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Thanks Macross.
No, I didn't buy anything from the markets. I've been visiting Germany at Christmas for years so I have a box full of ornaments in the basement. We never put up trees anymore since we tend to travel at Christmas so I'm thinking about unloading my collection, but some are just too hard to part with. I used to collect gluhwein mugs too, but it got to be too much. We only have two left in the cupboard, some really cute ones from a visit to Schneeberg one year. My niece, however did make a few purchases. She was really taken with some wool sheep pins a market vendor was selling in Rothenburg and bought a votive holder. Yes, the ski ticket is a good deal. I'd done quite a bit of research as one year my spouse and I bought the wrong ticket and had trouble getting back down. And yes, that cake was wunderbar! Thanks for tuning in. |
I may just fly to Germany for that cake. Just kidding, but only a little. ;)
The walk of the town walls seems like a great way to get a lay of the land and see a lot. I did something similar in Oberwesel and it was very enjoyable. |
I think I enjoyed your trip to Rothenburg almost as much as you did, Mel. No idea what's wrong with doing the touristy stuff - after all that's what we are!
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Dec 21 – Rothenburg ob der Tauber to Innsbruck
We walked across the parking lot to reception, leaving our luggage outside while we went in for breakfast, which began promptly at 8. Soon thereafter we said goodbye to our host and rolled our luggage across the cobblestones of Rothenburg one last time. We reached the Bahnhof with plenty of time to spare before our 9:06 am train to Innsbruck. Once again we traveled via Steinach with its four minute change and two sets of stairs, everyone in a mad rush to make the connecting train to Treuchtingen, which was all for naught as the train wasn’t yet there. The ride to Treuchtingen took about an hour - there were a couple of guys on our train eating pretzels and drinking beer, one of them clutching a beer in each hand, we must be in Bavaria! We had a 25 minute layover in Munich Pasing where we connected with our train to Innsbruck. This would be another train that split; the train diagram on the platform indicted that Section C went to Innsbruck so we waited there. As our train approached, the sign announcing our train’s arrival indicated that those going to Innsbruck should board at Section B, so we moved there. The train arrived; I checked the train number on the side of the carriage and boarded. It was packed! I mean packed! No place to sit, baby carriages and luggage everywhere. As the train pulled out I noticed the sign overhead - Reutte in Tirol. Hmmmm. No announcements for upcoming stops. Uh-oh. I looked at the map above the carriage door. Double uh-oh. We were on the wrong end of the train. The conductor came through, I verified, yep, wrong end, we needed to get off in Garmisch and skedaddle on up to the front of the train. How the hell did that happen? I checked! The conductor was annoyed that so many of us were standing up while inconsiderate passengers were using seats for their luggage. She made several of them move, freeing seats for actual people. She told us there were plenty of seats further on, so we gathered our luggage and moved down a few carriages, eventually finding a couple of seats. There were still no announcements, so we counted the stops to Garmisch, got off and hightailed it to the front of the train. Crisis averted. I told K it was all part of the adventure. Note: Bayern tickets are only good within Bavaria, which covered us to Mittenwald aboard regional trains. Before leaving the US, I’d purchased a Flexpass Europa ticket as well, which covered us from Mittenwald to Innsburck (€22.60). I wasn’t sure if I could purchase a Flexpass Europa ticket at the Rothenburg ob der Tauber station, so I chose to play it safe. We arrived in Innsbruck some six hours after leaving Rothenburg ob der Tauber. The GPS led us to our Air BNB, our luggage rumbling behind us through the cobblestone streets of Old Town, through the Christmas Market and across the bridge over the Inn River, some 25 minutes from the train station and about 10 minutes from Old Town. And of course there were hills involved, as I seem incapable of finding Air BNBs that don’t involve hills. I’d selected this apartment in a 400 year old Tyrolean building hoping to give K a taste of old world Austria and because it was in a quiet location, away from the noise of the city. It was comfortable, well equipped and a bit quirky with more space than we’d had previously. K loved it. ($418 for four nights). We immediately ran back out to the nearest grocery store to pick up breakfast provisions and snacks...tomorrow was Sunday…this was Austria…grocery stores would be closed (although we did see an open grocery store in Old Town). There were two Indian restaurants near our apartment, one of which was on my short list. We were hungry, we headed there, but it was closed, so on to the second option - Rama Indian - where we had an early, but rather disappointing meal. Well, disappointing for me, K said she enjoyed it (or maybe she was just being nice). We shared Butter Chicken (which was sweet, ick) and a so-so Dahl Makhani, garlic naan, and sparkling water, €27. It did the trick. We didn’t dally, as we had a date with Escape9876 (from Trip Advisor) and her daughter, who is close in age to K. They live in Australia and we’d planned to meet up at Invinum, a tiny wine bar in the Markethalle near Old Town. I was surprised to find the Markethalle deserted and dark, everything closed except for a few cafes. We were the only customers in the wine bar, which seemed odd as this was a Saturday. The last time I was here every table in the six table establishment was occupied. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Escape9876 and her daughter and we had a nice, albeit short, evening as we were knackered from our long travel day. To be continued... |
Wow, just wow. ........“Clueless tourists, cliched itineraries, no taste”
I can assure you I have never rushed to see an altarpiece. Clueless tourist, that would be me, then. Delightful holidays...every one. Please continue, Mel.....for those of us enjoying your travels. |
December 22 – Innsbruck
The first order of business was laundry (I’d intentionally booked an Air BNB with laundry facilities so we could do laundry mid-trip). That sorted, we headed out into the cold wet day with our sights on Schloss Ambras, which my research indicated was accessible via bus 4134, so we set out on the 25 minute walk to the train station. Our walk led us right past Swarovski; we went inside to investigate and spent quite a bit of time there. The Everyday Life exhibit that I’d so enjoyed during a short visit to Innsbruck last December was still on display; K seemed to get a kick out of it as well. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2cbdda7aab.jpg Swarovski https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c6042bf258.jpg Swarovski https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9ee2bd2cbe.jpg Swarovski We set out for the train station again, but then got seduced by the tempting offerings in the display window at Manna; resistance was futile. We made ourselves comfortable and sampled the cappuccino, Stracciatella cake and macarons (€15). The place was hoping, the workers running full tilt, the goods delicious. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...11470d84a9.jpg We eventually made it to the train station and waited about 25 minutes for the 4134 bus (€6.20 for both of us, one way). Note: I had planned on purchasing a 48 hour Innsbruck card for €50 each, with the intention of using it for the Alpine Zoo/Hungerburgbahn/Nordkettenbahen combo, which at €43 each and combined with buses and various other attractions would make the card a good deal. But because the Nordkettenbahen was the big ticket item and the weather forecast was for two days of complete shite, I didn’t see the point. Once at Ambras, we took the self-guided tour and explored the grounds which took us about two hours. I found the Spanish Hall and the atrium the most interesting parts of the Schloss; we both enjoyed the peacocks. (€8 adults, €6 students). https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...eb4f863e4b.jpg Schloss Ambras https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f4d786242b.jpg Schloss Ambras - symmetry is overrated https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ca41354966.jpg Schloss Ambras There appeared to be walking tracks nearby, which I’d have liked to explore as well, but the weather was just too crummy. https://www.schlossambras-innsbruck.at/ After a cold 30 minute wait for the bus (€6.20), we returned to the Innsbruck train station where we popped into a nearby kebab shop (Elfi) for a quick late lunch, chicken kebab for me, chicken pita for K, both very good and quite the deal at €8.80. We returned to the apartment to pick up warmer coats and then walked back to Old Town to watch the 5 pm Christ Child parade that I’d run across during my research. Christ Child parade - Accompanied by a host of shepherds, angels, sheep and more than 600 children, the Christ Child makes his way in his magnificent carriage from the Maria-Theresien-Strasse via the Marktgraben to the State Theatre. We found an opening at the curb and stood and waited…and waited…and waited…some 30 minutes in the cold rain. The parade finally came by – seemingly every kid in Innsbruck, plus sheep and musicians. As parades go there wasn’t much too it, although I can only imagine the logistics involved corralling all those kids and sheep. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0891d4821a.jpg Christ Child parade Afterwards we wandered through the Christmas Market, heaving on this Fourth Sunday of Advent despite the cold rain. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0c32f76e90.jpg Wandering https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...73cb18f795.jpg Christmas Market K had seen people wandering around with spiraled potatoes on sticks (kartoffelspieß) and wanted to give one a try, so we joined the long, slow moving queue at one of the Christmas Market kiosks and waited our turn (€5). The preparation was labor intensive, the customers many, it took a while, but she finally got one (and liked it). https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...17ac9d9d82.jpg Line for Kartoffelspieß https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8ae00a4420.jpg Kartoffelspieß - in random stranger's hand We wandered some more, took a gazillion photos and eventually worked our way back to the apartment, where we warmed our cold bones with hot chocolate. To be continued... |
This is for Lubitsch, from another clueless tourist who did not go inside this cathedral in Gößweinstein and view the altar, but still had a lovely day...
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6cd6383c88.png Sorry to interrupt your report, Mel, got me a bit cranky ;) |
Loving this report!
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December 23 – Innsbruck
Unfortunately the weather forecast was spot on, we woke to more rain and cold, the visibility still too lousy to consider Nordkette; in fact, we’d yet to see the mountains surrounding Innsbruck, so K had to take my word for it that they were actually out there. This is what I wanted her to see: https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2996d49e17.jpg Innsbruck, December 2018 It seems I’d made the right decision regarding the Innsbruck Card. I gave K a list of options to choose from and she chose the Alpenzoo for today’s outing, so we rugged up in our plastic and headed out. The croissants we’d picked up at the grocery store for our breakfast weren’t very good, so we tossed them and went to the corner bakery for a proper croissant for me, a poppy seed sweet roll for K and cappuccinos for both. The bakery was packed with people, we barely found a place to sit. My phone GPS then led us from the bakery to the Alpenzoo, up an incline and alongside the Parish Church of St Nicholas with its pretty cemetery, taking about 20 minutes. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...06895ae443.jpg Parish Church of St Nicholas https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...20cf59b412.jpg Parish Church of St Nicholas cemetery https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5c16aaeb1c.jpg Parish Church of St Nicholas cemetery I’d been under the impression that we needed to take the Hungerburgbahn (funicular) to reach the zoo, but that’s not the case. The zoo can be reached on foot or via the Hungerburgbahn, which stops at the zoo and then continues up the mountain connecting with the Seegrubenbahn and the Hafelekarbahn. Together they’re known as the Innsbrucker Nordkettenbahnen, which transports visitors from the center of Innsbruck into the Karwendel Mountains in just 20 minutes. Despite the miserable weather, we spent several hours at the zoo, covering it from end to end (€20 for both). K has worked at a zoo for years and made a great guide – I learned quite a lot from her. The sun came out for about five minutes, giving me hope that maybe the trip up to the Nordkette would be viable, but it disappeared again, dashing my hopes. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...44f09dacbd.jpg Alpenzoo https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b8eab25ebe.jpg Views from Alpenzoo We took a break in the zoo’s restaurant, warming up with some surprisingly good hot chocolate (€7). A plus to visiting the zoo in the cold and wet - no crowds! We practically had the place to ourselves; K said she enjoyed how uncrowded it was. Then it was back the way we’d come. We continued walking across the river to Old Town and settled in for lunch at the Hard Rock Café – a first for K as she’d never heard of the place, which made me and my collection of Hard Rock Café shot glasses from across the world feel positively ancient. Knowing there was coffee and cake in our near future, we split an order of nachos and mineral water – very Austrian:) (€22). https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...fec0dc00e1.jpg Hard Rock Cafe K had her eye on a bracelet at Swarovski so we went back there and spent an inordinate amount of time looking at the rack of 50% off items. After making her purchase we sought out the City Tower, we’d decided our trip wouldn’t be complete without climbing at least one tower in every city we visited. The Gothic City Tower, which once served as part of the old city hall stands some 51-meters high and is an important historical landmark in the Old Town. Some 148 steps and €9 later we were looking down on some pretty impressive views of Innsbruck, all lit up in the dark; save one other person we had the observation deck to ourselves. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7ad7234e3a.jpg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e46f876f05.jpg Stairs we'd come up It was time for something sweet, so I consulted my short list of options and followed the GPS to Tyrol’s Oldest Confectionery, Café Munding, where we both ordered the hausschokolade, and because there’s no such thing as too much chocolate, the haustorte (me) and the raspberry tart (k). We soon found ourselves up to our ears in whipped cream. I can think of worse (€20). https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7f4b1c4d1f.jpg Cafe Munding https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...06f2da3a64.jpg Cafe Munding We then wandered back to our apartment, pausing to listen to the band playing beneath the Golden Roof, and stopping for photos en route. The streets were busy with shoppers, people everywhere. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...683cf142f1.jpg Christmas Market https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4360c3e191.jpg Christmas Market https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...891c70f959.jpg Innsbruck after dark It’d been another busy eight hour day of being a tourist, all of it wet, yet I felt that we’d barely scratched the surface of the lovely town of Innsbruck. To be continued... |
No worries Adelaidean!
Thanks for joining us kalnalcl. |
Sorry you and your niece had so much wet weather. Glad that the delicious sweet followed you into Austria. Come to think of it, I don't think I've had a bad dessert in Austria.
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I truly love your trip report. We are headed back in less than two weeks and I am itching to get there! Your report isn't helping, lol.
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Definitely no shortage of sweets. I told myself I was going to stop for cake and coffee as often as I liked, and as you can see, I did, and I took K down with me, lol.
mms - where specifically are you off to? |
Melnq8--Dresden, Leipzig and Prague.
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As always, great photos, Mel! And you really did pack in quite a lot on each of your days.
But I did see something a bit troubling in your report.... In Germany, we do not use the washing machine, drier, run the vacuum, or wash cars on Sunday (or after 10 p.m.). Is it the same in Austria? Did anyone say anything to you? Did you have neighbors in the building? Thanks again for posting your adventures and photos! s |
Wonderful report and pictures, Mel. Enjoyed reading about part of world I’ve never explored and may not get to. What interesting, fun-filled days for your niece. You are an excellent auntie, indeed!
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Originally Posted by swandav2000
(Post 17042719)
But I did see something a bit troubling in your report.... In Germany, we do not use the washing machine, drier, run the vacuum, or wash cars on Sunday (or after 10 p.m.). Is it the same in Austria? Did anyone say anything to you? Did you have neighbors in the building?
While your rental contract or house rules (Hausordnung) may specify that you must not run your washing machine on sundays, this is not legally binding. If you have a loud, rumbling and rocking washing machine, you should not run it after 10pm or on sundays. If you have a washer and dryer from this century which does not make much noise and lets the whole house know when the spin cycle is on, you can do your laundry more or less whenever you please (before 10pm, at least). I always do my laundry on sundays, and when it's really quiet I can barely notice my upstairs neighbor doing her laundry at midnight. No one cares. Washing your car (on street or in driveway) has been illegal for ages in most communities and cities due to environmental reasons, regardless of day or time. |
Very interesting, Cowboy, thanks!
I never run my washer on Sundays, but then I'm retired and have lots of time to do laundry during the week. I get a bit flummoxed over Christmas holidays when, like this year, there is a string of 3 days when I couldn't do laundry. Well, I should say I almost never do laundry on Sundays... my cat had an abscess once and with medications and messes, I had to wash a load of towels on a Sunday. I put a sign on the outside of my door to explain the situation... just in case someone was gonna come by and complain. And the next day, I apologized to my neighbors (young physician and his young physician wife), and they looked at me like I'd lost my mind. I guess this is a rule more honoured in the breach.... and especially with the younger generation. But still, as a tolerated foreign resident, I have a heightened fear of a misstep.... Enjoy reading a native's view on it! s |
Interesting about washing on Sunday. I've run into a few limitations like that in Switzerland, but not in recent memory.
The washer was at the home of my host, in her backyard in a shed (she lived above the Air BNB). I was there with her knowledge and consent, in fact she had to show me where it was, so I'm guessing there was no restriction. |
mms - enjoy your trip - we really liked Dresden. My SIL has been asking me for help with Prague, but I've never been so can't help one iota. Do you by chance have a good website I might refer her to for some basics?
Thank you glover! |
Melnq8--Thank you. We were supposed to go last month but I had surprise surgery, so everything got pushed back. Dh has been to these places many times, but these are new for me. I use Trip Advisor and Rick Steve's websites for basic planning, but I haven't done much on this since DH is so familiar. Really the only planning I have done was to reserve a walking tour and then for restaurants since I am limited for eating this time (gallbladder surgery, ugh).
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Don't know how I could miss your excellent, fascinating trip report, Mel! I only discovered it today. Wonderful pictures as always. I see you had your daily dose of sweets ;-) Lucky you!
mms - welcome to Dresden! :-) It is quiet right now. I am afraid you will run into some closures of major sights - January is cleaning time :( |
Mel, great report. Thank you. You brought so many memories of my trip to Inssbruck.
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We arrived on a Sat and I did a load on Sunday but so were others. The laundry was in the basement with the other tenants. She took me down and showed me how to work it. Schell done in 106 minutes. We had a big drying rack upstairs. The dishwasher was so quiet and what is up with the fans? She had two that we used to blow on the clothes and for night noise. They were whisper quiet. I want that amazon vacuum. Now in Paris the dang guy below us came up and told me the fan was keeping him awake!
I never had room for cake. We split an apple strudel once. I did eat a whole champagne bottle of those celebration candies. I should have tucked a couple of those in the suitcase. I keep showing your great pictures to my husband. |
Ingo--Thank you:) Yes, I saw that there are some closures. That's ok, as I plan to be back! I am so disappointed that we had to cancel the trip last month as I was so looking forward to the Christmas markets, so I told DH that we have to go next year. I just plan to wander while he is in meetings on various days. I am good at keeping myself occupied, lol! He has one day free while we have the rental car, so that is when we will head to Leipzig.
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Hi Ingo, nice to see you here!
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Dec 24 - Innsbruck to Salzburg
While K put the finishing touches on her packing, I walked down to the corner bakery, surprised that the bakery was empty, and even more surprised to get a glimpse of the elusive snow covered mountains that surrounded us. I sent K a text asking her to come down to the bottom of the hill so she could see what I’d been trying to tell her about Innsbruck – that it’s surrounded by mountains. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...bc7e52575b.jpg Innsbruck https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...bb8efbda88.jpg Innsbruck After breakfast we tidied up the apartment, texted our host to tell her we were leaving and walked the 25 minutes to the station. Innsbruck looked entirely different than it had the previous night. The streets were deserted, all that remained of the Christmas Market were boarded up kiosks, many being loaded onto trailers to be taken away. Empty cardboard boxes were piled outside shop doors, the atmosphere no longer festive, but sad and forlorn. It seemed that Christmas was over in Innsbruck. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d05bf12343.jpg Once at the train station, I purchased an Einfach-Raus Ticket (€35). It’s similar to Germany’s Bayern ticket; a day ticket valid throughout Austria on local and regional trains after 9 am on weekdays, all day weekends, for 2-5 people (not valid on the transport network Vorarlberg). Although one can reach Salzburg from Innsbruck in a couple of hours, I wanted to take the longer scenic route, which visibility providing would give K a nice taste of the Alps. I’d chosen the 10:35 regional train towards Kufstein, as it would only involve one train change. I didn’t realize I needed to sign our Einfach-Raus Ticket (although I knew to write our names on our German Bayern Tickets, and I saw the blank line on the Einfach-Raus but I wasn’t sure what it was for) which the conductor told me was a €100 per person fine. Yikes. She asked to see our passports, then moved on. Merry Christmas to us! Not many people were on the train, which is always a good thing in my book; we pretty much had the carriage to ourselves. Once in Wörgl K picked up a not-very-good slice of pizza for her lunch, and we looked for our platform, #12, which turned out to be a bit of a walk from the station. The ride was smooth, the train very nice. And then, sunshine, treating us to some pretty spectacular Alp views. We were both excited to see blue skies after so many days of rain and gloom. We passed through Zell am See, Kirchberg and Kitzbuhel…the views were gorgeous. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b3d1423ce2.jpg Train snap https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d3c6dd3df1.jpg Train snap https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a189d65d2f.jpg Right about then I received a text from Escape9876 who was chuffed to have snow in Mittenwald. We arrived in Salzburg just before 3 pm and set out to find our Air BNB which was very near the rail station, but of course we walked out the wrong side – again. So out came the GPS and the directions I’d been given by the owner Julia. We finally found it – as with all things, it made perfect sense once we knew where it was, but at the time it seemed very confusing. It was about a five minute walk from the station, literally around the corner - and get this...no hills! Julia met us at the apartment and gave us a very detailed, but speedy run down on how to operate the appliances and all that Salzburg had to offer. This being Christmas Eve, I knew that shops in Salzburg would be closed when we arrived, so I’d made arrangements with Julia to pick up a few provisions for us. And boy had she – we were set! Nice place this, compact, upscale, comfortable, exceptionally well equipped, centrally located, lots of nice touches, but too warm, even with the heat turned completely off ($583 for four nights), wonderful host. We got settled, sat down with the beautiful plate of Christmas treats Julia had provided and watched the original Grinch on my phone – a long running Bill and Mel Christmas tradition. Then followed a nice dinner of salad and pasta, Prosecco and mimosas, and wait for it…The Sound of Music on DVD (thoughtfully provided by Julia who told us that Austrians don’t watch it, it’s strictly an American thing). I hadn’t seen it in years and I don’t think K had ever seen the entire movie, so we both enjoyed it, inaccurate bits and all. It was entertaining and got us in the mood to explore Salzburg. We considered going to a Christmas Eve church service – I’d found one at Franziskanerkirche at 10 pm and one at the Salzburg Cathedral at 11:30 pm, but it was rainy and dark, we were in an unfamiliar city, we were warm and cozy in the apartment….so we took a pass. To be continued... |
Glad you and your niece were finally able to see the mountain peaks. I had a similar experience traveling from Christchurch to Mount Cook last month, thinking we'll never know what the mountains look like with all the rain and low clouds; we eventually did.
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Mittenwald had the snow? That close? We kept seeing cars with snow and wondered where. Did you have a top floor apartment? We did and we never turned the heat on except in the bathroom. I had the windows opened.
That was so sweet of her to buy you all that food. I was in a panic getting stuff for Christmas day but so many places were open and there was no need. I am looking forward to Christmas day there. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. First place I ate them was there. |
Just tuning in. (Been busy enjoying DD being home from university). Your report is bringing back so many lovely memories. I will happily take your unwanted Christmas ornaments; this year our tree was woefully underdressed (trees for Viennese flats are smaller!) and we regret not purchasing more baubles from the markets.
".tomorrow was Sunday…this was Austria…grocery stores would be closed (although we did see an open grocery store in Old Town)." This memory is one that I have happily...erased. :) Though, it isn't entirely uncommon to find an open grocer in the Alt Stadt, and especially during Christmas market season. Tourists need their Veltliner, after all! |
fourfortravel, our landlord owned a big gas station and they are well stocked. I was expecting a ghost town in Garmisch but so many tourists that the restaurant options were many. Boxing day saw many more opened. We even saw a few shops open on Christmas night when we went walking,
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Macross -
Evidently Mittenwald had snow, no idea how much. Our apartment was on the third floor, there were more above us. Just about every place we've stayed in Switzerland, Germany and Austria in the winter has been overheated. The first thing we do is turn off the radiator. We tried sleeping with the windows open in Salzburg, but it was just too noisy, so we started opening them in the evening, then closing them when we went to bed. Still got hot during the night though. There was a fan, so we used it during the night, which helped a bit. I can't imagine staying in that particular apartment in the summer. Nice to see you here fourfortravel - I didn't have much Gruner Veltliner this trip, I was on a Sekt kick. |
December 25 – Salzburg
When planning our itinerary, I’d discovered that many attractions in Salzburg were open on Christmas Day, so it seemed a good place to spend the holiday. I’ve been through Salzburg a few times but this was my first actual visit; I’d warned K that there might be some bumps in the road. We woke to more crummy weather. We donned our waterproofs, walked to the Hauptbahnhof and joined the queue at the Information Office to purchase a 48 hour Salzburg card (€34 each). From what I’d read, the Salzburg card seemed to be even better value than the Innsbruck Card, and I had a long list of attractions that it would cover. We followed my phone GPS to Old Town and then simply looked up and followed our eyes to Hohensalzburg Fortress, which looms over Salzburg from atop the Festungsberg. Soon we were walking through the Christkindlmarkt at the Dom and Residenzplatz, which unlike Innsbruck and Munich, would remain open until December 26. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...46ad7aa4cd.jpg Salzburg Old Town https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...04d405603a.jpg Christkindlmarkt at the Dom and Residenzplatz https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...814b8d485d.jpg Christkindlmarkt at the Dom and Residenzplatz https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d96ed3a819.jpg Christkindlmarkt at the Dom and Residenzplatz https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...fa542f716d.jpg Christkindlmarkt at the Dom and Residenzplatz We took the one minute funicular ride up to the fortress, picked up an audio guide and proceeded to work our way through the fortress and exhibits. I found it very interesting; it vaguely reminded me of Gruyères, Switzerland. The views from atop the towers were fantastic, even on a crap weather day. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8c879bcb01.jpg View from Hohensalzburg Fortress https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5c2febfa30.jpg View from Hohensalzburg Fortress https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c19904ee07.jpg View from Hohensalzburg Fortress https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0326a50036.jpg View from Hohensalzburg Fortress The remnants of the now closed Advent market held in the inner courtyard and last night’s Christmas Eve dinner and concert were still evident, and there were plenty of people at the Fortress on this wet Christmas Day. We had an excellent lunch in the Panorama Restaurant; spinach dumplings with a side salad for K (which I later heard her describe to her mom on the phone, “they were so good, they were so good!”), a fried Emmentaler cheese topped salad for me; and a fabulous new discovery for both of us, *Lillet Rose/Wild Berry, which K randomly ordered, not knowing what it was or how good it would be; after tasting it I wanted one myself, but I’d already ordered a glass of Grüner Veltliner. Oh well, next time. (€37) *I had to Google Lillet Rose, which as it turns out is a wine based aperitif combined with fruit liqueurs. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a8255b1c2c.jpg Spinach dumplings, Hohensalzburg Fortress Panorama Restaurant We eventually took the funicular back down and walked through Petersfriedhof (St. Peter's Cemetery, the oldest in Salzburg) surprised to recognize it from last night’s viewing of The Sound of Music. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...bd43a6b8ed.jpg Funicular By now we were cold and felt like a couple of drowned rats, so we sought refuge in the Dom, busy with other like-minded tourists. What a spectacular church, we spent quite a bit of time here. A group of singers performed from the Dom’s steps, the surrounding crowd a sea of umbrellas. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...08f6176c90.jpg Dom https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a90e2f8e34.jpg We wandered, popped into a few churches, poked through the Christmas Market, wandered some more, and then spent entirely too much time trying to find the marionette museum; we followed the GPS in circles around the base of the fortress, unable to figure out what it was trying to tell us. The miserable weather wasn’t deterring the tourists one iota, Salzburg was hopping; I was amazed at how many people were out and about on this soggy Christmas Day. Frustrated, wet and cold, we popped into a cafe attached to a museum to warm up with hot chocolate; the café was busy with others doing the same. I asked a waiter where we might find the marionette museum and was referred to Google (which is exactly what we’d been doing). I asked if it was located near the castle and was told that it was at the base of the funicular. So we returned to the funicular – no marionette museum. We asked an employee, and lo’ and behold it was up at the fortress – we’d missed it. Because we’d already been up once with our Salzburg card, we weren’t able to go back up again. Oops. I had to wonder what else we might have missed. On to Plan B, we set out to find Sound of Music World, which we located without much effort and rather enjoyed. It was a lot more interesting than I expected and quite the education. Dinner found us at Imlauer, where I’d made a booking online prior to leaving home after discovering how many restaurants were closed on Christmas Day. We each had a bowl of Kartoffelrahmsuppe (potato cream soup), shared a Buffalo mozzarella salad and shared an ice cream sundae for dessert (€35 with drinks). https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...121898deb7.jpg On the way back to the apartment we popped into the Spar grocery store at the Hauptbahnhof; seemingly the only grocery store in Salzburg open on Christmas Day, and it was absolutely heaving with people. It’d been another (very wet) 10-hour day. To be continued... |
Still following along, Melnq8. Enjoy your experience in Salzburg.
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December 26 – Salzburg
I’d done my homework the previous night and learned that the Salzburg Zoo and the Untersberg were on the same train line, so we figured we’d try to do both today, regardless of what the weather gods had in mind. I’d checked the weather forecast the day we arrived in Salzburg; rain was expected for the duration of our stay, so we put on our plastic, took the umbrella thoughtfully provided by our Air BNB and walked to the train station. As we looked for bus #25, I saw a long queue for another bus, and knew immediately it was for #150 – the bus to Hallstatt. I’d visited Hallstatt for the first time last December and it left me feeling a bit ambivalent, so I hadn’t yet decided whether or not to make the long day trip there with K. But, seeing that long line (which filled two buses) sealed the deal; we’d give it a pass. Thirty-five minutes after boarding the #25 bus (free with Salzburg card) we were at the Untersberg cable station. My understanding was that we’d reach the stop for the zoo first, so we’d planned on going there in the morning and to the Untersberg in the afternoon. I asked the bus driver and sure enough, we’d missed our stop. The Untersberg is the northernmost massif of the Berchtesgaden Alps, a prominent spur straddling the border between Berchtesgaden, Germany and Salzburg, Austria (Wikipedia) It’s also the mountain that appears in the opening and closing scenes of The Sound of Music, the fictitious escape route of the Trapp Family Singers, who actually left Austria by train. And, the Untersberg borders Germany, not Switzerland! By now the sun was peeking out and that beautiful mountain was right before us just begging to be ascended, so we switched gears and joined the queue for the cable car. The fare for the Untersberg is €24, so it’s a very good deal with the Salzburg card. We were last in line, the first cable car was full, but after a 10 minute wait we were on our way. As we rose up into the clouds my heart sank, maybe the top would be socked in. There were gasps as the car rumbled through the wheels on the tower, K looked at me with concern. THAT, I told her, was what I was trying to explain when we descended the Zugspitze. Then came chunks of ice falling onto the roof of the cable car, making a racket and causing more concern amongst the passengers, even unsettling me a tiny bit. Ten minutes later we were at the top, very excited to step out of the car and see sunshine! https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2c52f5a0a2.jpg Untersberg While most of our fellow passengers headed further up the hill, we took photos and then popped into the cozy Hochalm for hot chocolate, gluhwein and a shared slice of the best topfenstrudel I’ve ever had. I loved this place – only one other table was occupied. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...40a8295da4.jpg Hochalm, Untersberg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c576dd6594.jpg Topfenstrudel, Hochalm, Untersberg Then it was back outside to continue exploring; we walked to the overlooks, admired the incredible views and trudged through the snow. A woman asked me to take her photo tossing snow into the air, she was from Perth, Australia and had never seen snow. I lived in Perth for seven years so of course this led to a chat about where each other had/does live and many more snaps so we could get the perfect photo to show her friends back home. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...07309336ef.jpg Untersberg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5efc768cdf.jpg Untersberg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ddb80784fd.jpg Hochalm, Untersberg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3458e6945e.jpg Untersberg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6fd278c978.jpg Untersberg We eventually tore ourselves away from the beautiful views and sunshine and took the cable car back down and boarded the waiting bus. Same bus driver. We asked her how many stops to the zoo – she said four. We counted eight. Fortunately, we were paying attention this time and didn’t miss the stop. I have mixed feelings about zoos, but this one was exceptional – really well done. We spent over three hours here and covered every inch of the place. The exhibits were fantastic, K was very impressed and an excellent guide. We had a decent lunch in the self-service restaurant, spaghetti for K, grilled ham and cheese with fries for me, €15. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d0e72e3536.jpg House mouse, Salzburg Zoo https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a9cc9332b5.jpg Salzburg Zoo https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f67f6423b7.jpg Salzburg Zoo Back on the bus we got off near Old Town and rushed to find the Franciscan Church for a 4 pm Advent concert showcasing two organs. We arrived 20 minutes late, but saw a good 30 minutes of the program, which was enjoyable. On the way back to the apartment we popped into the Spar at the train station, absolutely heaving again. We picked up a salad and a few items for dinner. It’d been a brilliant and dry day (that umbrella went unused)! To be continued... |
Fabulous to “travel” with you! Thanks.
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Happy to have you along martharap!
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We also purchased the Salzburg Card and found it to be a very good deal (it was cheaper back then, though). The Stiegl beer brewery was also included and that was one of the highlights for me. Loved Untersberg, too! That mountain restaurant up there is really superb - cosy, rustic, yummy food :-)
Keep it coming! |
Ingo -
I loved Salzburg and want to return. Now I have an excuse - so Bill can visit the Stiegl brewery! |
I'm green with envy and such a nice contrast to Australia's current terrible weather - fires in one part of the country and cyclones in the north.
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