Friday, April 6, 2007

Freezing Cold In Salzburg (Austria)

We got off the train in Salzburg to discover that it was a million times colder and gloomier than we'd expected. After Vienna, we were starting to think that the polarfleeces filling our suitcases were just taking up space, but they definitely got a work out in Salzburg!

After checking in to our Youth Hostel, we walked through the old town (which is SO cute) and took the cable car to the Salzburg Fortress. The fortress sits upon a huge mountain next to the city, and so was even colder (but toasty warm inside the keep). For dinner Karina finally got the schnitzel she'd been wanting, and Simon had a bratwürst in a small little resturant, presided over by a very fat and jolly man.

Thursday morning was much warmer and clearer, which unfortunately didn't improve the icky breakfast at the youth hostel at all. We spent some time walking through the fantastic markets near Mirabell Gardens before taking the bus to pick up our hire car. We decided the €8 per day for a GPS navigation system would be like divorce insurance, and it made the white-knuckle drive back to the youth hostel (on the wrong side of the road!) only a pink-knuckled drive.

In the afternoon we wandered through Mozart's birthplace (complete with a blue-haloed plastic baby Mozart), and then across the river back to the beautiful Mirabell Gardens (featured in The Sound of Music). We managed to get the last two tickets for the last Salzach river cruise of the day, and saw many hills that were alive with sounds of music. The boat even did a waltz before it docked.

Our last morning in Salzburg was even warmer and clearer, so we decided to go into some catacombs at (another) St Peters. After we emerged, we drove to Hellbrunn to see the Trick Fountains which spray water at you (Karina got more wet than Simon) and the Hellbrunn Palace.

Then it was in the car again for Simon to practise his new-found skill of driving on the wrong side of the road (and of the car) and we headed for the mountains of Tirol!

For anyone wondering, by the time we left Salzburg, we'd found the hair straightener, the fuse, and didn't need the physio.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

well done simon u have done well 2 learn how 2 drive on the wrong side of the road.(melissa)