Wednesday 20 September
I’m on the train to Salzburg whizzing through Austria. This train goes to Munich so there were a couple dressed in Bavarian outfits selling beer. Yes bloody please!
A bit out of focus, I was excited
We got to Salzburg at 3 ish and put our bags in a locker and sent to explore. It is a very neat, tidy and attractive city, as befits the home of Mozart and the Sound of Music. We passed a trio of nuns (honestly) and I wanted to ask “how do you solve a problem like Maria?” but Julie wouldn’t let me.
There’s a festival on at the moment called Rupertikirtag in honour of St Rupert. It’s like a mini Octoberfest with food and beer stalls and a funfair. Lots of people were dressed in lederhosen and dirndls, even the kids! It was very colourful and fun.
Horny men in leather shorts – normal for Austria
There was even a group of men doing the knee slapping dance I have only seen in The Two Ronnie’s
Our accommodation is in Hallein, a few stops down the line, Salzburg is too expensive. The Sommeraur Pensione cost us as much for 2 nights as we paid for 4 nights in Budapest. But the breakfast was enormous and the coffee excellent.
Thursday 21 September
This morning we got the 9.16 train from Hallein into Salzburg. Hallein had salt mines, which were the basis of Salzburg’s (salt town) great prosperity. The salt was shipped down the river into Italy and wine came back, a very good deal.
We walked up to the Hohensalzburg, the huge castle above the town on a crag. We could have taken the funicular, but I’m a Skiffer not a softie! Neither is Julie. The castle is honestly one of the best I have ever visited. It was founded in 1180, and improved all the way up to 1803 when Napoleon marched in.
The massive castle has amazing views over the city and nearby Alps. The weather was hot and sunny, so it was perfect. There are several museums inside about the castle and military history which are very modern and well laid out.
The funicular is free to go down and takes about a minute. Skiffers also enjoy a bargain.
In the square at the bottom Rupertikirtag is in full swing, with many stalls selling pretzels of various types, cream cakes and sweets. We went into a marquee with an oompah band and I had a beer, 6.2 Euro for half a litre. Expensive, but not outrageous.
🎶 I like lager und bratwurst und cabbage
The city centre is fairly small, but is all beautiful 17th and 18th century Baroque buildings, including several where Mozart lived. Mozart was the Harty Styles of his day, but wrote his own tunes.
The huge ancient abbey of St Peter was very impressive, with a highly decorated church and a restaurant that claims it was founded in 803. That’s 1220 years ago, before King Alfred beat the Vikings (for you history nerds out there).
Austrian cuisine is …limited in scope, but we thought we should try it. The Zipfer Bierhaus is a traditional pub on one of the central squares. I had sausage, potatoes and sauerkraut, Julie had schnitzel and potatoes. It was fine.
The Octoberbrau I had was really delicious, so I was a happy boy.
Saurkraut is ok, but baked beans is much better with sausages.
timharnesstravels 