THE UNTERSBERG, SALZBERG AND CEREMONY IN THE SALZKAMMERGUT

Exhausted we found a camp spot in St Leonhard near the Cable-Car Untersberg ready to catch the first ascent the next day. At 8:30am the next day we turned up raring to go and were lifted to the 1873m summit of the Untersberg and spent a couple of hours walking higher and enjoying the spectacular 360 degree view from the peak. We could have spent all day up there but our time was running out on the Salzburg Card.

We entered the grounds of Hellbrunn Palace unaware of the fun we were about to have. They call it the pleasure palace because everything built here was designed for maximum fun; the trick fountains here live up to their name. Tour guides take groups through the gardens turning on hidden fountains and spraying as many tourists with water as they can. We ended up the first victims, selected out of the crowd to sit at the outdoor dining table where water comes out of the chairs and table from all angles, impossible to stay dry, luckily it was a sunny day!

As well as the uncertainty about where to stand and laughing as people suddenly jump around and run away from the water, the tour is well worth doing just to see the beautiful garden, waterways and delightful features. Exiting to see the rest of the palace we went searching the rest of the gardens for the famous gazebo/pavilion where Leisel is visited by Ralph in The Sound of Music, stopping along the way to play on the flying fox. We found it and took some photos, it’s much smaller than I would have thought.

Inside the palace we learnt about the water tricks and the exotic animals, mostly birds, that used to call the palace grounds home. Part of the palace although built separately on the hill above is a mansion that houses the Folk Museum where we sat and played an Austrian board game before moving on to the zoo. Here we spent the rest of the afternoon watching the animals, some completely new to us like the Tapir with what looked like five legs but turned out to be the biggest penis any of us had ever seen. We learnt a little more than we needed that day!

We finished the day back in Salzburg seeing the Stift Nonberg, the Abbey from The Sound of Music, from the outside imagining all the scenes that were filmed here.

The next morning we were on a mission to find a sommerrodelbahn (summer toboggan run), and having camped nearby we were headed towards the one in Fuschlsee. Slow going up yet another hill we came across a few people standing outside their parked cars. Interested, ahem nosey, we decided to stop too and saw a group of children in national dress in the valley below, they subsequently moved out of view and were followed by a procession and priest walking under a canopy.

Suddenly three men fired a huge gun into an open field that seemed to signal the procession to move on up the road, lucky for us right past us sitting in Vincent. A marching band, the children, the priest and members of the community were all in the procession that we later found out was part of a ceremony involving the whole community, performed twice a year to bless the ground and pray for flourishing crops. Usually the weather forces the ceremony to remain inside the local church but as it was such a beautiful sunny day it was perfect weather to hold it outside, lucky us!

After the ceremony had past us we drove on past the sommerrodelbahn we were looking for and found that we had already been parked in their car park to watch the procession. We bought nine rides, just to try it out, and took our three each, able to enjoy the view on the way up while being pulled backward by the lift then going as fast as we could on the way down the course, though we were a little hesitant on the first go.

We were glad we turned up early in the morning because by the time we had finished and were ready to buy more the tour buses had turned up and it got way too busy. Time to move on and we drove along through St Gilgen and St Wolfgang almost completing a round trip ending in Mondsee, home of the church where Maria and Captain Von Trapp are wed in The Sound of Music.

As well as visiting the church we did some window shopping and watched the locals enjoying the national holiday. A late lunch by the lake and we were on our to Germany.

Photos can be found on our Facebook page in the album AUSTRIA.

THE SALZKAMMERGUT AND THE CENTER OF SALZBURG

Europe is full of stunning views and Austria didn’t disappoint. Entering from the Czech Republic towards Linz we had a bit of a drive through industrial areas before arriving in the Salkammergut, Austria’s Lake District. Combining nature, especially lakes, and picturesque towns we were in our element.

Our first camp spot was right on a lake near the town of Gmunden. We left here early the next morning and made our way, enjoying the constant views, to Hallstatt, that came highly recommended. Though we didn’t stop directly in town we did spend a bit of time looking over it from both sides from next another huge lake and got some great photos.

Later we visited Eisriesenwelt, ice caves above the town of Werfen, south of Salzburg. There were a few ice caves recommended in the guidebooks so we had jumped online a couple of days before to choose one to go to. Eisriesenwelt had a great website with lots of pictures, giving the illusion of a winter wonderland. I say illusion because that’s pretty much all we got.

After driving Vincent up an 18% incline to about 1000m altitude, a miracle he got us there, we bought our tickets for the last tour of the day and started the further ascent to 1650m. A lovely, though steep, 20-minute walk took us to the cable car. Up we went and the view just kept getting better, almost worth the price of the ticket just for this. Another 20 minutes and we were at the mouth of the cave, sweating profusely in our arctic weather gear, essential for the subzero temperatures inside the cave but way too much for the perfect sunny day we were having outside!

Armed with a gas lamp between two we entered the cave expecting a blue and white world inside. Unfortunately not to be, they don’t turn the lights on so that visitors can experience what is was like when the cave was first found in the 1850s. Up and down about 700 stairs each way, we only saw the steps in front of us and on the rare occasion when the guide lit a magnesium strip the ice surrounding us. We’re rarely disgruntled by the places we visit but this is one we wouldn’t recommend. The redeeming features were the amazing view you see on the walk up to the cave and that we had a perfect camping spot at 800m up the mountain overlooking Werfen and the lights at night!

The next day excitement levels were at an all time high as we were going to visit the home of The Sound of Music, one of our all time favourite movies and one that is very special to our family!

Avoiding tours so we could see the sites at our own pace we bought the Salzburg Card and set out to make the most of our “free” 24 hours.

Mozart’s Geburtshaus (Birthplace), the home where he lived for the first seven years of his life was our first stop, activating the card. Here you can read all about Mozart and his family, about the history of his music, and letters between he and his wife. Amazingly there are still locks of his hair on show and even his first Violin, very special. We also learned that Mozart was involved in operas, from writing the music to designing the sets, talented is an understatement.

It seems that virtuosity ran in the family as Mozart’s sister Marianne was also a child prodigy on the piano and violin, though born female, and in her time, her duty was to look after the home after her father died.

Next stop was a walk through the old town to the cable car, the oldest in Austria, up to the Festung Hohensalzburg (fortess) to a beautiful view over Salzburg. Here we wandered through the fortress and military museums, although our favourite thing up here was the tiny World of Marrionettes.

Back down the cable car and into the gorgeous cemetery nearby to find the catacombs, hewn out of the rock face creating a long uneven staircase up to the small rooms and tombs, though we didn’t see any bones!

Now for our first real The Sound of Music location, Mirimar gardens where Maria and the Von Trapp Children dance and sing along through the roses and around the fountain. We happened to arrive when a choir group was mingling around the fountain all dressed up in their national costume. A walk around the rest of the gardens, past a man filming a Thai Chi video and a group of huge gnome statues, and an ice cream took us to just the right time to catch the last cruise along the river.

Sitting up the front on the Amadeus Salzburg panorama speedboat the trip wasn’t speedy at all. This boat is specially designed for the shallow river and the only one that is allowed to cruise on the part running through the city. Nice to see the city from yet another different angle.

Our time in Salzberg and the Salzkammergut is continued in the next post. Photos can be found on our Facebook page in the album AUSTRIA.

PRAGUE, OLOMOUC AND CESKY KRUMLOV IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

When driving into a new country in Europe one of our favourite things to do was to pick out all the subtle changes we could see. To decide what made the country we were in unique, our first impressions and things that we had seen before in other countries. It’s amazing the changes you see even when moving along only a short distance and that’s the beauty of traveling in Europe.

Our first stop in the Czech Republic was a relatively large town called Olomouc where we spent an evening walking between churches like Saint Wenceslas Cathedral and Saint Moritz Church, mostly closed or holding services, before heading to the main square. With the days becoming longer walking around in the evening is a perfect mixture of cool daylight hours and quiet tourist free streets, perfect for walking around what is touted as being an old town to rival Prague.

Dominated by the old town hall, the town squares main attraction is the tall Holy Trinity Column, a UNESCO World Heritage site that is definitely worth a look, with its elaborate detail.

We found a spot to camp in the forest between Olomouc and Prague where we were lucky enough to see more wild deer. Though they didn’t come very close it’s always nice to see wild animals, as long as they’re not dangerous and keep their distance of course!

We knew when we arrived in Prague that we were in for a treat and we fell in love with this beautiful city as much as we did with Budapest. We can’t seem to get enough of beautiful buildings and they seem to have become a basis for what we seek out to see on our trip.

Planning to camp a couple of nights here we were on a mission to find a good free camping spot and settled for a side road at the top of the hill in the castle surrounds. When looking for a spot in the city it’s important to find free, non-ticket and time unlimited, parking in a nice area to avoid both parking tickets and theft. As always it’s also very important that the space is level as it is our little home on wheels and homes don’t work very well when parked on a hill.

Again we spent an afternoon doing everything we could while there were less fellow tourists around, walking around Saint Vitus Cathedral in the Prague castle complex and down Golden Lane. We took the chance to view Prague from below whilst walking across Charles Bridge and had a laugh practicing our posing for photos, tourist style.

Some shopping at Wenceslas Square took us into the night when we moved on to the old town square. Alive with people and street performers we did our best to stick together while admiring the amazing Tyn Church and the very cool old town hall clock tower that features an astronomical clock as well as intricate mosaics lining the entrance inside.

We finished the day walking back to Vincent through the Jewish Quarter and back across the river to see the buildings lit up at night, stunning! We were also treated to some fireworks along the way, glimpsing them over the tops of the buildings!

In the morning it was time to tackle the crowds, making our way to Saint Vitus Cathedral again to see the inside. Walking through the gates to Prague castle Mum suddenly stumbled and the guards on either side of the entrance struggled to keep a straight face. Inside the Cathedral was very busy and we decided no to pay the entrance fee to the crypts to see the tomb of Saint Wenceslas we had somewhere else we were much more excited to see!

Most of our day was taken up visiting the Toy and Barbie Museum on Golden Lane. Releasing our inner children, not hard, we took in rooms full of old and new toys. Lead soldiers, tin trains, doll houses, toys from many different European countries, teddy bears, life size characters and much more.

The highlight though, the Barbie dolls. On a floor of their own we saw Barbies through the ages. A huge collection of Barbie, her friends and her family, and their progression through facial and body features and most importantly fashion. Impossible to choose a favourite and makes me want to start my own collection!

A walk up Petrin Hill for a magnificent view over Prague was next where we sat for a while before heading back to Vincent in time to move on. We found a spot to sleep and recharge right on the river about 30 kilometers south of Prague, ready for constant driving the next day to get to Cesky Krumlov right near the south border of the Czech Republic.

In Cesky Krumlov we walked through the lovely palace gardens, when moving on so quickly all the time it’s nice to be able to relax and take a stroll. Set at the top of the hill overlooking the castle and Vltava River the gardens contain a lake and a rotating outdoor theatre as well as beautiful garden beds full of flowers.

On the way down towards the castle we popped into another garden on the cliff and got an amazing view out over the river, old town and castle. Walking through the lower parts of the castle we came across the bear pits and it’s crazy to think that even in this day and age animals are still allowed to be kept this way, in small concrete boxes with a few pot plants. Very sad to see these huge, intelligent animals confined this way.

Our time in the Czech Republic at an end we started on our way to into Austria, excited for some time in the Salzkammergut, Austria’s Lake District.

Photos can be found on our Facebook Page in the album CZECH REPUBLIC.