Halstatt and Salzburg - Outstanding
 

This is a belated continuation of our European trip from July. Previous reports covered Prague and Vienna.<BR>In Vienna, we rented an Avis car at their garage on Opernring, across from the Staatoper. It's a terribly foul, smelly and hot garage. We headed west out of Vienna, direction Linz on the A1 through first mountainous, then rolling, countryside. Early in our trip planning, we decided that the Danube River Valley, with Krems and the Abbey at Melk, would have to wait for another trip. But as we passed Melk, I could feel the pull of history and the wonderful things to be seen. <BR>South of Linz, we began to see the outline of The Salzgammergut in the haze. This is salt mine territory, and the land of an incredible collection of beautiful lakes, streams, green valleys and mountain slopes. I had read a lot about it from Fodor’s and Michelin, and it’s a favorite day trip from Salzburg. It's history goes back several thousand years to the salt farming cultures of the early Celts. The high and steep mountains seemed to leap out of valleys and lakes for thousands of feet. The lakes are inordinately calm, sometimes mirror like, even in late afternoon. The overall beauty and splendor made us think of Lake Tahoe, one of our favorite haunts. It became obvious at that point, that our car had developed a diesel leak, and the front passenger side floor mat was soaked, ruining my wife's purse. A call to Avis at St Wolfgang was not fruitful, as no cars were available to exchange. We continued in our smelly car.<BR>We stopped in Traunkirchen on Traunsee for a lunch of sandwiches and ice cream sundaes in the dock area. We walked around a promontory, and found a very old church. On its wall were marks from several floods in the past. The highest mark, about up to my shoulders, was dated 1594. Later, in the Halstatt museum, we read more of deadly floods of the past. (In mid-August, about 5 weeks after our visit, floods ravaged Europe and we wondered if there is another mark on the side of the church.)<BR>We drove south, always adjacent to either a lake or stream, and found our way to Halstatt. After a little confusion on how to drive into the town (only residents or guests allowed through the gate) we wound along a very narrow street to the quaintest little town square we have ever seen. The small square is a postcard of an Austrian village, and is shown in many guidebooks. It has a water fountain surrounded by houses over shops with geranium draped balconies. I got very good pictures early the next morning, but a short while later it was a-swarm with day-trippers, and pictures were impossible.<BR>Our hotel was Hotel Gruener Baum (www.gruenerbaum.at), Euro 145, a room with balcony on the lakeside (2 floors up, no lift). The front of the hotel opened onto this lovely little square, and we took a short walk around the village. This little village is fantastic, and after the day-trippers left, it was enchanting. It got very quiet and still. There are obviously no motors allowed on the lake, only sail and electric power. The lake was a mirror and reflected the mountains even at 10 PM that night. We sat on our little balcony, sipped our beers, and enjoyed the scenery, whispering so as not to disturb the silence. It occurred to us that any such lake in the US would be bank to bank jet skis, water skiers, and speed boats. The silence was truly golden.<BR>

Part 2<BR>The hotel itself has seen better days, with signs of deferred maintenance. The owners and staff were very friendly. We had a good, not great, dinner at the hotel. There are not very many dining options here. My wife, after a week in Prague and Vienna, was becoming fed up with the &quot;Viennese&quot; style of cooking, but gave stroganoff one more try. Couldn't finish it. I had a good trout-like fish from Halstattersee. We walked around a little more in the late evening twilight. The next morning we visited the little museum with many informative (not in English) interactive displays. Lots of school kids were also visiting. Respiratory problems kept us out of the salt mine tour, which otherwise is a 'must.<BR>Heading for Salzburg, just west of Bad Ischl on westbound 158, we crossed a little river just before Aschau, and turned right onto an unnumbered unlined road for about 15 km's through a most beautiful little area. The fields were vibrant green, filled with belled brown cows. Lots of houses with geranium draped balconies and little signs &quot;Zimmer&quot; out by the road. If we didn't have someplace to go, we would have stopped. At the famous White Horse Hotel in St Wolfgang, we lunched on ice cream sundaes and cokes, shopped a little, then on to Salzburg. Arranging by phone from Halstatt, we turned our smelly car in at the Avis office in Salzburg. Avis was very cooperative on this little problem and treated us fairly.<BR>Our hotel in Salzburg was selected due to its location and ambiance, with little regard to price. This was her birthday, a major one, so a splurge was in order. What a place. The Goldener Hirsch is located at the west end of Getreidegasse, right in the heart of old Salzburg. Incredible location. She gasped audibly when we walked into the room. It was well-furnished in antiques, with a comfortable bed, large sitting area and large bathroom with full stall shower (unusual in Europe). Little vases of roses accompanied the room service coffee, which we sipped in our terry cloth robes. Ah, luxurious! It was one of the most beautiful hotel rooms we have been in. <BR>The Goldener Hirsch is part of the Luxury Collection of the Starwood System of hotel resorts worldwide, so I made reservations via the 800 number. It periodically shows up in fine hotels of the world lists, like Conde Nast, etc. www.goldenerhirsch.at. Two windows looked out over the fortress, but they were double paned, so no street noise problems. Breakfast was not included. To be honest, we choose not to think about the cost of this room; we just remember the ambiance. Worth the splurge? You bet! I think she really enjoyed her birthday stay in Salzburg.<BR>

Part 3<BR>It stays light very late this time of year (early July), so after checking in we wandered out on Getreidegasse. We were delighted with this great little street, one of the most charming, and crowded we have been on in Europe. Major shopping opportunities, and throngs of people. We got to the Alter Markt, identified Mozart's Geberthausen (which we toured the next day - informative with taste of how life was like in the 1700's). About the time we were about to walk over to Mozartplatz, it started to sprinkle, and got very dark. Discreetly, we decided to head back and dodged under awnings and doorways to avoid what became a very heavy downpour. The next day we learned it caused some local damage.<BR>Back at the hotel, we had reservations at the hotel's famous Dining Room. But when she saw the menu of more Viennese style meats and potatoes, she revolted. &quot;No more!&quot; she says. We got up and left. We went to the hotel's more informal caf&eacute; where the menu was indeed different. We dined on excellent medallions of veal in a white cream sauce.<BR>The next morning we were compelled to start way earlier than normal. We had only one full day in Salzburg, and breakfast was not included in our room price. A little after 8 we were at famous Caf&eacute; Tomaselli in Alter Markt. Seated outdoors, we had an excellent baked omelet, enjoyed the sun rising over fortress Hohensalzburg, people watched, sipped coffee and read the morning paper. After viewing some landmarks around Mozartplatz, we took the funicular up to the fortress.<BR>The Hohensalzburg castle and fortress was first mentioned in 800 by Charlemagne. We loved the histroy and spent a long morning going through the grounds and apartments. From a large platform, the views were incredible of the surrounding area. Tours are with a group of about 20 or so and all of us had little handheld audio guides in our respective languages. We were shepherded along by a patient and tired &quot;guide,&quot; and not allowed to wander off by ourselves. The tour took about 1 hour or maybe a little more.<BR>We took the funicular back down and walked through the cemetary area and churches, did some shopping, and ended up across the river at Mirabelle Gardens. This area was very beautiful and relaxing. We stopped in the outdoor caf&eacute; and had ice cream sundaes and cokes before walking through the gardens. The large omelet had held us through lunch. <BR>

Part 4 &amp; the end.<BR><BR>That night we had reservations (arranged by the hotel) for dinner at the Mozart concert at St Peters Stiffskeller, supposedly the oldest restaurant in Salzburg. There has been a restaurant at this location since 900 or so. The dinner was ok; we met some nice people. The concert was fun, the performers dressed in period costumes, but a little too much opera for our tastes. I found myself comparing this to the quaint little church basement Konzert im Mozarthaus back in Vienna. Oh well, now I know I will stick to Mozart's instrumental cd's. For $40 each, it was a fun night.<BR>The next moring it was raining, so another baked omelet at Tomaselli's was out of the question. We had a &quot;too expensive&quot; breakfast buffet in the hotel, refusing to go next door for an Egg Mcmuffin (yes, they were there). Avis delivered our new, non-smelling car to us at the hotel, and after a nice young bell boy (&quot;he's cute&quot;) turned the car around for us, and blocked traffic so I could make an illegal turn, off we went to Inssbruck and Switzerland.<BR>A short afternoon plus one full day and two nights is probably not quite enough for this pretty little town. But we got the high points. We did not do the &quot;Sound of Music&quot; tour that even Rick Steves recommended. We will always remember the Mirabell Gardens, Fortress Hohensalzburg, and the Goldener Hirsch. I think one could spend a lot more time in the Salzgammergut area. It was beautiful.<BR>Thanks to all for helping with our trip.

Bill, Thanks for bringing back some fond memories of one of my favorite parts of Europe. Well done !