SALZBURG

The directions we were given for returning the car were one street off, so it took almost an hour of driving around to get the car turned in. Frustrating.

My first impression of Munich was this area around the train station and it wasn't favorable. Our last couple of days would be in Munich, since we flew out of Munich, so I had hopes for a better time later.


My first experience with trains and extensive bus usage began here in the Munich train station.











We took the train from Munich to Salzburg, taking the 'milk run' instead of the express to save some money and it was fine. The German's use a term like 'milk run' also :) Now that we are car-less, we are carrying our backpacks as intended. I am glad to have the backpack style, but they still get heavy and I find myself thinking about every little item I packed and haven't used - not many, but still.

We went straight to our room in Salzburg. We were a little way out of the city and are actually on a farm. It's a big room with a kitchenette that we won't use. There is a church just a couple of blocks away and I loved hearing the bells. They don't ring during the night and it wasn't like we were in the room all that much, but it was nice.



Our room is actually in a building directly behind this one.



























































Looking out the french doors.










































Our balcony.













The breakfast room.











After getting settled, we rode back into town for dinner and walked around. We were having a little trouble with the buses at first - we seemed to keep missing the bus we wanted by a minute or less. We got a lot better at on Sunday.

Sunday was Don's birthday. I thought my gift to him would be doing everything he wanted to do this day. He actually got tired of that :) He would say, "Do you want to do this or go here?" and I would reply, "Whatever you want to do." He really isn't used to me saying that too much and I think he got tired of basically making all the decisions that day, so maybe it wasn't the greatest idea, but my motives were pure.

We saw a little bit of the city before church, but we had decided that for church this day we would avail ourselves of what was reported to be glorious music during the 10:00am mass at the Salzburg Cathedral. We were not disappointed. They used the large organ in the back and had a marvelous choir that brought me to tears within the first couple of notes of the Kyrie. It was the only 'concert' we went to in Salzburg, which is kind of silly, but there you have it.



Salzburg Cathedral. There was a lot of work going on around the cathedral.












The front is draped for some renovations. This is a statue of the Virgin Mary in front.

















When you get the right angle, the angels holding a crown on the cathedral wall look to be crowning Mary.





























We took some very quick pictures during the short time between services.
































The large organ. The lights came on at the very end of the service.






























The next service was starting. The two organs you can see here are half of the four that circle the center section of the cathedral.











Dirndls and lederhosen. These people were actually members of a choir that sang in the service after the 10:00am mass.










The spires of St. Peter's peeking over a building in the courtyard.















St. Peter's
































































































I don't think this was St. Peter's, but it was connected to the graveyard.

















Looking across St. Peter's graveyard you see caves that were used by monks.


































































































Hohensalzburg Fortress overlooks the city.












It's a short, steep, and fast funicular ride up to the fortress.












Hohensalzburg Fortress grounds.





































































The main courtyard well.













There is a marionette museum in the fortress.













We had lunch at the fortress. Happy birthday, Don!












I was having spaghetti, so the napkin seemed like a good precaution.












Views from the fortress.























































The Salzach River. It is not salty, but named for the salt trade that made this area famous.













































An OLD restaurant: the sign refers to when Charlemagne ate here in the year A.D. 803.

















This is a gorgeous mosaic roof that doesn't show that well in this picture.












A saint watching over part of the canal system that has brought water to Salzburg since the 13th century.

































Organ pipes on the outside of a building.

















Mirabell Gardens where a few scenes were shot for The Sound of Music.





























Famous Sound of Music stairs.









































King Leopold's horse trough.

































King Leopold's horse bath - like a car wash for the horses.....












Getreidegasse, famous for its wrought-iron signs.


















If you click on this picture, you can see the Golden Arches hanging inside the wreath of this wrought iron sign. This really made me laugh.
















Street chess.















A street musician.
















Another street musician. They were everywhere.

SIGNS TO KNOW & THE AUTOBAHN

Getting around in a foreign country can be interesting, more so if you don't know the language. I can understand a certain amount of German, but I don't speak it, not really. I was lucky to have Don. After 30+ years away and not speaking German, it returned to him remarkably well. He spent a few weeks before the trip 'refreshing' - I got some 'Speak German in a Week' CD's from the library and he watched a program on PBS called Fokus Deutch religiously. Once he started speaking it, it came back better and better. It was funny, though. The people in the north were so happy to talk with him in German and commented frequently on how good his German was. The farther south we went, all Don would have to do is say one sentence and the Germans in the south and the Austrians would immediately switch to English.

Anyway, on a light note, here are a few signs to know if traveling in German speaking countries:

'Einbahnstrasse' on the arrow seems pretty self-explanatory, but our first day in country I missed it - I blame the lack of sleep and anything else that seems valid! I kept seeing this sign and thought it must be a street that went all around the city. When I finally commented that 'there's that street again,' Don could not contain himself any longer. If you haven't figured it out, it means one way street.







Here is some adolescent boy humor:

Keep entry (or driveway) clear.













Exit (for vehicles)
Abfahrt would be exit for people.










Umleitung - detour. I think I posted this before. This sign was the bane of our driving stint.











The old style horn is the post or mail sign. Gold is also the color for the post/mail.














A mailbox












Obvious













Without the universal female symbol, the WC might not mean anything to you, but that is the most frequently used sign for restrooms.










Just a side note: Many public toilets are pay toilets. This one was a little surprising - exact change is needed. There is a change machine in the hall, but if you were in a hurry? Ugh.















Doesn't this look like a picnic table? It's the Autobahn sign. And just a note on driving in Germany - it was WONDERFUL! The people were courteous and good drivers.
They have to be 19 to get a license and they have to pay a lot of money for one, so I think it makes better drivers on the whole. And the Autobahn is great. For the most part, you are not driving any faster than you do here, but having it posted in kilometers makes it sound like you are going faster: 110 Kilometers = 60-70 mph.







This is the other great thing about Germany and the autobahn:
notice the big trucks ALL IN THE RIGHT LANE! The right lane is for slower traffic and trucks occasionally move out to pass and then return to the right, the middle lane is for going the posted speed, and the left lane is for driving fast. I know, that's how it is here, too, but they actually follow those 'rules' there. I didn't see much tailgating - people know that if they are driving slower then the person coming up, they move to the right.





Don wasn't 100% positive, but he thinks the Autobahn works like this: There are posted speed limits -which in many areas are posted on light boards and change due to weather or congestion. You are free to drive faster than the posted speed. The catch is that, if you are in an accident, your insurance will not cover you if you are driving over the posted speed.