Blogs from Austria, Europe - page 297

Europe » Austria » Salzburg » Salzburg June 25th 2005

I took the plunge and changed to a day train, which leaves imminently for points Rhineward. Rick offers no information whatsoever on Bingen and only "don't bother" on Mainz, so I am on my own finding rooms and maps and such. If I hadn't been silly and disorganized last night, I might have gotten a room in Bingen (home of St. Hildegard, patron of Women's Studies majors and feminist musicians); fortunately, this morning I scored an excellent room in Mainz instead (home of the Chagall church, which I might now have time to attend in the morning). So far, so good, but I must admit the Rick Steves' guidebook training wheels are comforting. On the train, I'll try to figure out my plans re: cruise, Köln, Aachen, Trier, and suchlike, so I can avoid future room ... read more

The Hills Are Alive

Europe » Austria » Salzburg » Salzburg June 24th 2005

PerlinBros

As we close out our third week in Europe, while some travelers would be weary due to an extensive voyage we are still fresh, eager, and pensive. We apologize for our tardiness with the blog about our previous two-night stay in Salzburg, but tasting all that Venice offers is time consuming. Nevertheless we loved Salzburg, the gem of Austria, and as you know will tell you all about. Also, a shameless plug for my father and Jonah's other blog site, which I don't subscribe to since I was left out of the "Perlin and Son Blog" (notice the lack of son being plural), but anyways no hard feelings and visit blogspot.perlinandson.com. Their you can find a long piece of Jonah's feelings on the EU and Fathers interesting thoughts about world finance.(Please don't let my bitterness hold ... read more

The Sound of Salzburg

Europe » Austria » Salzburg » Salzburg June 24th 2005

Die Hügel leben...

bsktcase

I had previously asserted that all the relevant Sound of Music sights were in the Altstadt (old town center) and easily walkable, thus eliminating the need for a bus tour. Upon reviewing the free map I got from the tourist office, I discovered I was totally wrong about that, and nearly all of them are well outside the city, only conveniently accessible by car or bus tour. So, I caved and reserved the bus tour for this morning. Traveling alone, as the attentive reader has already noticed, I've gravitated toward guided tours as a way of finding structure and a bit of human interaction. It's helpful. After breakfast, the guide from Bob's Special Tours (recommended by Rick, who described a "casual mini-bus") pulled up to my hotel driving a shabby taxi-van. Casual indeed. But, he was ... read more

So long München, hallo Salzburg....

Europe » Austria » Salzburg » Salzburg June 23rd 2005

Hohensalzburg Fortress

bsktcase

I wrapped things up in München with another tasty breakfast and some chores (online banking rules!), then headed to the Hauptbahnhof to do a little travel consulting with Herr W. at EurAide. He quickly drew up a plan of attack that includes a night train from Salzburg to Mainz, then a short Rhein (Rhine) cruise (instead of the all-day version), plus quick sightseeing in Köln and Aachen, all in one day. He also recommended, before all this, a night in Hallstadt, Austria, a city highly recommended by Rick but not on my list. I made the night train reservation, then deliberated for about 15 minutes before coming back and changing the date (certain people will find this both hilarious and comforting), omitting the Hallstadt trip in favor of more dates up north, possibly even some useful ... read more

so sad

Europe » Austria » Salzburg » Salzburg June 20th 2005

Lissy

i'm leaving this gorgeous city today. i've had a wonderful time here. mostly just walking around the hills in the surrounding areas and looking at the gorgeous shops. did i tell you they have a christmas shop and an easter shop here. yesterday i hired a bike (i know - again) and cruised up and down beside the river for about 4 hours. it was the nicest day. blue sky, sunny and high 20s. i had a great time. with the hire company they gave me a free audio guide of the city that you're supposed to walk around the city with and look at the buildings. i've already seen the buildings so i lay beside the river and listened to it. it was a fantastic day. went to a famous beer garden the other night. ... read more

A trip to Wine country

Europe » Austria » Vienna » Vienna June 19th 2005

Shortstuff

I arrived in Vienna and checked into Wombats youth hostel. It is a very nice, clean place with ensuit bachrooms in rooms of four. It is an excellent hostel with nice staff. They have many recommendations on what to see. I spent the rest of the day walking around Vienna, taking in the sites. Vienna was very nice since it has such a different style than everywhere else I have been. I went to see Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral) and although it was a gothic style chuch, the decor on the inside was very different and was stunning. After spending a day exploring the city of Vienna I decided to have a change of pace and took a trip to the Austrian wine country. I joined up with the "grape grazing tours". They drove us to ... read more

lovely city

Europe » Austria » Salzburg » Salzburg June 17th 2005

me on the sound of music tour.

Lissy

well. did the sound of music tour yesterday. i loved it. it wasn't just sound of music - but also some good sightseeing. didn't go up into the hills too much though :( oh well. we did a questionnaire at the end. i had to tick the box saying that i'd watched the movie more than 10 times. i'm sure i would've seen it many more than that!! went to an australian pub for dinner the other night. we meant to go to austrian but it was too expensive. i had the melbourne burger - i had to. very fun night. i want to buy sooo many things here but i'm forcing myself not to. ... read more

my favourite things

Europe » Austria » Salzburg » Salzburg June 15th 2005

Lissy

i love this place. arrived yesterday at lunch time so haven't done a whole lot yet. it is gorgeous. it's my favourite place so far. it even beets brugge and cesky krumlov (my previous favourites). the streets are beautiful. buildings are great, shops are gorgeous, people are great, streets are clean, gorgeous green river. what more could you want!! going on the sound of music tour tomorrow and the movie is being shown at the hostel now - better go and have a refresher - not that i need it, but anyway... oh, did you see i've finally put lots of photos up in previous entries.... read more

Speed Travel

Europe » Austria » Vienna » Vienna June 9th 2005

suljea

When we left Spain we left behind the laid-back lifestyle and the nature of our trip has changed. We´ve been doing a sort of speed traveling where we stay only a night or two in a place and move on. That and the lack of readily available internet access has let my log suffer. With so much happening I would need a week to bring my log up to date in the way that I originally started, which is not really an option since I only have 12 days of vacation left. I´m sorry that I have to gyp you guys, but better you than me, right? :-) So that you have a basic idea of where we´ve been I´ll walk you throgh the places we´ve seen since Spain. Back on the 28th of May, it ... read more

Gruss Gott

Europe » Austria » Tyrol June 9th 2005

Haus Schoneck

belinda

Am quickly settling into life in my smurf uniform and adapting to the routine of schnitzel and the silver bullet one night, roast lamb and party night the next. ... read more

Brief history of Austria

Once the center of power for the large Austro-Hungarian Empire, Austria was reduced to a small republic after its defeat in World War I. Following annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938 and subsequent occupation by the victorious Allies in 1945, Austria'...more history

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