple of slides which you use to go down into the mine. They give you special miners outfits to wear with extra padding on the butt to slide on.
The trip out and back was breathtaking as these mountains although similar to our Rockies are either lush green or rock face wallls, between these mountains are wide flat valleys or even huge still lakes. Hallstatt is a town built on the side of a mountain right next to the lake. You cannot drive in the town but actually drive behind in through a long tunnel in the mountain. You park at lots outside of the town and ride a bus in. The Salt mine is at the top of the mountain so a steep funicular carries you up most of the mountain. It is still another 650 metres up to the start of the mine.
Sunshine was a welcome site when we emerged.
Tonight, Kelvin and I strolled through old Salzburg, we enjoyed the strains of Mozart's Figaro at one open Platz area until the rain moved us along. We forgot to bring an umbrella with us. We came home to our hotel with take out pizza and some Mozart balls (Salzberg Chocolate specialty) The boys wanted to stay back and rest in the hotel room. The hotel offers a playstation and free DVD rentals which they wanted to enjoy.
Tonight we are turning in early and are unsure exactly where we are going tomorrow. Our next destination is Gimmelwald, Switzerland on Wednesday but that is 6 hours away and we wanted to break up the trip. We will drive as far as we can tomorrow. There are a couple of more sights here in Salzburg to see in the am and then we will move on.
Austria has been wunderbar. Definitely worth more time ... next time!

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