Salzburg, Austria

Hohensalzburg Fortress towers over Salzburg

Unless you’ve been unable to do laundry for a sufficient period of time that you’ve considered beating your clothes on rocks in the river like its 500 BC, you can’t imagine how happy we were that our campground had working washing machines. We spent the remainder of the day doing laundry, sweating, and looking forward to the forecasted rain to cool off. Unfortunately, it didn’t arrive until we settled into bed. We were rudely awakened around 1 a.m. by water leaking onto us from above and spent at least an hour trying to track the source and stem the flow. Unsuccessful, we had to settle for catching drips using a collapsing sink. The droplets found new pathways waking us and requiring we place additional sundry containers under each throughout the night. The next morning we called several Bürstner service centers and having found none within 75 kilometers that could fit us in within a week, we resorted to a nearby motorhome repair place that could fit us in the following morning.

Click here for our photos, (i) for information.

That afternoon, we followed the Rick Steves’ audio tour of Salzburg. I never associated “The Sound of Music,” with Salzburg but you frequently trip across the paths of the Von Trapps - the movie version anyway. I’ll make notations on the photos but if you want to delve deeper, download the Rick Steves’ Audio App and listen to his Salzburg Walk as you look through our photos and you’ll have a ton of the information I’m too lazy to write. If you’re familiar with Mozart, you know this is his birthplace and where he also lived but he grew to hate it when he was snubbed and we didn’t feel compelled to visit any Mozart attractions. There’s also much for classical music lovers here between the festivals and many concerts. We even heard a woman taking full advantage of the acoustics under an arcade singing opera beautifully with only a hat in front of her. 

Here are some random impressions: Salzburg has a lot to like: a cool fortress high atop a cliff looming over the city; a river with safe bike paths on both sides; great public transportation; lots of parks; interesting historical buildings and museums as well as modern conveniences. You could dodge from one street to another through very old stone arch alleyways where ancient metal doors were directly across from glass display windows with modern paintings used as backdrops for trendy clothing lines. The juxtaposition of the old and historic with the new and chic was delightful. Each somehow renewed your appreciation for the other. 

Q: So what’s not to like? A: There were too many tourists! I know, its high season. We need to stop traveling in high season. 

The following morning we took pains to arrive ahead of our 8:00 service appointment, handed over the keys, and headed into town for breakfast. Hohensalzberg Fortress was the perfect place to forget about our van worries and delve into the past. Construction began in 1077 and the fortress was so foreboding, nobody attacked the town for over 800 years. There was even an Irish connection: St. Virgil was an Irish missionary who built the first Salzburg Cathedral then served as Bishop (749-784) and became patron saint of Salzburg.

We weren’t surprised when the mechanic explained the leak was due to the AC unit not being sealed correctly but were surprised the repair cost $758. As we drove back to the campsite, we were pulled over by a large contingent of Polizei. They asked for our passports, drivers license and vehicle registration. Dermot was in the clear but I had left my passport at the campground at their request which we had done at quite a few other campgrounds. I did have my Passport Card with me but the very polite officer explained that he wasn’t able to check the stamps on the passport to verify I hadn’t exceeded my 90 day visa. He asked how far we were from the campground and explained that had we been far, they could have detained me until the passport could be provided. He proposed that he and another officer follow us back to the campground and we readily agreed. We laughed on the way imagining how unhappy the campground owners would be that their insistence on cash payment (probably a tax dodge) would lead to the police telling them how their practice was interfering with police business. 

After verifying my passport stamps; calculating I had not overstayed my visa; and a relatively lengthy discussion with the campground personnel; the friendly police officers apologized for taking so much of our time and wished us a safe and enjoyable trip. We remarked to each other that the nicest people in Austria are its Polizei. So lesson learned - don’t let anyone keep your passport. 

The following day the weather was perfect for biking and we headed out with no plan other than to ride along the river to the City and back. Along the way we glimpsed a lovely park and decided to explore further. Wouldn’t you know, it was Mirabell Gardens and yet another chance encounter with places that were featured in “The Sound of Music” (as noted on the photos). We’d have liked to hike the route taken by the Von Trapps to escape the Nazis but that’s pure fiction. The real Von Trapps just went to the station at the edge of their estate and took a train to Italy. Much less entertaining than the ruse with the performance, hiding in the cemetery, nuns pulling a distributor cap, and climbing every mountain but that’s Hollywood for you.

Next Stops: Munich, Nuremberg, Rothenberg ob der Tauber

Hallstatt, Austria

The drive from Innsbruck to Hallstatt took us across the German border where we were stopped, had our passports checked, and were asked if there was anybody in the van besides us. They also asked us multiple times where we were going and if we were heading home now. They were very polite and favored us with big smiles. We were also asked why our van was registered in Great Britain but was left hand drive. Eventually satisfied we weren’t harboring migrants, supplying munitions for the war effort or whatever other shenanigans an American and Irish citizen might be up to, they handed our passports back and wished us well. 

Click here for our photos, (i) for information.

Our Garmin then guided us back into Austria through remote mountain backroads where we occasionally lost satellite reception. We soldiered on and eventually emerged from a long tunnel into the small but bustling town of Hallstatt. Maybe coming from Florida we’re just suckers for a town built into a hill with little stairways leading to hidden doors or disappearing into back gardens but we both found the town exceptionally cute. Just look at the pictures! 

Door into attic, house extends several floors below. 

Rick Steve’s walk through the town was very fun. It pointed out that the houses’ main entrances were through the attic level which opened into a back alley many feet above the current road through town because the bottom of the house was originally at lake level. There is also a store under which the remains of the Roman village that was once here are open to wander through. 

We noticed a higher percentage of Muslim tourists here and learned it had been advertised as a great vacation spot because it resembles the Koran’s description of heaven. We read Chinese tourists also flock here in great numbers and had even built a model of Hallstatt in China where people often took their wedding photos. All this has contributed to the town being over-touristed making it less livable for residents and the probable cause of the general grumpiness we noticed. Servers at restaurants huffed at a request for a table; campground owners were rude; and parking lot attendants waved us on impatiently. We also learned that tourism here started towards the end of the 18th century so you’d think they’d have it down to a science by now. 

We took an entertaining salt mine tour. We rode a funicular then an elevator to Rudolphstrum Viewpoint then hiked up an informative trail past an archeological site where many prehistoric burials have been excavated. At the entry, we all had to don funny clothes supposedly to protect our clothing from the salt but I suspect it entertains the guides. It was 47 degrees inside the mine so the bulk wasn’t unwelcome. There were several multimedia projections showing the history of salt mining here from prehistoric times through the current operations. There were also two slides - we were clocked at 23 km per hour in our longest tandem run. We may have to try the luge next! The big finale was a view of the oldest wooden staircase in Europe (carbon-dated to 1108 BC). 

Image from atlasobscura.com

We then visited the Catholic Church and took pictures of the graveyard with adorable tiny well-tended garden gravesites.  The nearby 12th-century Chapel of St. Michael is a bone chapel and entry is allowed for a small fee but no pictures are allowed. Space was so limited in the cemetery that bodies rested there only 12 years before they were dug up to make way for the more recently dead. Many of the bones and skulls ended up in the bone chapel but first many were marked with the deceased’s name and date of death and decorated with garlands of leaves, flowers, crosses or even snakes. 

Richest burial site with cremated remains.

The following day we toured the Hallstatt Museum and practically had the place to ourselves. Highly recommended - I took far too many pictures of the many archeological finds from the Late Bronze Age and early Iron Age that's called the Hallstatt culture (12th-6th centuries B.C.). 

As pretty and historic as it was, Hallstatt seemed too overrun by inconsiderate tourists to be a nice place to live. 

Next stops: Salzburg, Munich, Nuremberg.

 

Italian Alps, an Iceman, and Innsbruck

Witch Trail View

Alpe di Siusi, Italy

As the temperature climbed, we headed to the Dolomites. Our first stop was Camping Seiser Alm which advertised our new favorite amenity - a pool.  The drive high up into the mountains was equal parts pretty and frightening. Though the drive wasn’t long, we took the rest of the day to check into our campsite with an excellent view of the peaks directly and distantly above us. Coming from the flattest of flat lands, we spent quite awhile puzzling over the guide book, maps, and tram and bus schedules and finally settled on the “Witch” trail for the following day. What could go wrong?

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For some reason, Google maps doesn’t have a grasp of the public transportation in this area so after missing the camp recommended bus, we decided to just follow those at the bus stop dressed in hiking gear and that turned out to be a winning strategy! I doubt this would work at most locations so don't take this as advice. The first cable car got us quite a way up the mountain but it took a second to reach the trailhead. The hiking provided many beautiful views of soaring peaks and it wasn’t technically difficult. The views of the valleys far below caused Dermot’s knees to knock and he wasn’t much interested in having his photo taken with those backgrounds. 

We were a bit disappointed that we only encountered one witch but were glad we never met the bull the signs warned us about since we had seen the pies he left and those were plenty big enough! We also got to see farmers using hand rakes to turn the hay and though we envied the peace and beauty of the area, decided we were lucky to have retired from desk jobs. 

Back at camp, we endured the heat and never made it into the pool which was only available with a reservation made the previous day and for only 45 minutes at that.  Time to go.

Bolzano, Italy

For our next stop we chose Camping Steiner in Bolzano for its multiple pools including one that was indoors, our newest favorite amenity. After a harrowing trip back down the mountain, we enjoyed a restful afternoon lounging in the indoor pool. Unfortunately, the heat proved too much for our AC which dripped water onto our bed and we had to disassemble the foam mattresses from their covers and various bedding and allow them them to dry. Troubleshooting suggested we clear what could be blockages to the drainage system. The fix was only temporary as the dripping resumed again later and we resigned to sleeping in the heat. As this was Saturday and there were no service centers open on Sunday, we would probably have another such night. 

Bolzano is also home to Ötzi the Iceman. Prehistoric man has always held a special fascination for me and I'd been following the Ötzi story for many years so I felt very lucky to be able to visit the museum. When I tried to make early reservations on-line for the following day, the Museum was closed until 2 pm because they had closed off the area "due to the defusing of an aereal bomb from WWII in Bolzano/Bozen."

It occurred to me once again how privileged I was to have grown up in a country where this wasn’t a routine problem. The following morning we learned the downtown area would reopen at 12 so we headed out a bit beforehand and rode the bus all the way to the site that was cordoned off and surrounded by Carabinieri and the Bomb Squad. We heard a long siren but nobody ran and there was no explosion so defusing must have gone as planned. 

We had lunch at a restaurant just off the main square and followed the fairly short walk in the guide and dipped into a supermarket (mainly for the AC as it was now in the 90’s) until our scheduled time arrival at the museum. 

Interactive and fascinating.

The many objects found with Otzi were displayed with very good explanations and I savored all of those before allowing myself to view the man himself. Though so much has been learned from him and thousands have seen him, I admit to feeling like an intruder when seeing his actual body encased in a thin layer of ice in his specially designed display tomb. In the most interesting parts of the museum, photos weren’t allowed. This picture is of the very cool interactive exhibit that allows you to move a "window" around to see various scans (bone, musculature, magnified, etc.). Of course, the fact that forensics studies have concluded that his death was actually a murder which they have investigated as a very cold case, made his story all the more intriguing. People have longed for immortality and Otzi has certainly achieved immortality of a sort. 

That night we waited until 10:00 p.m. to turn on the air conditioner again after positioning our collapsing sink under it. We kept in on low and held our collective breath, ears trained to hear the expected drips. It worked all night to keep us cool so our conclusion was that we had just overtaxed the unit and it had frozen up - twice! Time to go.

Burg Reifenstein/Castel Tasso

We headed for Innsbruck but made a stop along the way at Reifenstein Castle which is one of the best preserved as well as artistically and historically important medieval castles in South Tirol. The castle was built into the rocky hill and some floors from the earliest parts were still the original, craggy rock. The kitchen alone is fantastic in all its rough and sooty glory. 

Original kitchen - so cool!

There are even sleeping boxes where the knights, guards, staff and sometimes the townsfolk all slept together about 10 people per box. Sleeping in groups was a necessity in the cold winters and people slept sitting up as lying down was associated with the dying. There were rooms where councils were held and even a dungeon (a picture shows the hole in the floor through which prisoners were lowered). We weren’t allowed to take pictures in the two most highly decorated rooms but they were spectacular. 

The wooden ceiling and beams were beautifully painted but the paintings were badly damaged due to the use of lime during plague times. The depth of history felt very close to the surface and I really enjoyed imagining living through those times while here. The current owners are an elderly brother and sister and they spent their childhood summers in the 1940’s here. Lucky kids!

Innsbruck

Innsbruck is visually stunning with dramatic peaks and the forested mountains as its backdrop. Public transportation into the city was easy and we followed the guide's walk from Maria-Theresien-Strasse and back thru the old town streets enjoying the architectural style and paintings on the buildings.  We finally came to the famed "Golden Roof" where Emperor Maximillian I watched spectacles including jousts and even executions in the streets below. 

The Innsbruck Card let us ride a space age-looking funicular and two sets of packed cable cars up as close to the peak as possible. We then hiked an easy 15 minutes to the peak and enjoyed the views in every direction using the informational signage to pick out distant points of interest. There were hiking trails leading off and we explored a few of those. The weather was perfect and we could see for many miles.

Tirolean wedding clothes.

The following day we finished the rest of the guide's historic walk and toured the Museum of Tirolean Folk Art (Tiroler Volkunstmuseum). Rick Steves only gave it one (out of three) triangles but it far surpassed my expectations as it included entire rooms from the 1400's; many intriguing items from everyday life; and an entertaining audioguide. 

Next Stops: Several times we've learned that we just missed seeing someone we knew, or got an invitation from a friend of a friend after we had already left an area. So now, we're going to post our next stops ahead so that we don't miss any more opportunities! We're heading to Hallstatt, Salzburg and Munich. Don't be shy, we love to meet up with people on our trip even if its just for coffee or a drink. 

Vienna

Dressed for Mozart

An easy drive to Vienna brought a considerable change. Vienna seems to be a center of good living. There are nice little cafes with outdoor seating spilling along many sidewalks sprinkled throughout the manageable old town. We were used to being surrounded by people dressed fairly casually (like us), but Vienna streets included quite a few fashionistas of all ages. There are broad boulevards with old world architecture; leafy parks with places to have a semi-private picnic among the plantings; and monuments, statuary and fountains seemingly everywhere. 

Click this link for photos and "i" for information.

Vienna also marked a big change in weather. When you have a small wardrobe in heavy rotation, being able to slip into clothes you haven’t worn recently is a real treat. We even dressed up one night for a Mozart concert in the golden hall (Wiener Musikverein). The concert brought back distant memories from when I played classical music on the flute. It's too bad the majority of our Mozart exposure was through Hanna Barbera.

Outdoor dining in the museum district.

Once again we loved the convenience of public transportation including trams which we used along with an audioguide for low-effort sightseeing. Biking is also a great way to get around with bike lanes in both traffic areas and throughout the large parks on the outskirts of the city. There are even very modern public water bottles filling stations dotted throughout.  Our campground was just across the Danube river and we had many opportunities to dine beside its historic waters. We were also pleased with the campground facilities at Camping Neue Donau.

Sachertorte - pretty but meh.

Our first few days were spent following multiple audio tours, guide suggestions, and touring the Opera House. We enjoyed breaks to sample the famous Sacher torte, Wiener Schnitzel (which has been on menus since Belgium), beers and reasonably priced meals that more often contained vegetables other than cabbage.

We “saved” touring the Cathedral and Hapsburg Palace until the last day. The truth is that, as beautiful, majestic and awe-inspiring as grand sights can be, there's a point at which they all start to blend together.

Our Vienna stay was extended by a day so that Dermot could watch the Clare vs. Limerick Hurling final. More effort was spent planning for a place to watch this game in Flanagan’s Irish Pub than on getting tickets for the Mozart concert. We all have our travel priorities and our Irish readers will certainly understand!