The Alps are calling, we must go
Feb 5th, 2024 | 07:09 AM
#121
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 21,174
Likes: 83
Dec 21
More gloom and snow was expected today, yet the skies showed a bit of blue. We walked to the Bad Hofgastein Schlossalmbahn bus terminal and took the 9:45 bus to Bad Gastein Mozartplatz (3 euro with Gastein Card, otherwise 2.20 each).
We popped into the Bad Gastein tourist office to make sure that a walk Id found online was open in winter and to check conditions; we were given the go ahead and instructions on how to get there. We then walked down the hilly streets of Bad Gastein, passing the Gasteiner Wasserfall en route. The church (Pfarrkirche), which I thought would be in the center of the village, wasnt. In fact, there didnt really seem to be a center in this odd, but interesting village.
Bad Gastein
Bad Gastein
Gasteiner Wasserfall
Bad Gastein
Bad Gastein
Bad Gastein
We located the Kaiser Wilhelm Promenade and followed it to Kotschachtal, a side valley of the Gastein Valley, an undulating walk of 8.5 km (return), with an elevation gain of 258 m. Although pretty well pebbled, it was icy in spots, so we wore our traction cleats.
It was an enjoyable and quiet walk, and as advertised, took 2.5 hours to complete.
Kaiser Wilhelm Promenade to Kotschachtal
Kotschachtal
Kotschachtal
Back in town we looked for a place for lunch, finding an open bakery, but nothing else. We were surrounded by large majestic hotels, and not one of them was open. It was weird; and kind of eerie.
Bad Gastein
We walked back up to the tourist office and asked where we might find lunch; we were told the Orania Stuberl was open, the food good, and given directions. I asked why all the hotels were closed; was it too early in the season? The response - many of the hotels had closed permanently. Hmmm.
We worked our way up to the Orania Stuberl via an incredibly steep hill. Andfound it closed. Argh!
So, we Googled, but couldnt find an open restaurant - which felt odd in a ski area four days before Christmas. We decided to walk up towards the Felsenthermewe smelled food, so we followed our noses inside and were told theres a restaurant upstairs (Panorama-Restaurant Silberkrug).
I had a burrata tomato salad (I know better than to order tomatoes in December, but wasnt thinking); it wasnt very good. Bill ordered the Cordon Bleu with fries; he said it was okay but thought it expensive for what it was (17.90). We both had Grner Veltliner, which was truly awful; it had an off taste; we should have sent it back, but abandoned it instead. Overall a very disappointing meal (42)...but then again, the best ability is availability.
We popped into EuroSpar for dinner provisions and then returned to Bad Hofgastein via bus (3 each).
I was curious about all those closed hotels in Bad Gastein, so I did some online research that night. And I discovered that some of those hotels had been standing empty for decades!
Turns out Bad Gastein has a very interesting history, and had I known about it before we visited, Id have paid a bit more attention to those hotels.
8_Bad_Gastein.pdf
https://paulmarina.com/bad-gastein-austria/
Impressions:
We were both a bit underwhelmed with the Gastein Valley; perhaps because wed been spoiled by what wed already seen and done. The food situation was disappointing - limited open restaurants, etc. Our best meal here had been at Valeriehaus at Sportsgastein, so much so that we considered taking the bus up again just for lunch.
The area is well served by buses, the train in Bad Hofgastein less convenient as its situated above town, necessitating a bus to get there and back. The Gastein Card was not as good a value as elsewhere, but better than nothing; the city buses are free, but very limited in scope and not convenient as they only run every two hours.
And then came the snow.
To be continued
More gloom and snow was expected today, yet the skies showed a bit of blue. We walked to the Bad Hofgastein Schlossalmbahn bus terminal and took the 9:45 bus to Bad Gastein Mozartplatz (3 euro with Gastein Card, otherwise 2.20 each).
We popped into the Bad Gastein tourist office to make sure that a walk Id found online was open in winter and to check conditions; we were given the go ahead and instructions on how to get there. We then walked down the hilly streets of Bad Gastein, passing the Gasteiner Wasserfall en route. The church (Pfarrkirche), which I thought would be in the center of the village, wasnt. In fact, there didnt really seem to be a center in this odd, but interesting village.
Bad Gastein
Bad Gastein
Gasteiner Wasserfall
Bad Gastein
Bad Gastein
Bad Gastein
We located the Kaiser Wilhelm Promenade and followed it to Kotschachtal, a side valley of the Gastein Valley, an undulating walk of 8.5 km (return), with an elevation gain of 258 m. Although pretty well pebbled, it was icy in spots, so we wore our traction cleats.
It was an enjoyable and quiet walk, and as advertised, took 2.5 hours to complete.
Kaiser Wilhelm Promenade to Kotschachtal
Kotschachtal
Kotschachtal
Back in town we looked for a place for lunch, finding an open bakery, but nothing else. We were surrounded by large majestic hotels, and not one of them was open. It was weird; and kind of eerie.
Bad Gastein
We walked back up to the tourist office and asked where we might find lunch; we were told the Orania Stuberl was open, the food good, and given directions. I asked why all the hotels were closed; was it too early in the season? The response - many of the hotels had closed permanently. Hmmm.
We worked our way up to the Orania Stuberl via an incredibly steep hill. Andfound it closed. Argh!
So, we Googled, but couldnt find an open restaurant - which felt odd in a ski area four days before Christmas. We decided to walk up towards the Felsenthermewe smelled food, so we followed our noses inside and were told theres a restaurant upstairs (Panorama-Restaurant Silberkrug).
I had a burrata tomato salad (I know better than to order tomatoes in December, but wasnt thinking); it wasnt very good. Bill ordered the Cordon Bleu with fries; he said it was okay but thought it expensive for what it was (17.90). We both had Grner Veltliner, which was truly awful; it had an off taste; we should have sent it back, but abandoned it instead. Overall a very disappointing meal (42)...but then again, the best ability is availability.
We popped into EuroSpar for dinner provisions and then returned to Bad Hofgastein via bus (3 each).
I was curious about all those closed hotels in Bad Gastein, so I did some online research that night. And I discovered that some of those hotels had been standing empty for decades!
Turns out Bad Gastein has a very interesting history, and had I known about it before we visited, Id have paid a bit more attention to those hotels.
8_Bad_Gastein.pdf
https://paulmarina.com/bad-gastein-austria/
Impressions:
We were both a bit underwhelmed with the Gastein Valley; perhaps because wed been spoiled by what wed already seen and done. The food situation was disappointing - limited open restaurants, etc. Our best meal here had been at Valeriehaus at Sportsgastein, so much so that we considered taking the bus up again just for lunch.
The area is well served by buses, the train in Bad Hofgastein less convenient as its situated above town, necessitating a bus to get there and back. The Gastein Card was not as good a value as elsewhere, but better than nothing; the city buses are free, but very limited in scope and not convenient as they only run every two hours.
And then came the snow.
To be continued
Last edited by Melnq8; Feb 5th, 2024 at 07:13 AM.
Feb 5th, 2024 | 08:38 AM
#122
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,033
Likes: 0
Very interesting! I had heard about the decline of the former glamourous spa town Bad Gastein some years ago and then, just last year, read an article about two fancy hotels re-opening. Seems the town has a long way to go ...
Feb 5th, 2024 | 11:36 AM
#124
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 21,174
Likes: 83
Dec 22 -
We woke to atrocious weather; rain with wind gusts up to 90 km; we could hear thumps as things blew around outside, and we saw flying debris from our apartment window.
We bid farewell to Bad Hofgastein and walked to the Schlossalmbahn bus terminal one last time; the ground slippery as the rain had turned to ice; it made for slow going.
Bill had purchased our train/bus tickets to Salzburg on BB the previous night, €31.60 for both, but first we needed to get to the train station.
We took bus #550 towards Dorfstein (€3 for both), and got off three stops later at the ABZV Bahnhof. From there we walked some 5-7 minutes uphill in the slippery slush; rivers of water running down the road.
There were a lot of people at the station waiting for the same train; ICE 114 towards Dortmund, Germany. One look and we got worried; we’d not made reservations.
Fortunately, the train wasn’t that busy, and had plenty of space for luggage, but lots of seats were reserved for later in the trip, so we selected two unreserved seats, facing backwards, my least favorite. It was a nice train (DB) with a large and spotless loo.
Some 90 minutes later we arrived at the Salzburg Bahnhof, located Bus Stand Y in the back, and took bus #22 to Gorianstrasse in the ‘burbs, a four minute walk from our apartment.
This place was huge; more space than we needed, two bedrooms, a massive living area (which we barely used) large kitchen, separate rooms for the shower/bath, and toilet/sink, large entryway and a long skinny hallway. The layout was a bit odd, with lots of doors; it’d take a few days before I stopped walking into the wrong rooms.
Pre-trip research revealed a Nepalese/Indian restaurant nearby; we were hungry, so we dropped off our luggage and immediately sought out the family operated Kathmandu, a three minute walk from the apartment.
Bill loved his extra spicy chicken tikka masala, my butter paneer was less exciting, but we decided to book in on Dec 24 as we knew food would be scare on Christmas Eve (€49.80 with rice, garlic naan, wine and one not-very-good Aperol Spritz).
Afterwards we picked up provisions at Billa, also situated mere minutes from the apartment.
Later we walked back to the Gorianstrasse bus stop and took bus #22 to the Altstadt. Bill had purchased a 24 hour bus pass for €4.50 each; just .10 more than an individual return fare.
Salzburg
Salzburg
Salzburg
Salzburg
Salzburg
We located the Salzburg Cathedral, which I’d first seen in 2019 and had fallen in love with; this was Bill’s first visit. Tickets are now required to get into the cathedral, to attend the daily music at noon, and of course for concerts. Google tells me the entry fee was established in 2021.
We paid €12 each for the 4 pm concert, entering early to wander through the church. The chorale was excellent, eight people with amazing vocal range, who sang from different corners of the church utilizing those fantastic acoustics. Thoroughly enjoyable.
https://www.salzburger-dom.at/home/
Salzburg Cathedral
Salzburg Cathedral
Salzburg Cathedral
Afterwards we wandered the Christmas market and then located Caf Tomaselli which had been on my list in 2019 for hot chocolate, but we’d not fit it in. We had to wait outside until a seat was available.
The wind was fierce, large gusts turned umbrellas inside out, whipped around canopies and wreaked havoc on Christmas market stalls, all while raining. There were quite a few people out despite the truly abysmal weather. I was glad I wasn’t on a plane making its descent.
We ordered large hot chocolates with whipped cream and shared a slice of topfentorte; all pretty standard, nothing to get excited about, so it goes with tourist traps, €18.60.
Salzburg
Salzburg
Salzburg
We hadn’t figured out the return bus, so we decided to walk the 25 minutes back to the apartment. We passed a car with a section of fence on top of it; that wind was something else.
To be continued...
We woke to atrocious weather; rain with wind gusts up to 90 km; we could hear thumps as things blew around outside, and we saw flying debris from our apartment window.
We bid farewell to Bad Hofgastein and walked to the Schlossalmbahn bus terminal one last time; the ground slippery as the rain had turned to ice; it made for slow going.
Bill had purchased our train/bus tickets to Salzburg on BB the previous night, €31.60 for both, but first we needed to get to the train station.
We took bus #550 towards Dorfstein (€3 for both), and got off three stops later at the ABZV Bahnhof. From there we walked some 5-7 minutes uphill in the slippery slush; rivers of water running down the road.
There were a lot of people at the station waiting for the same train; ICE 114 towards Dortmund, Germany. One look and we got worried; we’d not made reservations.
Fortunately, the train wasn’t that busy, and had plenty of space for luggage, but lots of seats were reserved for later in the trip, so we selected two unreserved seats, facing backwards, my least favorite. It was a nice train (DB) with a large and spotless loo.
Some 90 minutes later we arrived at the Salzburg Bahnhof, located Bus Stand Y in the back, and took bus #22 to Gorianstrasse in the ‘burbs, a four minute walk from our apartment.
This place was huge; more space than we needed, two bedrooms, a massive living area (which we barely used) large kitchen, separate rooms for the shower/bath, and toilet/sink, large entryway and a long skinny hallway. The layout was a bit odd, with lots of doors; it’d take a few days before I stopped walking into the wrong rooms.
Pre-trip research revealed a Nepalese/Indian restaurant nearby; we were hungry, so we dropped off our luggage and immediately sought out the family operated Kathmandu, a three minute walk from the apartment.
Bill loved his extra spicy chicken tikka masala, my butter paneer was less exciting, but we decided to book in on Dec 24 as we knew food would be scare on Christmas Eve (€49.80 with rice, garlic naan, wine and one not-very-good Aperol Spritz).
Afterwards we picked up provisions at Billa, also situated mere minutes from the apartment.
Later we walked back to the Gorianstrasse bus stop and took bus #22 to the Altstadt. Bill had purchased a 24 hour bus pass for €4.50 each; just .10 more than an individual return fare.
Salzburg
Salzburg
Salzburg
Salzburg
Salzburg
We located the Salzburg Cathedral, which I’d first seen in 2019 and had fallen in love with; this was Bill’s first visit. Tickets are now required to get into the cathedral, to attend the daily music at noon, and of course for concerts. Google tells me the entry fee was established in 2021.
We paid €12 each for the 4 pm concert, entering early to wander through the church. The chorale was excellent, eight people with amazing vocal range, who sang from different corners of the church utilizing those fantastic acoustics. Thoroughly enjoyable.
https://www.salzburger-dom.at/home/
Salzburg Cathedral
Salzburg Cathedral
Salzburg Cathedral
Afterwards we wandered the Christmas market and then located Caf Tomaselli which had been on my list in 2019 for hot chocolate, but we’d not fit it in. We had to wait outside until a seat was available.
The wind was fierce, large gusts turned umbrellas inside out, whipped around canopies and wreaked havoc on Christmas market stalls, all while raining. There were quite a few people out despite the truly abysmal weather. I was glad I wasn’t on a plane making its descent.
We ordered large hot chocolates with whipped cream and shared a slice of topfentorte; all pretty standard, nothing to get excited about, so it goes with tourist traps, €18.60.
Salzburg
Salzburg
Salzburg
We hadn’t figured out the return bus, so we decided to walk the 25 minutes back to the apartment. We passed a car with a section of fence on top of it; that wind was something else.
To be continued...
Last edited by Melnq8; Feb 5th, 2024 at 11:44 AM.
Feb 5th, 2024 | 12:09 PM
#125
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 6,231
Likes: 0
Just started reading your report. Love your photos! The Christmas market scenes and the winter scenes are so beautiful and enticing. I would love to visit these countries in the winter but not sure I can convince my husband. He hates being cold, more so than me. So I might have to see these countries in winter through your photos! We visited Munich and Salzburg during the summer months in the mid 90's but we certainly didn't spend enough time there. Just one day in Salzburg. And I don't think we had a full day in Munich. We were with a group and had no control where we went.
As I'm looking at the Christmas market photos, I am selecting in my mind what ornaments I would purchase!
As I'm looking at the Christmas market photos, I am selecting in my mind what ornaments I would purchase!
Feb 5th, 2024 | 12:24 PM
#127
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 21,174
Likes: 83
Nice to see you here KarenWoo!
Ingo - I like Salzburg, and still haven't been to several of the "must sees", like the brewery you rrecommended a few years back. I've found it a good place to spend Christmas as not everything shuts down.
Ingo - I like Salzburg, and still haven't been to several of the "must sees", like the brewery you rrecommended a few years back. I've found it a good place to spend Christmas as not everything shuts down.
Feb 7th, 2024 | 11:41 AM
#132
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 21,174
Likes: 83
Dec 23 -
After consulting Google Maps, we walked to the nearby Caf Pierre for breakfast; one cappuccino, one latte, two pastries, lovely, €14.20. Unfortunately they’d be closed from tomorrow onwards for the holidays. I’d have liked to return to try more of those tempting pastries.
Caf Pierre
Caf Pierre
We walked around the neighborhood a bit, and popped into a few other bakeries to see if they would be open in the coming days. Nein.
We then walked to the Gorianstrasse bus stop and took the #21 bus to Mirabellplatz, where we walked through the small Christmas market.
Mirabellplatz Christmas Market
We wandered, eventually crossing the river to the historic center, walking through the Christkindlmarkt at the Domplatz and Residenzplatz and stumbling upon the Grnmarkt, where we perused the goods and watched the world go by.
Christkindlmarkt at the Domplatz and Residenzplatz
Christkindlmarkt at the Domplatz and Residenzplatz
Christkindlmarkt at the Domplatz and Residenzplatz
Grnmarkt
Grnmarkt
Grnmarkt
Grnmarkt
The Early Christian catacombs, which are carved into the rock of the Mnchsberg above St Peter’s cemetery, would be closed in the coming days, so we took this opportunity to visit them. We climbed the 48 steps and took in the views over St Peter’s cemetery and the surrounding area (€2 each).
St Peter’s cemetery as seen from catacombs
St Peter’s cemetery as seen from catacombs
St Peter’s cemetery
Back on the ground, we popped into the courtyard of St Peter’s Stiftkulinarium (a restaurant within the walls of St Peter's Abbey), knowing from my previous stay that it was a cozy place for a gluhwein, but it was entirely too busy, so we took a pass.
https://www.stpeter.at/#
Lunch found us at Steigel Keller, situated up a hill not far from the funicular to the medieval Hohensalzburg Fortress. Here we had cheese beer soup, which was very good, but thin, more like a broth than a hearty soup, €23.40 with one beer and one glass of wine.
Steigel Keller
Steigel Keller
We stuck our heads into the funicular ticket office to ask if the Panorama Restaurant was open tomorrow; we were told it would be, although my emails of several weeks ago had said otherwise. It wasn’t clear if the restaurant was open to everyone, or just to those who had purchased concert tickets with lunch included. We were trying to figure out our plan for the next few days.
We weren’t really in the mood for sipping gluhwein outdoors on such a blustery day, so we sought out a wine bar, first finding Wein Co, which was absolutely packed, then moving on to the tiny Di Renzi Ristorante, Prosciutteria & Enoteca, which was devoid of customers.
Here we wiled away the very windy afternoon over a few drops; an occasional customer coming or going. We watched the bored wait staff look at their phones, eat their lunches, leave and return, etc. We watched the cook prepare the occasional meal from his teeny-tiny workspace behind the bar, wondering how on earth he pulled it off.
Our waiter later told us that people had been told to stay home due to the dangerous winds.
Di Renzi Ristorante, Prosciutteria & Enoteca
Di Renzi Ristorante, Prosciutteria & Enoteca
While there I booked a table at Zaffran Indian restaurant for dinner; we then debated on whether to return to the apartment for a while or stay put; choosing to stay put after discovering the restaurant was closer to the wine bar than the apartment.
We finally tore ourselves away and crossed the river to get some night photos of the Christkindlmarkt at the Domplatz and Residenzplatz before heading to the restaurant. The threatening clouds had produced a beautiful sunset, a group of men were playing trumpets near Caf Tomaselli, the atmosphere very festive despite the fierce wind.
Salzburg
Salzburg at dusk
Salzburg at dusk
Wandering
Christkindlmarkt
Christkindlmarkt
The walk to Zaffran was much longer than expected, but we made it in time. Bill chose the spicy butter chicken, I went for the Paneer Karai, all very good, €40 with rice, garlic naan, and sparkling water.
After learning it would take two buses to get back to our apartment and none was due anytime soon, we decided to just walk the 50 minutes instead.
Our walk took us past a pizza vending machine; we’ve seen some very interesting vending machines in Europe, selling anything from condoms, pregnancy tests, hamburgers, and cannabis drinks. I’ve yet to see a hot food vending machine in the US, but a quick Google search tells me they do indeed exist.
We were tired, we must have walked 10 miles today. It was still windy; destruction everywhere - downed plants and trees, sandwich boards, fences. We saw the same car from yesterday, sans fence, but badly scraped.
To be continued...
After consulting Google Maps, we walked to the nearby Caf Pierre for breakfast; one cappuccino, one latte, two pastries, lovely, €14.20. Unfortunately they’d be closed from tomorrow onwards for the holidays. I’d have liked to return to try more of those tempting pastries.
Caf Pierre
Caf Pierre
We walked around the neighborhood a bit, and popped into a few other bakeries to see if they would be open in the coming days. Nein.
We then walked to the Gorianstrasse bus stop and took the #21 bus to Mirabellplatz, where we walked through the small Christmas market.
Mirabellplatz Christmas Market
We wandered, eventually crossing the river to the historic center, walking through the Christkindlmarkt at the Domplatz and Residenzplatz and stumbling upon the Grnmarkt, where we perused the goods and watched the world go by.
Christkindlmarkt at the Domplatz and Residenzplatz
Christkindlmarkt at the Domplatz and Residenzplatz
Christkindlmarkt at the Domplatz and Residenzplatz
Grnmarkt
Grnmarkt
Grnmarkt
Grnmarkt
The Early Christian catacombs, which are carved into the rock of the Mnchsberg above St Peter’s cemetery, would be closed in the coming days, so we took this opportunity to visit them. We climbed the 48 steps and took in the views over St Peter’s cemetery and the surrounding area (€2 each).
St Peter’s cemetery as seen from catacombs
St Peter’s cemetery as seen from catacombs
St Peter’s cemetery
Back on the ground, we popped into the courtyard of St Peter’s Stiftkulinarium (a restaurant within the walls of St Peter's Abbey), knowing from my previous stay that it was a cozy place for a gluhwein, but it was entirely too busy, so we took a pass.
https://www.stpeter.at/#
Lunch found us at Steigel Keller, situated up a hill not far from the funicular to the medieval Hohensalzburg Fortress. Here we had cheese beer soup, which was very good, but thin, more like a broth than a hearty soup, €23.40 with one beer and one glass of wine.
Steigel Keller
Steigel Keller
We stuck our heads into the funicular ticket office to ask if the Panorama Restaurant was open tomorrow; we were told it would be, although my emails of several weeks ago had said otherwise. It wasn’t clear if the restaurant was open to everyone, or just to those who had purchased concert tickets with lunch included. We were trying to figure out our plan for the next few days.
We weren’t really in the mood for sipping gluhwein outdoors on such a blustery day, so we sought out a wine bar, first finding Wein Co, which was absolutely packed, then moving on to the tiny Di Renzi Ristorante, Prosciutteria & Enoteca, which was devoid of customers.
Here we wiled away the very windy afternoon over a few drops; an occasional customer coming or going. We watched the bored wait staff look at their phones, eat their lunches, leave and return, etc. We watched the cook prepare the occasional meal from his teeny-tiny workspace behind the bar, wondering how on earth he pulled it off.
Our waiter later told us that people had been told to stay home due to the dangerous winds.
Di Renzi Ristorante, Prosciutteria & Enoteca
Di Renzi Ristorante, Prosciutteria & Enoteca
While there I booked a table at Zaffran Indian restaurant for dinner; we then debated on whether to return to the apartment for a while or stay put; choosing to stay put after discovering the restaurant was closer to the wine bar than the apartment.
We finally tore ourselves away and crossed the river to get some night photos of the Christkindlmarkt at the Domplatz and Residenzplatz before heading to the restaurant. The threatening clouds had produced a beautiful sunset, a group of men were playing trumpets near Caf Tomaselli, the atmosphere very festive despite the fierce wind.
Salzburg
Salzburg at dusk
Salzburg at dusk
Wandering
Christkindlmarkt
Christkindlmarkt
The walk to Zaffran was much longer than expected, but we made it in time. Bill chose the spicy butter chicken, I went for the Paneer Karai, all very good, €40 with rice, garlic naan, and sparkling water.
After learning it would take two buses to get back to our apartment and none was due anytime soon, we decided to just walk the 50 minutes instead.
Our walk took us past a pizza vending machine; we’ve seen some very interesting vending machines in Europe, selling anything from condoms, pregnancy tests, hamburgers, and cannabis drinks. I’ve yet to see a hot food vending machine in the US, but a quick Google search tells me they do indeed exist.
We were tired, we must have walked 10 miles today. It was still windy; destruction everywhere - downed plants and trees, sandwich boards, fences. We saw the same car from yesterday, sans fence, but badly scraped.
To be continued...
Last edited by Melnq8; Feb 7th, 2024 at 11:54 AM.
Feb 9th, 2024 | 07:11 AM
#138
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 21,174
Likes: 83
Dec 24 - Christmas Eve
I knew from my Christmas visit in 2019 that we’d need to plan well to fit in what we were most interested in over the next few days, and that it would take some juggling to determine when to purchase our 72 day Salzburg Card (€40 each).
The card covers one time free admission to all city tourist attractions and museums, free travel on most public transportation, discounts on events and concerts, and in some cases, express entrance to said attractions.
We’d made a list of what we most wanted to see and which of those would be open on what days during the Christmas holiday; which is how we landed on making our Salzburg Card purchase today.
After purchasing the card online, we took the 9:45 bus to the Fortress Hohensalzburg, a horse drawn carriage passing us as we waited for the bus.
Upon arrival we took the funicular to the top of the Festungsberg and spent the next two hours touring the fortress, the marionette museum (which I’d missed in 2019) and taking in the views (audio guides are no longer provided).
Views from atop Fortress Hohensalzburg
Views from atop Fortress Hohensalzburg
Views from atop Fortress Hohensalzburg
We saw several traditionally dressed men with rifles so we followed them to one of the terraces, and watched as they prepared for the Christmas gun salute.
Fortress Hohensalzburg, Christmas Eve gun salute
We’d first encountered this in Berchtesgaden, Germany, and didn’t realize the tradition is also alive and well in Austria, so being there at the right time was a nice surprise.
First came the trumpets, then people were told to stand back and plug their ears. Then as the church bells struck noon, the men began shooting one-by-one; I noticed they opened their mouths when they shot, later learning this was to prevent ear drum ruptures.
After reloading (I’m told the rifles were muzzle loaders), they did it all over again; I counted 25 shots per round, although several misfired.
During pauses in shooting, we could hear other shooters from other parts of Salzburg.
https://www.gettyimages.ae/detail/vi...otage/97457445
Fortress Hohensalzburg, Christmas Eve gun salute
Quite a crowd had gathered; tourist propelled selfie-sticks were everywhere; Bill suggested that those using them should have them rectally inserted.
We then went back down the funicular and sought out lunch before the Christmas markets closed, knowing that it’d be slim pickings after 2 pm on this day before Christmas.
We settled on a busy kiosk selling raclette on bread, mine plain, Bill’s with speck (€10 for both).
Raclette with speck
Christmas Market
Christmas Market
Next we sought out a place to hang out until time to go back up to the fortress for our 3 pm Christmas concert, tickets for which I’d purchased back in November (€38 each).
https://www.salzburghighlights.at/en...27/#p616collap
We knew most places would be closed, so we were happy to stumble upon the very busy Caf Saren where we cooled our heels over beverages and a shared piece of tiramisu torte (€19.90).
Caf Saren
Caf Saren
People kept coming in, many unable to find seats. The caf appeared to be owned by a family of three, all of them running their butts off, taking and filling orders, washing dishes in the tiny work space, etc. Chaotic, yet well-oiled.
We then walked back to the funicular and took it up again; this time given a special pass included with our concert ticket.
The fortress closed at 2 pm today, so there was a huge queue of people coming down.
We thoroughly enjoyed the concert, which was held in the Castle Hall and consisted of eight musicians playing violin, harp, guitar and double bass (I think).
Fortress Hohensalzburg, Castle Hall
Fortress Hohensalzburg, Castle Hall
The performance ran for 90 minutes, plus a 15 minute intermission. The crowd really perked up in the second half when the orchestra played Vivaldi, followed by some local Christmas music.
There was a family seated across from us; grandma and two teenage boys kept nodding off, their heads dropping to their chests and then abruptly bouncing back up; hilarious. I know jet lag when I see it.
Then it was back down the funicular; the Christmas stalls now shuttered, although we did see one lebkuchen vendor still open for business.
The Domplatz and Residenzplatz were eerily quiet, the weather almost balmy. We had an hour before our dinner booking, so we decided to walk back to the apartment.
Salzburg after dark
Our second meal at Kathmandu was better than the first, although we ordered the same items; sehr scharf chicken tikka masala for Bill, butter paneer for me; I’d asked for a bit more heat than last time, rice, sparkling water and the biggest piece of garlic naan we’d ever seen (€38).
Service was glacial, although the restaurant wasn’t busy. We’d reserved for fear we’d not find a place to eat on Christmas Eve, but there were only two other occupied tables.
Later, after a long search, Bill found The Grinch who Stole Christmas online (the original 1966 version) and we watched it on the laptop. This is a longstanding holiday tradition for us; it wouldn’t be Christmas without the original Grinch.
To be continued...
I knew from my Christmas visit in 2019 that we’d need to plan well to fit in what we were most interested in over the next few days, and that it would take some juggling to determine when to purchase our 72 day Salzburg Card (€40 each).
The card covers one time free admission to all city tourist attractions and museums, free travel on most public transportation, discounts on events and concerts, and in some cases, express entrance to said attractions.
We’d made a list of what we most wanted to see and which of those would be open on what days during the Christmas holiday; which is how we landed on making our Salzburg Card purchase today.
After purchasing the card online, we took the 9:45 bus to the Fortress Hohensalzburg, a horse drawn carriage passing us as we waited for the bus.
Upon arrival we took the funicular to the top of the Festungsberg and spent the next two hours touring the fortress, the marionette museum (which I’d missed in 2019) and taking in the views (audio guides are no longer provided).
Views from atop Fortress Hohensalzburg
Views from atop Fortress Hohensalzburg
Views from atop Fortress Hohensalzburg
We saw several traditionally dressed men with rifles so we followed them to one of the terraces, and watched as they prepared for the Christmas gun salute.
Fortress Hohensalzburg, Christmas Eve gun salute
We’d first encountered this in Berchtesgaden, Germany, and didn’t realize the tradition is also alive and well in Austria, so being there at the right time was a nice surprise.
First came the trumpets, then people were told to stand back and plug their ears. Then as the church bells struck noon, the men began shooting one-by-one; I noticed they opened their mouths when they shot, later learning this was to prevent ear drum ruptures.
After reloading (I’m told the rifles were muzzle loaders), they did it all over again; I counted 25 shots per round, although several misfired.
During pauses in shooting, we could hear other shooters from other parts of Salzburg.
https://www.gettyimages.ae/detail/vi...otage/97457445
Fortress Hohensalzburg, Christmas Eve gun salute
Quite a crowd had gathered; tourist propelled selfie-sticks were everywhere; Bill suggested that those using them should have them rectally inserted.
We then went back down the funicular and sought out lunch before the Christmas markets closed, knowing that it’d be slim pickings after 2 pm on this day before Christmas.
We settled on a busy kiosk selling raclette on bread, mine plain, Bill’s with speck (€10 for both).
Raclette with speck
Christmas Market
Christmas Market
Next we sought out a place to hang out until time to go back up to the fortress for our 3 pm Christmas concert, tickets for which I’d purchased back in November (€38 each).
https://www.salzburghighlights.at/en...27/#p616collap
We knew most places would be closed, so we were happy to stumble upon the very busy Caf Saren where we cooled our heels over beverages and a shared piece of tiramisu torte (€19.90).
Caf Saren
Caf Saren
People kept coming in, many unable to find seats. The caf appeared to be owned by a family of three, all of them running their butts off, taking and filling orders, washing dishes in the tiny work space, etc. Chaotic, yet well-oiled.
We then walked back to the funicular and took it up again; this time given a special pass included with our concert ticket.
The fortress closed at 2 pm today, so there was a huge queue of people coming down.
We thoroughly enjoyed the concert, which was held in the Castle Hall and consisted of eight musicians playing violin, harp, guitar and double bass (I think).
Fortress Hohensalzburg, Castle Hall
Fortress Hohensalzburg, Castle Hall
The performance ran for 90 minutes, plus a 15 minute intermission. The crowd really perked up in the second half when the orchestra played Vivaldi, followed by some local Christmas music.
There was a family seated across from us; grandma and two teenage boys kept nodding off, their heads dropping to their chests and then abruptly bouncing back up; hilarious. I know jet lag when I see it.
Then it was back down the funicular; the Christmas stalls now shuttered, although we did see one lebkuchen vendor still open for business.
The Domplatz and Residenzplatz were eerily quiet, the weather almost balmy. We had an hour before our dinner booking, so we decided to walk back to the apartment.
Salzburg after dark
Our second meal at Kathmandu was better than the first, although we ordered the same items; sehr scharf chicken tikka masala for Bill, butter paneer for me; I’d asked for a bit more heat than last time, rice, sparkling water and the biggest piece of garlic naan we’d ever seen (€38).
Service was glacial, although the restaurant wasn’t busy. We’d reserved for fear we’d not find a place to eat on Christmas Eve, but there were only two other occupied tables.
Later, after a long search, Bill found The Grinch who Stole Christmas online (the original 1966 version) and we watched it on the laptop. This is a longstanding holiday tradition for us; it wouldn’t be Christmas without the original Grinch.
To be continued...
Last edited by Melnq8; Feb 9th, 2024 at 07:28 AM.
Feb 10th, 2024 | 08:57 AM
#139
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 21,174
Likes: 83
Dec 25 - Christmas Day
We walked to the two nearest grocery stores, figuring they’d be closed, despite Google saying otherwise. They were, the neighborhood sleepy on this gloomy Christmas morning.
We then walked to the Gorianstrasse bus stop and took bus #22 to the historic center, where we wandered through the shuttered Christkindlmarkt at the Domplatz and Residenzplatz. Suddenly, bells began ringing from every church in Salzburg, and continued to ring…and ring…and ring. I’ve since read that there are 27 churches in Salzburg, and it sounded as if they were all ringing at once, beautiful.
Shuttered Christmas Market
Christmas Day, Salzburg
We located the open Christmas Museum, where we spent about 45 minutes, finding it more interesting than we expected.
Afterwards we watched the skaters at the nearby outdoor ice skating rink, most of them novices; there was a lot of wobbling and spills, kids squealing, etc; fun to watch.
Christmas morning, Salzburg
Christmas morning, Salzburg
Christmas morning, Salzburg
Christmas morning, Salzburg
Christmas morning, Salzburg
Christmas morning, Salzburg
We then walked some 15 minutes to the Imlauer Hotel, where I’d booked a table at Pitter Keller, which was serving their usual a la carte menu until 2 pm.
We arrived early, the restaurant empty; only three tables occupied by the time we’d finished.
I ordered cream of potato soup and a salad, Bill chose “PitterKeller-Pfandl“ - gebratene Schweinemedaillons in Pfeffer-Rahmsauce mit Sptzle & Pitter’s Beilagensalat “PitterKeller-Pfandl” (grilled medallions of pork with pepper cream sauce, spaetzle & side salad). Both meals were good, €45.30 with one glass of Riesling each.
Pitter Keller, Imlauer Hotel
Pitter Keller, Imlauer Hotel
Afterwards we walked to the bahnhof, passing a 24 hour vending machine kiosk that sold sandwiches, drinks and…oral sex balm, anal whitener and sex toys.
A little bit of everything sold here
We took bus #25 towards Untersberg, getting off at the Hellbrunn Palace stop, then walking about five minutes to the Salzburg Zoo.
I’d brought my niece here in 2019, and was surprised when Bill expressed interest in visiting it too.
The day was beautiful, the nicest day we’d had since we arrived in Salzburg - 52F, a bit too warm with jackets; lots of families out enjoying the beautiful day.
We spent the next two hours wandering the grounds; the zoo long and skinny, lots of walking to get from end to end; we pooped out before covering it all.
Christmas Day treat
Salzburg Zoo
Salzburg Zoo
Buses were running on the holiday schedule; we had to wait about 20 minutes for a return bus. We got off at the bahnhof, and picked up groceries at Spar, chock-a-block with humanity, as it was the only grocery store open today.
We then picked up kebabs at a shop near the station (€15.30) to take back to the apartment. I asked for a little bit of chili sauce; but the guy went berserk, drowning it, distracted by a conversation he was having with a friend. I said “STOP!”, but the damage had already been done. Between that and him not washing his hands between taking money and making kebabs, my dinner was a no-go before we even left the shop.
We then tried to figure out how to get back to the apartment, first walking to Bus Stand Y planning to take bus #22, as we had on our day of arrival, the bus display completely blank for Sat, Sun and holidays. Uh-oh.
Bill checked the VVT site, and found that Tram #1 with a change to a bus would get us there, so we walked to the front of the station, the tram 10 minutes late. Once onboard, an announcement was made; those wanting to change to buses should change at Mirabellplatz, so we got off. Big mistake.
We checked all the bus stands near Mirabellplatz, finding two prospects, but our bus number was not lit on either display screen. Not wanting to wait 15-25 minutes to see if a bus would actually arrive, we decided to walk instead...again.
Some 50 minutes later, we were back at the apartment, me a bit cranky.
We weren’t having good luck getting back to the ‘burbs from wherever we happened to end up; we’d walked many, many miles today, we were both tired.
My kebab went directly into the trash can. Bill happily ate his; I worry about that man’s digestive system.
Note: The Sound of Music World Museum, which I’d rather enjoyed back in 2019, has since closed.
To be continued...yes, the end is in sight
We walked to the two nearest grocery stores, figuring they’d be closed, despite Google saying otherwise. They were, the neighborhood sleepy on this gloomy Christmas morning.
We then walked to the Gorianstrasse bus stop and took bus #22 to the historic center, where we wandered through the shuttered Christkindlmarkt at the Domplatz and Residenzplatz. Suddenly, bells began ringing from every church in Salzburg, and continued to ring…and ring…and ring. I’ve since read that there are 27 churches in Salzburg, and it sounded as if they were all ringing at once, beautiful.
Shuttered Christmas Market
Christmas Day, Salzburg
We located the open Christmas Museum, where we spent about 45 minutes, finding it more interesting than we expected.
Afterwards we watched the skaters at the nearby outdoor ice skating rink, most of them novices; there was a lot of wobbling and spills, kids squealing, etc; fun to watch.
Christmas morning, Salzburg
Christmas morning, Salzburg
Christmas morning, Salzburg
Christmas morning, Salzburg
Christmas morning, Salzburg
Christmas morning, Salzburg
We then walked some 15 minutes to the Imlauer Hotel, where I’d booked a table at Pitter Keller, which was serving their usual a la carte menu until 2 pm.
We arrived early, the restaurant empty; only three tables occupied by the time we’d finished.
I ordered cream of potato soup and a salad, Bill chose “PitterKeller-Pfandl“ - gebratene Schweinemedaillons in Pfeffer-Rahmsauce mit Sptzle & Pitter’s Beilagensalat “PitterKeller-Pfandl” (grilled medallions of pork with pepper cream sauce, spaetzle & side salad). Both meals were good, €45.30 with one glass of Riesling each.
Pitter Keller, Imlauer Hotel
Pitter Keller, Imlauer Hotel
Afterwards we walked to the bahnhof, passing a 24 hour vending machine kiosk that sold sandwiches, drinks and…oral sex balm, anal whitener and sex toys.
A little bit of everything sold here
We took bus #25 towards Untersberg, getting off at the Hellbrunn Palace stop, then walking about five minutes to the Salzburg Zoo.
I’d brought my niece here in 2019, and was surprised when Bill expressed interest in visiting it too.
The day was beautiful, the nicest day we’d had since we arrived in Salzburg - 52F, a bit too warm with jackets; lots of families out enjoying the beautiful day.
We spent the next two hours wandering the grounds; the zoo long and skinny, lots of walking to get from end to end; we pooped out before covering it all.
Christmas Day treat
Salzburg Zoo
Salzburg Zoo
Buses were running on the holiday schedule; we had to wait about 20 minutes for a return bus. We got off at the bahnhof, and picked up groceries at Spar, chock-a-block with humanity, as it was the only grocery store open today.
We then picked up kebabs at a shop near the station (€15.30) to take back to the apartment. I asked for a little bit of chili sauce; but the guy went berserk, drowning it, distracted by a conversation he was having with a friend. I said “STOP!”, but the damage had already been done. Between that and him not washing his hands between taking money and making kebabs, my dinner was a no-go before we even left the shop.
We then tried to figure out how to get back to the apartment, first walking to Bus Stand Y planning to take bus #22, as we had on our day of arrival, the bus display completely blank for Sat, Sun and holidays. Uh-oh.
Bill checked the VVT site, and found that Tram #1 with a change to a bus would get us there, so we walked to the front of the station, the tram 10 minutes late. Once onboard, an announcement was made; those wanting to change to buses should change at Mirabellplatz, so we got off. Big mistake.
We checked all the bus stands near Mirabellplatz, finding two prospects, but our bus number was not lit on either display screen. Not wanting to wait 15-25 minutes to see if a bus would actually arrive, we decided to walk instead...again.
Some 50 minutes later, we were back at the apartment, me a bit cranky.
We weren’t having good luck getting back to the ‘burbs from wherever we happened to end up; we’d walked many, many miles today, we were both tired.
My kebab went directly into the trash can. Bill happily ate his; I worry about that man’s digestive system.
Note: The Sound of Music World Museum, which I’d rather enjoyed back in 2019, has since closed.
To be continued...yes, the end is in sight
Last edited by Melnq8; Feb 10th, 2024 at 09:18 AM.
