Salzburg to Vienna

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We got up early again to pack and eat another good breakfast and left Salzburg about 8:00 am. While heading out of the Mozart city, Sara (our tour guide) told us about the Austrian Lake country of Dachstein Salskammergut (loosely translated: Salt mine region) and such lakes/towns as Fuschel and Wolfgangsee, Attersee (largest lake in Austria), and Traunsee….but because of the early morning fog, we listened well –not saw well. One site she pointed out was the Red Bull Headquarters, a favorite drink of teens and students. Our first stop was at Mondsee where we visited St. Michael’s Parish Church which had 13 altars and, except for the high main altar were quite dark --with the statues, walls, and stucco. This was the church that Maria married the Baron Von Trapp in Sound of Music (but in real life, was married in the abbey in Salzburg.

Our next stop was in the town of Melk, the site of a Benedictine Abbey (like St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville – just the Benedictine part was the same. The Monks first came from Italy in 739 AD and continued until it was dissolved in 1792. Now the old abbey is a school for 900 10 – 16 year olds from 13 different parishes. We then ate a nice lunch on a patio - GG and I both had a bratwurst with French fries. Now we headed up to the Wachau Valley (where vineyards cover hillsides, overlooked by castle ruins on high peaks) for a short cruise on the Blue Danube River (unlike the classical walz, the river was green and murky). However, we had a nice sunny day and enjoyed conversations with several different couples from our group. We ended the cruise in Durnstein, a nice little village where GG and I tasted a small glass of a local Riesling—Yes we did!!

We finally headed to Vienna to check into the Hilton Hotel. After a short break and a change of clothes, we split into 2 groups, one going to a place where Weiner Schnitzel was being served while we joined a larger group to try out one of several different options at a Hungarian restaurant, owned by Stefan Kardos. While we waited for our food and during our meal a lively Klezmer foursome played some gypsy, Greek, Eastern European music with a fiddle, base and accordion. By the time we got back to the hotel everyone was pretty tired from all the walking, sightseeing and being out in the sun most of the day.

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Comments

[Sandy]

My favorite photo in this entry!
Yes my fav. photo is the ladies picking grapes ,so like mom and grandma! Love it. your journal or blog entries are very informative and quite descriptive; I feel like I am there with you.