After some effort, we located our rental car on level -2. Regrettably, they had no GPS units available and we didn't really have a clue on how to get out of Vienna and then towards Salzburg located in the western part of Austria. Check out the map below. Vienna is in the far east of Austria and Salzburg pretty much against the Germany border. Very nerve wracking as we were not sure how to get out of the city, but we stopped and Lana asked questions and we found a freeway entrance and then onto A1 to take us eventually to Salzburg. It took us about 2 1/2 hours driving time to arrive in Salzburg.
The hotel did not have any hotel parking available, but gave us directions for a public parking located inside a mountain. We found it easily and then were advised to keep the ticket as the hotel can charge us less than the public rate. 14 Euro to park overnight so a pretty good deal.
It was now past 3 pm and we hadn't really had any lunch, except for some small snacks in the car. We went to a grocery store on the corner and bought some water, a bottle of Asti (3.99 Euro!), some snacks and our 'lunch' consisting of some deli meats and wurst salad. It hit the spot and was pretty inexpensive. Now we have some energy for sightseeing in Salzburg although it is now late in the afternoon.
I was in Salzburg with my friend Ernst earlier this year so had a good chance to see most of the highlights of Salzburg. Lana had a list of 'must sees' for Salzburg. This is the birthplace of Mozart, an excellent Altstadt area with old churches and a great shopping area much like Heidelberg's Hauptstrasse.
The walk from the hotel to the bridge over the river and then into the Altstadt was only about 10 minutes. Many people in the area of course and the weather was much chillier than we were used to. It was not raining though, so actually a great day to sightsee. Lots of narrow streets, extremely old buildings and classic huge church edifices. The Hohensalzburg fortress castle is on top of the mountain overlooking Salzburg. If you followed the blog from the spring you might remember the pics. Anyway, below is a reminder and Lana was good with walking to the castle. This is an extremely steep walk for even a very fit person. Lana did very well and we stopped a couple of times for the incredible views of the city, river and valley below. At the very top, it is quite scenic and you can find views that give you 360 degrees. Good day up top and we spent a lot of time in the Museum. The origins of the castle fortress date to the 11th Century! Wow, 1,000 years ago people started building a rudimentary house and wall. Incredible the history behind the gradual building that became this fortress. Tourists from all over the world. Cost for the castle self-guided tour was around 16 Euros for the two of us.
It was a lot easier walking down the hill! :-)
Next stops were visits to a couple of famous churches; Franziskanerkirche and the Dom. Plus, visited the many platzs inclusive of Makartplatz and Kapitelplatz. We walked Getreidegasse and stopped by Mozart's home. Again, the history of Europe is staggering for us North Americans. Many fellow tourists and lots of cameras of course. Lana has a classically trained piano history from her youth in Moose Jaw so seeing where Mozart grew up was very special.
It was now after 6 pm and the sun had re-emerged so it was a great afternoon and night for walking and enjoying Salzburg. As we were walking across one of the many bridges Lana looked up and saw a terrace above Hotel Stein. We decided to go through their lobby, grabbed the elevator and found our way to the entrance to their terrace. They had a table against the railing so we decided to enjoy the weather and the scenery. This is a great life! Lana ordered a Hugo drink (mint, prosecco, elderflower licquer and soda.) I ordered an Italian spritzer comprised of soda, asti wine and ice. Not sure if the photos do the scene justice? Relaxing on a terrace overlooking the river and altstadt with the castle fortress on the hill above. Yup, this is great! Lana was perturbed by an American a couple of tables over smoking a very smelly cigar.
After this very incredible time, it was time to navigate and find a restaurant for dinner. We located a neighbourhood type casual place with indoor and outdoor seating. It had Deutsch food and english menus. We were seated inside as no seats outside, plus it was getting somewhat chilly. We were seated right near the kitchen so enjoyed the opportunity of watching the wait staff and the kitchen expeditor with the food orders; pickup, drop off, plating etc. We waited a loong time for our food - maybe 45 minutes which is super long for a casual Europe place. The place was busy and every five minutes the server would tell us in German "dwei minuten"or two minutes. The meal was good.
Easy walk to our hotel room in a working man's neighbourhood of Salzburg. Our room is comfortable and not fancy. Free wifi that works and doesn't drop us like the apartment hotel in Vienna. It is now after 10 pm. Another good day in Austria. Tomorrow, we are driving to Innsbruck, Austria.
Glad to see you're having fun!
ReplyDeleteThe pick pocketing incident was interesting to say the least. Thanx for the commentary - you're on an exciting tour. Keep having fun.
Steve and Anne