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.