Blogs from Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria, Europe - page 4

Today was the day we (well, at least I) had been waiting for. The Original Sound of Music Tour in Salzburg, which takes you to many of the set locations of the famous movie, and also gives you a history of the real Von Trapps and information about the movie. We woke in the original Von Trapp house early in the morning. Our tour started at 9:15, and although we had done the test-drive of getting there the night before, I was eager to be ready to make sure we had plenty of time. I wanted to check-out by 8 to give us time to walk to the bus stop and then remember our way to Mirabellplatz, where the tour started. Breakfast in Villa Trapp is only served from eight, so we had to forgo it ... read more

We had decided we would have one day in Salzburg while staying in Ebensee so figured it was sensible to go there with Irvahn who was returning to Zurich today via Salzburg. We could at least travel with her part of the way. On arriving in Salzburg we found that the train to Zurich was delayed firstly for 20 minutes then longer due to "technical problems". Irvahn duly got on the train which had now been split into two and sat and sat. We could see that something was happening far down the platform but weren't sure, what. After some time, we figured we should just say goodbye and go. We soon found out the issue. The train concerned had come from Budapest with a full load of refugees and off loaded them here. We found ... read more

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. ... read more

Today, we took a day trip to Salzburg. Did not have a lot of time there but soaked up all the ambience we could. Home of Mozart and the Sound of Music. Had a bus tour through the area and saw many sites. We are scheduled to leave tonight around 11:30pm on a sleeper train in Venice.... read more

We had just one night in Salzburg, and were immediately enchanted. Cold and dusted with snow, it was fairy-tale like on our first night there and transformed by the sun the following day into a charming, riverside town. Salz=salt and it was a big, huge deal some several centuries back and a great source of wealth. That and some disputes in that part of Europe meant that Salzburg needed protection and so the Hohensalzburg fortress was built in the 11th century. The fortress hangs high above the town in picturesque fashion, as these old buildings do; the medieval center is equally picturesque and charming. We went on a boring tour of said fortress--or at least the first part was boring (though the fortress is fabulous!). I escaped fifteen minutes in by signaling to a guard my ... read more