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Me in the mirror belle gardens
Stupid pose but I was fulfilling my Sound of Music fantasyAUSTRIA
I absolutely love this country - I nearly stayed here for good . But I'm getting a tad lazy with the blogs so you're getting 2 versions - the cities and the Alps. Happy reading.
First stop: SALZBURG
Well, my fantasy for 'The Sound Of Music' was finally going to come true. My Eastern Trekker group made our way into Austria from Slovenia and were met by the stunning Austrian Alps and the castle in which Clint Eastwood filmed 'Where Eagle's Dare' movie. We rocked into Salzburg and went on a walking tour starting through the Mirror belle gardens as sung through by the great Julie Andrews and those pesky Von Trapp kids. While we didn't have time to do an official tour, we made our way to the some of the sights on foot after playing some of the music on the bus, and I may have helped out with a bit of singing along the way....
Ok, so now that that was out of my system, I explored solo on foot through the city of Salzburg and its delicate laneways of shops, museums and markets (where the obligatory Mozart’s Balls were bought -
More Sound of music times
Where Maria took those pesky von trapp kids for a bike ride just not sure if they will make it home). As the weather declined I walked into a pipe organ recital in the stunning St Peters Cathedral where they of course were playing the music of the city’s favourite son - Mozart. I saw where Mozart was born, a few statues in his honor and about one hundred shops containing his name - they just go nuts about this genius, which after all those violin lessons (thanks Mum) I was able to appreciate to its full extent, and offer a little bit of history to those not so knowing of him. Salzburg has such a classical feel to it, I wish I had more time to just soak it up.
But, from classical to alcohol, and it was time to venture out of the city to a working dairy/schnapps farm for what is possibly the worlds best dinner and drinks combination - all you can eat ribs (fresh from the farm), roast potatoes (the best ever Suzie), cider, beer and schnapps (all brewed on the farm). The foods was amazing, and our host Rupert made sure we weren’t wanting for anything. It was a fantastic night out and a great
View from St Peters
Salzburg main square I suppose, looking up to the castle introduction to country Austria.
I popped up to the Czech Republic for a few days (see previous blog) before I hopped on the Busabout Bus to take me to Vienna in some ordinary weather.
2nd stop - VIENNA
This is possibly the classiest place I have ever encountered (and yes Dad it was still classy when I left it). I was expecting something similar to Salzburg but Vienna was even more impressive. Whether it was passing the amazing Schonbrunn Palace on the way in, staying at the comfy 'Wombat's' hostel, the easy transport system or the numerous stunning buildings through the city - I just loved it.
As soon as I jumped off the bus, I dumped my backpack and joined a 'walk & fork' tour which is essentially a professionally guided walking tour of Vienna (where everything is close by) for a few hours told by a passionate historian (with slightly abrupt translations such as 'we go here NOW'), and ending with a traditional schnitzel, beer and apple strudel dinner, and further drinks at the Wombar.
The next morning I started the day joining a few unknowns on a guided bicycle tour, which was
Schrombrunn Palace
The palace is just huge great riding around but I was of the belief we would be riding outside the city, instead we just covered much of the same area and sites that I had seen the night before on the walking tour.
ANYWAY, after that I wandered down to the 'Nachtmarkets' where I smelled all the good food and grabbed some lunch, before catching the train down to the breathtaking 'Schombrunn Palace'. This palace is massive, and was the summer residence of the Hasbergs empire in their day (hundreds of years) when they ruled the town. I was walking the extensive grounds of the palace when I saw a summer storm about to roll in and headed for the nearest tram station.
I chilled out back at the hostel until the rain cleared and then got the train back to the city to watch the opera on the big screen outside the opera house (the city does not like its people to miss out on opera when it is sold out so it puts on a free outdoor screening - classy, and something free I was not going to turn down). But enough class, after I got too cold at the opera
Mozart garden in Vienna
complete with flower treble clef I was feeling like a bit of home so I wandered down to the local Aussie-type pub 'The Travel Shack' (owned and operated by local Austrian's though) where I re-acquainted myself with snakebites, violet crumbles and chilled out watching the local barman make up shots (and testing them when required).
But back to class, the next day I signed up for a 'grape grazing tour' which took me on 3 trains and 90 km's out of the city to the Wachau wine region to sample the local wines on pushbikes from vineyard to vineyard. The weather could not make up it's mind what it wanted to do so it tried all the seasons and variations (I'm getting good use out of the rain jacket I bought in Canada), however we continued riding our bikes along the Danube, to lunch and back, I climbed yet another castle ruin on a mountain and our group just made the train back (after a few of us ran ahead to wave it down). A massive day but a good one to end it, and I slept well that night. So, after 3 days in Vienna, it was time to leave the city to
experience the country Alps area that I had been looking forward to so much.
Next stop - GRUNAU
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