Vienna>Salzburg
Fenster coffee and plum cake for breakfast at our Vienna hotel, we headed for the Hauptbanhof – central train station – and on a two plus hour train to Salzburg out West almost to Bavaria.
Salzburg is, of course, the land of ‘The Sound of Music’!
On the train, there are plenty of wide green fields but where are the animals?! In England you could count five thousand sheep by now. Eventually we start seeing plenty of cows and horses though, and even the odd sheep.
You arrive at an ordinary looking bus station in a modern-ish part of the town, but that means nothing because you soon start to get as much storybook quaintness in the Aldstadt (Old Town) as you could ask for.
As we walked along the Salzac River with our luggage, it’s surprising just how many people there are around and how regularly bicycles fly by you.
Our hotel Wolf was full of old rustic appeal and we immediately loved it. The building is from 1427 but it only started as a guest house/hotel in the 1890s. We stopped to admire the breakfast room.
Our room had a long bench seat by a large window onto a haphazard patio. Crikey, we had a bidet!!
There are at least 9 or 10 beer gardens in the city, but we’d read most about two: in the old town Sternbrau – all old wood interior – and out of town Augustiner Brau which is a former monastery. Founded in 1692, and Austria’s largest beer tavern! For tonight’s meal we entered Sternbrau. That’s also pretty large too but just the inside being used at the moment. A friendly waitress – we called her Rachel Weiss – brought Marie’s bratwurst, sauerkraut and roast potatoes and I boiled beef in a rich onion gravy and spaetzle. We both had beers. Delicious meals both and a cosy place.
We took a good look around the town. Certainly plenty of tourists, and this being only on the shoulder between high and low season (then it would be back to high season again for Christmas). It is definitely a “snow globe” world though and you can see why so many visitors come!
I hadn’t taken many photos as yet, but that would change a lot.
Day 1 (first full day that is!)
Really fresh and healthy hotel buffet breakfast and rich, powerful coffee (we love it). Before our Sound of Music coach tour later we had a good look around, and as we were slightly early for the tour we also had our own exploration of Mirabell Gardens where Maria and the Von Trapp children dance around the Pegasus Fountain in the film (‘Do-Re-Mi’). And we also took suitably silly photos in the dwarf garden!
Mirabell Gardens
Mirabell Gardens
Marie has seen ‘The Sound of Music’ “over 20 times”! I’ve seen it all the way through just once, as far I am aware. And that was just a few weeks before the trip, with her. I see it as a nostalgia piece and I am fond of it though. Also, I didn’t realise there was more to it. That there is a threat from Nazis at the end of the film, and that the Von Trapps have to escape! It’s based on a true story, and in real life the Von Trapp family escaped to the U.S and by the skin of their teeth and they still live in Stowe, Vermont today. A few generations down they run an (expensive) hotel.
The songs by Roger and Hammerstein were brilliantly conceived, delightful and catchy and we all know at least a few.
I didn’t know where a lot of the scenes were filmed either, so I was learning that as we went on today. Marie knew and loved them all. The guide even pointed out the big hotels where Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer stayed in Salzburg. J.A was an enthusiastic, emerging star. C.P didn’t want to do the film at first and had to be persuaded to do it.
Our guide was a Geordie, no less! From the North East of England, where our beloved football team are from – Newcastle United. He was excellent and lively, though you could tell he does it a lot and wanted to power through it. I somewhat stupidly said to him before the group gathered around, “I imagine you’re a Sunderland fan” (our rivals; he was a bit well spoken) but he replied, “how dare you!”.
Anyway, onto more important things, we headed on the coach into lovely scenery and locations adored by the fans onboard. Weather was perfect.
The first coach stop was at Schloss Leopoldskron, which served as the exterior of the Von Trapp home overlooking a beautiful lake. Of course they used continuity tricks in filming. Also, amusing, stressful stuff occurred as well as happy accidents. Such as this one (cheating a bit here as the internet explains better that I could, and it’s short for non-fans)
The Capsize: In the scene where Maria and the children tumble out of the rowboat into the lake, non-swimming child actor Kym Karath (Gretl) went under when the boat flipped.
- The Rescue & Continuity: Julie Andrews missed her mark and fell toward the wrong side of the boat, leaving stuntman Alan Callow to jump in and pull Karath to safety. The chaotic plunge and immediate aftermath required blending multiple takes, leading to notable visual continuity slips—such as Maria’s wet hair changing style multiple times while she argued with the Captain on the terrace
And many other entertaining facts.
We took some great photos of the lake, and Marie got an especially pleasing one of the house and lake reflection, below.
and below, our tour group and Geordie leader
Next stop was the very famous gazebo, used in the “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” and “Something Good” scenes. It’s in the grounds of Hellbrunn Palace, and Marie and I would return to the palace for an unrelated visit in a couple of days time. Lots of posing from everyone, including us
After my write-up of our S.O.M tour I will describe a lot more about Salzburg itself and things to do, by the way, so hang fire a bit!
Then our tour, which is four hours in total, moved on through to idyllic Lake District, which in parts reminded us of England’s Lake District.
Funnily enough, we had decided against doing a boat trip to the gorgeous island of Hallstatt (below) simply because it’s always overrun by tourists all year round
from google images
I mean, how could you not but they say you can barely move for tourists and it takes a couple of hours to get there.
Marie researched a bit, and found that St. Gilgen is a far less touristy – and closer – option. We thought we might do that in the next few days. Before our coach left we said wouldn’t it to be funny if the SOM tour went to St. Gilgen. Which it did! Well, kind of. We passed through it, but still we both laughed!
Of course there was music on board the coach, but thankfully not singing alone but simply songs from the film and joining in if you wished. Marie enjoyed yodeling “Little Old Lady On The Loo” later to ‘The Lonely Goatherd’!
from the window of our coach
Then onto our longest stop, around 30-40 minutes in the town of Mondsee where the wedding chapel scene was filmed (Basilica of St. Michael). Most went to look around the chapel. Despite Marie being a big fan of the film, we chose instead to get gelati and walk around a bit.
The hills are alive with the taste of gelato!
When we got back to Salzburg, after plenty more music and sing-alongs onboard, we were brought to the last stop of the tour. Of course Mirabell Gardens where Marie and I had started of our own volition four hours earlier. We enjoyed a second visit though, and this time took different photos before getting back over the bridge into the city
In the evening to went back to inviting Sternbrau for dinner. Marie had large, spinach and cheese dumplings, and me goulash and dumplings too. We both had their excellent organic beer.
Day 2 (Saturday)
We thoroughly enjoyed breakfast at the Wolf each morning. A lot of choice, friendly staff and gentle Mozart music made for a very civilised start to every day!
Something about the Alpine air? But probably mainly reliance on modern devices back home. The sore back that Marie gets at home had eased greatly, as she wasn’t stationary in an office chair bent over all day! And what I thought was some arthritis in my fingers completely went away. I mean completely so it clearly is just a repetitious strain. Despite that we were getting in a lot of steps and moving around a lot every day, we felt sort of refreshed.
Feeling less achey could also be attributed to eating more sausages?
Over breakfast we enjoyed talking to the young-ish Bangladeshi waiter. He was telling us how good financial life is in Austria. A semester at university costs a student only 27 euros for example! Tuition fees are free, as they used to be in the UK and the 27 euros covers other fees and student union membership. An infinitesimal amount compared to the U.S (even the UK now!).
The euro is roughly equivalent to the dollar.
Not that it applies to us, but it’s interesting. Certainly in and around Salzburg it’s said to be pretty much crime free too.
Okay, back to the actual journal! Another photo I took in the Old Town below
Marie chose this morning that we go up the funicular to the large Hohensalzburg fortress atop the hill and which you see from all vantage points in the city. The Geordie on the tour mentioned that “it’s like a whole village up there”. It is too, with museums, a church, cobbled streets and also wondrous views from the 360 degree panorama of the city below and the mountains ahead! The fortress is from 1017 and was a great success in warding off any potential attackers, and although today of course it’s had its day in the original purpose, there’s lots to do and see like the Armoury Museum, Magic Theatre and Gothic rooms like The Golden Hall etc. Mostly I was loving taking photographs of the views.
We probably spent a good hour and a half there, before heading back down. Marie was looking for the Nonnberg Abbey, which the real Maria arrived at in the 1920s before becoming a nun and where she married George Von Trapp in 1927. But it’s also used in the film, where Julie Andrews sings ‘I Have Confidence’.
Anyway, Marie was mad that we seemed to have missed it before she realised we hadn’t at all and it was coming up naturally on our walk. She went on up ahead to take a photo. She was a little while so I caught up, only to find a cat on her lap as she sat on a bench. She was in her element!
A quick look at the Abbey garden though something was going on inside I think and we didn’t go in.
Rain started again, and we went back further down and eventually to street level. We went shopping for chocolate – the really outstanding Berger shop, handcrafted organic. We splashed the cash a bit.
Then to the most famous coffee and cake cafe, Tomaselli, which is a gorgeous and very popular place run for 150 years by the same family. There is a constant turnaround of people coming in and those finishing up, but it’s a well-oiled and yet still very relaxing set up. Our cream cake was great, as was the coffee as always!
A hotel break and back out early evening. We got a number 9 bus to an absolute institution of a beer garden: Augustiner Brau. It’s in a former monastery and has been a beer tavern for over 400 years!! There are 2,400 seats counting inside and outside (all inside this evening I think). And there is one type of beer: big (1 litre) or medium! You buy a token, take your ceramic stein, rinse it out, have it filled with beer and take it to your table. Flanking corridors are all kinds of Germanic food treats to buy.
It’s all very sociable and lively and we had a very happy couple of hours there! We chatted to a couple of young guys who have lived in Austria for about ten years, after moving from South America.
And once back near our hotel there was still time for a hot and strong gluhwein!
Day 3
Our last full day in Salzburg, and for now our last day in Austria before some family & friends days in London!
We had an enjoyable chat with the waiter over breakfast, about life in Austria etc. He booked us a taxi for tomorrow morning to the airport.
Okay, so what to do on our last day? Marie fixed that dilemma, and made a great choice by planning a a visit to Hellbrun Palace a short bus ride away from the city.
This is the palace in which grounds is the S.O.M gazebo we saw the other day. It turned out to be quite fascinating, with the most appeal being in the gardens more than the interior. It’s in the Baroque style, from the 17th Century. The Prince Archbishop Markus Sitticus had it built as a pleasure palace. He was slightly crazy, and very narcissistic by all accounts. But he built something lighthearted, because the gardens are full of spontaneous whimsy!
When we arrived there was a well organised running race going on, and we saw the winner come through and being interviewed.
A helpful Hungarian employee kindly ushered us through to a timed tour because we were close to missing that. He’s a tattoo artist too, and Marie took his card (though I imagine she’ll get her tattoo back home). Anyway, we began at some of the outdoor ‘Trick Fountains’! These are designed to catch visitors out completely and hopefully soak them. A photographer was there, should you wish to buy any of you looking jolted with surprise or just a souvenir background.
Not just that though, but there is playful whimsy going on everywhere. Grottoes, more trick fountains, a miniature outdoor theatre, optical illusions, silliness. At one grotto a grimacing face pokes it tongue out (photo by Marie below)
Hellbrun Palace
Everything is done in the “Mannerist” style. Again, I’ll quote google as a brief explanation
“Mannerist architecture is an influential European architectural style that flourished from roughly 1520 to 1580, acting as a creative bridge between the harmonious order of the High Renaissance and the dramatic theater of the Baroque. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Derived from the Italian word maniera (meaning “style” or “manner”), the movement rejected the rigid classical symmetry, mathematical balance, and pure geometry of earlier Renaissance masters in favor of artificiality, wit, tension, and rule-breaking.”
We definitely were surprised and had a hugely enjoyable couple of hours which also included a visit to their fine cafe, and maybe the best lasagne we’ve ever had!
A bus back, we tried another vintage cafe – the Bazar, on the other side of the river in the city. Again some delightful, refined lingering. Marie had a coffee, myself an apricot schnapps and we shared a cake not unlike a strawberry shortcake.
Much of the rest of the day we pottered around, did some shopping, and packed our luggage. Marie is a master packer, and if necessary I will even sit on cases so that they can be zipped up! Not too bad yet though, and all done in plenty of time for us to go out and enjoy the evening. We’d tried to get into a traditional though slightly more modern restaurant the other day, a short walk from The Wolf.
Being a rainy Sunday, we did manage to get in tonight. It’s a local favourite, especially perhaps with the slightly younger crowd. Wirtshaus zum Zirkwelwirt. The food was superb! Marie had the homemade cheese spaetzle with crispy onions – a little like an Austrian mac n cheese, and I the trout (delicious crispy skin) with almond butter and parsley potatoes. We finished with the hearty pulled pancake with apple sauce.
from google images
Wait a minute, I said slightly more modern but seemingly almost everything has age in Salzburg because their website says
“For over 400 years, the Zirkelwirt has been an integral part of Salzburg’s culinary scene – located at Papagenoplatz in the heart of the Old Town.”
Mostly, that was us wrapping things up before we were to fly to London tomorrow!
