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Published: October 14th 2007
Salzburg old town
The fortress up on the hilltop keeps a watchful eye on the comings and goings belowNext stop on the itinerary- Salzburg, Austria! This leg of the journey was going to be an all bloke affair with Ariana heading back to the UK for work. James and I soon found ourselves on yet another train starting in the suburban surroundings of Munich which then gave way to fields, forests, lakes, and finally the looming shape of the northern Alps appeared as the train ascended towards Salzburg.
After checking into the backpackers we strolled across the river Salzach into the old town. Narrow streets, cobblestones, brightly coloured buildings, all in the shadow of Salburg’s fortress - it was very impressive. We enjoyed typical Austrian fare at a café and while James couldn’t stomach more beer, the temptation of yet another fine larger was too much for me resist.
The following day we jumped onto a bus and headed south for about 30 km. Our destination - the world’s largest ice cave. The bus climbed into the hills as far as it could, then we piled out and trekked 20 mins up the mountainside to reach the lower station of a cable car. As the riveted together contraption hauled us up a slope of about 75 degrees,
The ascent to the ice cave
The cable car top station is in the top left I spent the entire trip thinking - it’s made of rivets, can that be safe? It must’ve been, because we made it, and with another 20 min trek that took us well past the tree line we reached the mouth of the ice cave.
Our one kilometre tour through the cave saw us climb 1400 steps and at the highest point we were over 1700 metres above sea level. The stalagmites and stalactites were amazing and even though the temperature was freezing all the climbing kept us warm.
Leaving the cave we trekked leisurely down and took in the great views of the surrounding Alps (it also put off having to catch that riveted contraption down hill, well at least for a little bit…). When we got to Salzburg our 5 hours of walking had recharged James’ interest in beer, so back at the backpackers it was well and truly time for some Stiegl - Salzburg’s local.
Our last morning in Salzburg was spent checking out the imposing fortress that dominates the city skyline. I was pleased that no cable cars were in sight, and once inside the gate,s we set about exploring the various rooms, towers,
and courtyards. The view over the surrounding countryside was amazing.
As we caught our last train back to Munich ready to fly out it seemed sad that our Europe in Autumn holiday was about to end, but my body (and liver) need a rest…
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