Salzburg and Lake District

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Another early start, firstly the walk from my hotel to Haupthahnhof (the main train station) then across the road to be in front of Karstadt department store where all the Gray Line coaches depart from each day, to be there by 7:45am. Why be there so early when they depart at 8:30am? - because they leave earlier if the bus is full. They have been running these tours for many years but still they are not organised in that you are immediately able to see which coach you should be on as they have no signs on them with which coach is going where and with seven or eight coaches in a row - it can be daunting. What makes me laugh is that the drivers get grumpy telling people which bus they should be on. Fortunately for me I knew that I was having the same tour guide as yesterday so i just looked out for her and was first on and had a front seat again. I hate having to look sideways all day and as their motto is "the seat you start with is yours all day - no swapping".

Leaving Munich we drove south towards Austria and today the traffic was shocking and at times we were at a standstill due mostly to road works. There were many trucks and they are limited to doing 80 kph, the buses limited to 100 kph, and everyone else can do whatever they like. It gets interesting when the autobahn narrows for roadworks as everybody shuffles for position knowing how slow the trucks are going, I was pleased I was in a great big coach as at times it was hair raising stuff.

The scenery got more scenic the further we were from Munich and we passed Bavaria's largest lake, the Chiemsee. It is a shame that we did not stop there or that i am not here longer as I missed my chance as they only go there on Mondays and that was the day I arrived in Munich. The lake has three islands, the largest Herreninsel has a palace built by King Ludwig ll called Chiemsee, unfortunately it was never completed but it was meant to be a replica of the Palace of Versailles. There are rooms open, as well as the grounds for tourist to visit in the summer months. Frauenchiemsee, the smaller of the two main islands, has a Benedictine nunnery that was built in 782. There is a small village there also. The nuns make a liquor called Klosterlikor (cloister liquor) and also marzipan.

We arrived in Salzburg around 11:00am and we headed off on foot from the bus drop off zone for a quick orientation walk with the guide telling us where the main things to see were and have pointed out where our meeting place was to be at 1:45pm or we could go direct back to the bus pickup point by 2:00pm.

It was extremely hot by this time but I persevered wandering around taking photos and eventually had to buy a hat as my brain was getting fried. I was in Salzburg thirty years ago but really did not spend that much time here that I barely recognised anything from that visit. I walked through St Peter's Cemetery as I heard that it has a unique ambiance and is supposed to be one of the oldest and most beautiful cemeteries in the world. I can't argue with that - the flowers were amazing and it was interesting wandering around looking at the gravestones.

I wandered around and looked at the house where Wolfgang Mozart was born, then I down by the river Salzach and strolled over the bridge where the railings as in most cities now, was jam packed with locks where the young and in love have sworn that they will be together for ever by throwing the key over their backs into the river. Also walked part way up to the Fortress but decided it was too hot and I got a reasonable view from halfway up of the town.

As i headed back to our meeting place I came across an ice cream shop, made a purchase and once having eaten that, it did cool me down for about one minute. Just about everyone was at the meeting place and on time we set off to go back to where the coach would be waiting for us. Once on board I knew why I was thinking it was hot as the temperature was 34C.

Afterwards we drove through the Lake District where the movie the "Sound of Music" was filmed. Naturally the guide felt the need to put on the CD with some of the tunes playing just in case we had forgotten. We were headed to St. Wolfgang where the famous White Horse Inn is located. I was most excited to be going there as "The White Horse Inn" is my most favourite of all operettas though it is more a musical comedy. My Father was a great player of opera records and as always as loud as possible and this was the only one he played that I got to love to such an extent that I purchased the CD after he died. The LP record he played continuously was too worn out. We did not have long in this small village, only twenty minutes really, as the main reason we were there was to take a boat ride to the end of the lake where the coach would pick us up again, I managed to walk to the where the White Horse Inn was and took a photo. I would have loved to had a look inside and if I ever win Lotto I have promised myself that i will stay there (Yea Right - as if that is ever going to happen). The village mainly consists of hotels and private places for rent over the summer months. This side of the lake is all private beaches while the other side is for the general public. it was very busy while we were there with people swimming, water skiing, sun bathing, kayaking, etc.

When it came time to board our boat we had one passenger missing. The guide went back into the small village several times and looked in the shops and we waited almost half an hour then they said we cannot wait any longer and went without her. Her friend was on board with us, but did not know where she was or did not even have her mobile number. How she was gong to get back to Munich would be tricky from a small village like that. I guess by bus to Salzburg then train back to Munich. So yes they do leave passengers behind!

It was very pleasant on the boat with a cool breeze blowing and the scenery was amazing all the lovely houses, hotels, etc. made it very picturesque. The coach was waiting for us and we thought the missing passenger may have got on another boat as there were a number leaving about the same time but she was not at the hopping off point or at the bus.

From there it was more or less a direct drive back to Munich and at 5:00pm it was still 33C and the driver was having a field day selling beers, water, apple juice, coca cola, etc. from his chilly bin.

To help us to relax/sleep they put the movie "Sound of Music" on once we got on to the Autobahn. The traffic was much better on the return journey and we were back in Munich by 7:15pm. By this time I was totally exhausted, my arthritis was playing up and I could barely walk back to the hotel - this heat is killing me. Oops i had better slow down this is only week one of my journey.

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