Well, that was a rough night. I woke 2 or 3 times and my husband K seems to be coming down with something. However, I brought two kinds of Mucinex and he'll start taking them.
We got up at 7:26 and our daughter J came to the door to go to breakfast at about 8. It was another delicious meal and relatively crowded. We did not dawdle, but got done quickly and went back upstairs to brush teeth and grab our gear.
We left the hotel at 8:47 and managed to get to the station in just 7 minutes and directly onto a train.
We reached the Hauptbahnhof at 8:58 and went upstairs to the tracks.
We found our platform and saw that our train originated in Frankfurt and was going all the way to Budapest. There was a crawler running above the sign that I translated for the others as "today without reservations". There were a lot of people on the platform and we thought that perhaps that because it was Saturday, there were no reserved seats.
The train arrived at 9:15 and we all piled in. There were no seats available in the first car. It's not that they were empty, but I realized that on the edge of the rack above them, there were digital displays. Every one of them said, in German, that they were reserved. We hurried to another car and kept seeing the same notice. Finally, we found 3 seats, albeit not together, without the notice. K pointed me to the first available one and I asked the guy in the window seat, if the seat was taken, using a phrase I'd taught my students. He said, that it wasn't, pointing to the digital sign that showed no reservation. K sat behind me and J nearby. When we saw people standing, we felt very lucky. I could not have stood for this whole trip and sitting on the floor between cars is not physically possible. K handed me my magazine and we settled in.
The train departed at 9:30. It was grey and damp, but there was no rain yet. I read and dozed, as usual.
As we pulled into the Salzburg Hauptbahnhof at 11:01, I asked my seatmate how far he was traveling. All the way to Budapest! That's a long trip. I wished him "Schöne Reise!" as I was getting up to leave. As we headed for the main part of the station, I noticed the old Austrian eagle high in the rafters.
The ability to get to a Christmas market in another country in such a short time was the main reason for coming here. Another was that Salzburg is a charming city, the city of Mozart and
The Sound of Music. I've been here in the spring and summer, but never fall/winter. I'd hoped to see snow on the Alps on the way here, but we were on the wrong side of the train and I could see nothing through the window on the other side. Maybe we'd get lucky here.
We realized that the station was our best shot at a restroom for a while, so we spent the 0,50 Euro each before leaving at 11:25.
The station is in the so-called "new" section of town. We not only had to walk a ways to the "old" part, but we'd also have to cross the river. J had scoped out our route and now used Google to guide us along that route.
We soon passed a Shell station and, of course, diesel was cheaper than regular gas. If only that were true at home!
We saw signs for interesting productions of things like The Lord of the Rings, as well as plant sculptures that I could not explain. We also found a sign explaining that the street was named for a regiment founded in 1682. In the first World War, they lost 5,000 men.
While this church looks nice enough, the main thing to notice is how low the cloud is behind it.
At 11:45, we reached our first destination, the small market at Schloß Mirabell. It was actually on the sidewalk at the Mirabellplatz, but no matter. The first thing we noticed was the giant evergreen tree. It turned out that this was the town Christmas tree. It was freakin' gigantic!
Oh, yes, as you can see from the photos, it was now raining a bit.
Considering it was now only 4 days until Christmas, there were plenty of ornaments to be had. I particularly liked the glass "logs" with the tealights, but just couldn't convince myself. However, that same stand had a box of very nicely painted small flat blown-glass ornaments. I could keep one for myself and give others away. We looked at the other stalls and marveled at the variety of pretzels before pushing on.
As we left the market, we looked up and caught sight of the fortress Hohensalzburg on Festungsberg above the Old City. The cloud looked like it was settling in to cover it up.
Our route led us into the gardens of Schloß Mirabell, which is where the Von Trapp children learned to sing in
The Sound of Music. It wasn't nearly so picturesque on this rainy day as it was years ago when the family took "The Sound of Music Tour". We were not in the main part of the gardens anyway. We did see people off toward the palace on a tour. Juggling our umbrella and cameras, we walked along this section of the gardens with plenty of other people. We passed an art museum with an interesting sculpture on the other side of the very tall hedge.
When we reached the end of the garden, J and K posed for me with the garden in the background. You could see plenty of other folks getting their pictures taken with the statues there. I noticed the Mozarteum (now called the Universität Mozarteum) off to the side. K would probably enjoy visiting that.
We soon found ourselves out on Makartplatz, and what should we see across the street, but the Mozart Wohnhaus. Here on the first floor, Mozart's family lived from 1773-1787. They evidently have some things that we might enjoy seeing some time,
A little farther on, I was surprised to see a sign on a building declaring it the birthplace of Christian Doppler in 1803, he of the famous Doppler effect. You know, Doppler radar.
When we reached Schwarzstraße, we waited for the light to change under the awning of the Salzburger Landestheater. I took a photo of our next destination, the Hotel Sacher. Yes, that's my purple umbrella at the top. I told you it was raining.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't the hotel we wanted, but the Café Sacher. The problem was, we weren't sure where it was. Directly on the corner of the building was the shop, closed now for lunch. It's a good thing, too, but the chocolates there looked delicious. We proceeded along the building toward the river. K and J walked along the river side of the hotel looking for the Café, which should have been right there, according to the map. I took the opportunity to take photos across the Salzach river. The fortress was pretty clear now.
It was finally decided that the Café had to be on the other side. This led us to the grand front entrance. J went in to check and then came out to bring us in. The Café Sacher was at the far end of the lobby area.
When we reached it at 12:30, we saw that there was a line and a spot to put umbrellas. We could see small tables with chairs and/or banquettes around them. We didn't have to wait long to be led to a small table near the window. There was a coat rack behind one chair, but it had trouble accommodating our big coats. It was also tough to find a dry spot to put our backpacks. This is the only photo of the room, because I didn't want to take a photo of people.
We had come here planning to get their famous dessert, but the weather made us decide to get more of a meal. There was no way to know how long rain would last and we didn't want to try to eat under umbrellas. Soup seemed like a really good idea. K chose Pikante Gulyás-Suppe ,,Csárdásfürstin" mit Gebäck (goulash soup with a roll) for 9,50 Euros and Verlängerter (espresso) for 4,10 Euros. J and I think alike. To drink, we both chose Heiße Original Sacher Trinkschokolade (Original Sacher Hot Chocolate) for 5,20 Euros each and Alt-Wiener Suppentopf mit gekochtem Rindfleisch, Gemüse, Nudeln und Gebäck ( Old Viennese soup pot with boiled beef, vegetables, and noodles, served with a roll) for 9 Euros each. We wisely asked for glasses of water, knowing they would not be automatically served. While waiting for the food, she and I also sought out the restroom, which was old, as you'd expect, but also clean. An open window in there made one hurry up.
Our food took a bit, but the hot chocolates were a sight in themselves. I've never had such a great looking hot chocolate. It tasted good, too. K's soup came in a good size steaming bowl. J and I were served bowls of ours from a common pot, that was left for us to polish off. A delicious, filling soup!
As filling as the soup was, we certainly weren't going to skip the dessert. J and I had planned on the Original Sacher-Torte, for which we were willing to pay the 7,20 Euros each. K shocked us by deciding that since we were in Austria, he had to order Wiener Apfelstrudel for 6,50 Euros.
By now, the room was emptier. I supposed that this was because it was getting past the lunch hour.
The Hotel Sacher originated in Vienna in 1876. K and I had enjoyed a slice of Sacher-Torte in their outdoor café after attending the opera, Die Fledermaus, at the Wiener Staatsoper, which is right across the street, in 1984 on a tour that took us to the Oberammergau Passion Play. This Hotel Sacher dates to 1866 and was an Austrian court hotel. It was bought by the family that now owns the Hotel Sacher in Vienna in 1988, and redesigned at that time in the historical style.
The torte comes as a lovely presentation, as you can see. The Apfelstrudel was a square, rather than the usual slice. The torte was delicious, but a touch dry. The Apfelstrudel was perfect.
Our bill came to 63,50 Euros and I put it on my Capital One MasterCard, knowing I'd get cash back on it.
After we ate, we all used the restrooms again before taking a look around the lobby at the Christmas decorations. The tree had glass balls as well as blown glass ornaments representing workers at the hotel. The gingerbread house had a roof that was definitely made of gingerbread as you'd get it here. The Nativity scene was just lovely and more complicated than our simple barn. It definitely looked like a Tyrolean house. So cool!
It was still raining, of course. I was impressed by the lovely planting and that they made use of cabbage for color. We crossed the Salzach over the Staatsbrücke, a bridge built by prisoners of war from 1941-1945. It was dedicated to them. So, there's that.
The bridge led right into the Rathausplatz and the Old City. When we reached the Getreidegasse a few moments later, it was just beautiful with its lights and decorations. The rainy street did a great job of reflecting the lights. The really cool thing was that they were hung to be enjoyed from below.
We turned right to follow the lights down to Mozarts Geburtshaus to pay our respects at the house of his birth. K and I toured here back in 1984. I don't recall whether or not J has been inside.
We turned around again to go in the opposite direction. Soon, we came upon a shop selling Mozartkugeln, which I really hate because the marzipan is pistachio, not almond. The lights changed right about here. Nice way to keep your interest.
Getreidegasse had turned into Rathausplatz for about a block before becoming Kranzlmarkt. So European. Just before it turned into Judengasse, which it would be for quite a while, we came upon Alter Markt. We stopped to look at the stall there and noticed the decorations hanging from a horizontal wreath. We hadn't seen that in Germany.
Back on Judengasse, the decorations changed again, and I don't think it because the street translates to Jewish Alley. Besides, the Irish pub backed up to here. A little further along, we came upon the Braun. Internationale Manufaktur- Schokoladen with marvelous treats in the window. We resisted the temptation.
Close by, we saw one of those interesting sculptures up on a wall that you see sometimes in Europe, especially on very old buildings. This one seemed to be a blacksmith. And right after that, as the street grew broader, the decorations changed. They were no longer strung across overhead, but rather were bursts on the wall.
We came upon a shop with absolutely beautiful Christmas eggs in the window. I have two Christmas eggs from Austria at home. One is painted and has
Silent Night on it. The other is covered in counted cross stitch cloth. But,these, these were beautiful creations that made mine seem like country bumpkins. It was a struggle to go on and not go in.
We followed Judengasse around the bend as it turned into Mozartplatz. And let me say right here that I think the use of "Platz" for a street name is weird. The word means "place" or even "square". I've seen it used that way. Only here in Salzburg have I seen it used as a street name. Mozartplatz led to Residenzplatz, which is a square like it should be. But, to be totally confusing, they also call the street that runs alongside it on two sides and further along a bit on one of those sides Residenzplatz. Oh, come on!
I have to share this beautiful picture that was in the window of the Hypobank. If I could have, I would have bought a copy in a heartbeat.
Anyway, when we reached the Residenzplatz (square), it was surrounded on the non-building sides by a green wooden wall. Along the wall, we saw a wonderful display of Salzburger Krippen (Salzburger Nativity Scenes) put on by the Krippenbauverein (Crèche Building Association) in Grödig, a small town in the Salzburg-Umgebung District. They were wonderful! I was impressed that some even dressed the figures. If you're not into crèche's, sorry, but pretty much all of them are below.
We looked at all of the scenes and, at 2:36, were finally at the entrance to the Christmas market, here called the Christkindlmarkt.
It was magical, even in the rain. Over a P.A. system, we soon could hear a beautiful choir singing in German. A brochure told me it was the Chorgemeinschaft Leopoldskron. The Christmas tree here was absolutely immense! That's the Dom or cathedral behind it.
As you can see from the map, the market was spread out in several sections. We decided to roam around the section closest to us first. The stalls were stretched along the green walls with just a few in a circle in the center, hiding the fountain that is there. Each had a sign above telling you what it was called. There was a fair number of people here, but it wasn't packed. I thought it interesting that the plaza was covered in gravel and really couldn't remember if it was always that way.
Ooh, the Kaiserschmaren in the last photo? That is pretty much shredded pancakes with raisins and powdered sugar usually. Absolutely delicious!
These next two are a riot! The first is Hats, Hats, Hats and the second is, of course, Bags, Bags, Bags.
One of the booths had those glass logs that we'd seen back at Mirabell. They were getting more and more tempting. Another had the Froebel stars that we'd seen elsewhere. They were growing on me. I was also really falling in love with all the lanterns I was seeing. The second one here has all kinds of preserves and jellies. We weren't buying anything quite yet, just getting the lay of the land, so to speak.
It was about 3:30 and we were getting a bit thirsty and in need of warming up. We have a friend back home, who is in the Lion's Club. So, we thought it appropriate to patronize them. We got a Glühwein with red wine for K and me to share for 3,50 Euros and an Apfel- Birne Punsch ( apple-pear punch) for just 2,50 Euros for J. I liked hers better than ours. I'm really getting away from enjoying the red wine ones.
Then, it was back to roaming. I resisted the stall with all the chocolate bars, but definitely had to take time to study the model railroad. I'm sure it was for kids, but I loved it!
We worked our way over to the section in front of the Dom. Here we passed these delicious looking confections.
The tree in this section was made of lights, but was very tall as well.
More temptations lurked in other booths.
I bought a lovely glass star for 5 Euros, unsure if I would keep it or gift it to someone. Other than that, I was just looking for now.
We found the WC at the far end of the Universität building that finished off the U in front of the Dom. When we came out at about 4, there was an ensemble of trumpets and tenor horn playing on the stage in front of the Dom. If the program was to be believed, this was the Graspointner Ensemble, but they weren't due until 5 pm. Perhaps the rain was bringing the groups out early. I was thrilled to be able to record a snippet of their rendition of
Morgen, Kinder, wird's was geben (Tomorrow, Children, There Will Be Something), a traditional song that I used to play for my students. I will admit that the red light on the Dom seemed a bit sinister. But, man, that was the largest Advent wreath I have ever seen!
I had made a special request of my husband and daughter. As many times as I have been to Salzburg, I'd never been up to Hohensalzburg. I really wanted to go today. We were at the Kapitelplatz with the Petershof cemetery to our right. This was used in the Sound of Music for the scene where the family is hiding in a graveyard.
We had the time, so we headed up the hill to the funicular that takes one to the top. Here's a shot of it with a Froebel star by the lamp. What a cool shot!
We were at the ticket office by 4:25. The tickets were 12,50 Euros each, which wasn't too bad, I guess.
We had to wait a short time for the next car to arrive. Then, there were some steps to climb to get into a row. My legs did not like the steps and I was going to be standing all the way up, too. I did pick a spot where I could lean a bit. The ride didn't take long. At 4:37, I was taking a picture of K and J with the fortress behind them. Luckily, the rain was light.
We took some time to take photos of the city. What a magical view! I was now glad I'd never been here before. All of the other visits took place during the day and I wouldn't have gotten these magnificent views of the city, the Salzach, and the mountains. We could see the funicular below us. We could even see planes taking off from the airport.
We had a choice of a ramp or stairs to get into the fortress. Of course, we chose the ramp. Inside, there was an elevator up to the upper floors, which we took.We came upon an exhibit called Welt der Marionetten, the World of Marionettes. Salzburg has a reputation for marionettes and they make an appearance in
The Sound of Music. Here, we saw displays of stage scenes with marionettes. I didn't photograph the title card for the first photo, but the second is the Shipping of Salt on the Salzach River. The third depicts the return of Mozart and his sister Nannerl from one of their many musical trips abroad.
The Von Trapp family is in the next scene, although the Captain is a little closer to real life than to Christopher Plummer. Then, there is a scene of the Trick Fountains at Hellbrunn Palace. The last photo is of the Peasant Uprising of 1525. Thanks to a troop of soldiers, the fortress remained impregnable. The marionettes were all so detailed and interesting to look at.
We continued up into the fortress proper only to discover that: 1. there were a heck of a lot of steps to go up to get to the floors above us; and 2. no photographs were allowed. I'd gotten this far, so I had to climb, with K holding my arm. Upstairs were displays about the history of Hohensalzburg and the prince-bishops who lived here. We learned that Salzburg did not become part of Austria until 1816. It had been part of Bavaria, but gained its independence in the 14th century. It wasn't always independent, but going into that history would be tedious.
Many of the exhibits were quite modern. When we reached the chapel area, I believe it was, we heard music being played on old instruments. The path wound around one floor before sending us down to the next. Here, we found a free restroom, which is not something you skip.
I was disappointed to find the shop was closed, when we reached there in the neighborhood of 5:30. I would have liked a postcard or two.
We made our way back down to where we came in and exited on the other side of the fortress into a kind of courtyard at 5:50. It wasn't raining, which was nice. Here we found a Christmas market. The booths were much smaller and the items seemed more of an old style, as you might expect. The Christmas tree seemed to be full of homemade ornaments, which was quite cool. A young girl tried to sell me a blown-glass pickle, but I know that that is not a real German thing. So, I didn't buy it.
We made our way back to the funicular, navigating stairs down again to an empty section. We were back down at the lower station at 6:05. The shop next to the station was closing as we walked by. When we reached Kapitelplatz, I turned around and got the clearest shot of the day of Hohensalzburg. It looked fantastic!
It was nice to be able to shop without the rain. We got a Glühwein, which was 7 Euros with the mug, 3,50 without. Of course we want the mug! J needed some Glühwein mix for a friend at home. I made my way back to the Teelichthütte to give in and get my glass log with the tea lights (Teelicht). I also got one to give as a gift next year.
While I was at the stand, I heard music coming from above. There were musicians up in the belfry of the church. There was a light on them that went out, when they were finished. Then, musicians started up on a balcony near the Dom. A light was on them, too. They finished, the light went out, and then there were musicians on the balcony on the opposite side of the square. Then, it was back to the tower. It was amazing! This was the Traditionelles Salzburger Turmblasen- traditional Salzburg tower winds. My husband, the musician, told me that there is a whole repertoire of that going back centuries. It felt like a blessing to get to experience this. I got some video of the music from the belfry, because I was closest to that. I couldn't get a decent photo of the third group, because I was shooting into light.
It was now 7 pm and time to head for the train station. It was going to be a hike, but then J insisted on getting a taxi. She just didn't want me walking that far. We climbed in one at 7:05 and we headed further down the Rudolfskai were soon crossing the Salzach on the Karolinenbrücke. The trip to the Hauptbahnhof lasted all of nine minutes and cost 11,30 Euros, but J paid him 15.
There was a very convenient Spar grocery store just inside the terminal and we went in to find food for supper. K found Mozartkugeln for a friend who loves them. We picked up a slice of cake with apricots for 1,49 Euros, 2 Fladenbrot (flatbread) with tomato and mozzarella for 2,99 Euros each for J and me, and Bagel with Camembert for 3,19 for K. A 0,33L Coke was only 0,79 Euros.
We each paid 0,50 Euros to use the restroom before heading out to the platform. We boarded the RJ110 to Munich at 7:45. We had no trouble finding seats this time. By the time we were moving at 8, we'd pulled out our food and begun to eat.
There were a lot of dark areas out there, but we still saw more Christmas lights on houses, even when we reached Germany, than we'd ever seen before. It was quite charming.
We rode right past the hotel on our way back. If only the train had stopped! We pulled into the Munich Hauptbahnhof at 9:39 and I remembered to take a photo of the train. That was good, because I've never seen an Austrian rail train before.
K had run out of reading material, so we stopped in the bookstore that was right there. I found a beautiful Munich Christmas card for 2,25 Euro that I will frame and a cross stitch magazine for 5,95 Euro. He didn't find anything in English.
We boarded the S3 at 10:01 and it had us to our station at 10:05. It was 10:15, when we reached our room.
The phone said I'd walked 11,708 steps and 4.7 miles on this wonderful day. It claimed I'd climbed one floor, which is bogus. Those steps in the fortress were far more than one floor.
Only one more day left of our trip!
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