Category: Travel

We arrived in Auckland, New Zealand on the evening of Tuesday, November 20th. After a month in Australia and Fiji, we were somewhat used to driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road. As a result, we had a chance to relax and enjoy the ride into the city. Our hotel was on the water in the revitalized wharves area so as soon as we were checked in we headed out exploring.

Originally the Viaduct Lighter Basin was a run-down commercial fishing harbor. Redeveloped and renamed Viaduct Harbour, this part of the city is very alive with apartments, shops and plenty of restaurants. Even on a Tuesday night, many were full with waiting lists for dinner. It was here that we discovered the “unburger”, and it was delicious. In amongst the other restaurants was Fokker Bros., a casual upscale burger place. They have a nice selection of burgers – The Fokker Cheese, The Buffalo Chicken, The Bacon Mac ‘N’ Cheese, and the Kiwi Black, just to name a few. The unburger replaces the bun with thick sections of Iceberg Lettuce. Wow, that was great. You don’t fill up on the bun and you get a great burger!

Besides the food, we found time to visit the Maritime Museum in Auckland. Inside the museum is a full-size replica of boats used in the discovery of the islands from Polynesia over 1,000 years ago. At the other end of the spectrum is a static display of the New Zealand yacht from the 1988 America Cup races. It’s huge, requiring a crew of 40+; this monster dominates the plaza adjacent to the museum’s entrance.

After a few days in Auckland, we headed south; our first stop was to visit some glowworm caves. The site we selected was Ruakuri Cave. Legend has it that Ruakuri Cave was first discovered 400-500 years ago by young Maori hunting for birds. He was attacked by wild dogs just outside the original cave entrance – Ruakuri loosely translates into Cave of Dogs. You enter the cave and descend down a long, circular set of stairs.

During the tour, we received an interesting education about the glowworms, their lifecycle and how/why they glow. Then the lights were turned off and we saw the blue glow of thousands of individual worms. It was amazing. Another interesting experience was listening to the underground river and waterfalls in the cave. Sometimes a distant rumble, it became a thundering roar as we got closer to the falls. Ruakuri Cave was an interesting and worthwhile adventure for us.

Our next adventure was getting to our next destination, Rotorua. Looking at the map it seemed simple enough. Head east then northeast on Hwy 30 all the way to Rotorua… I figured 2½ hours tops. Well, first off, Hwy 30 is a two-lane road for the most part, and it goes through plenty of towns, so after about four hours, we knew our original estimate of a bit off. Then we got to the junction with Hwy 5, just miles outside of Rotorua – there was a nice highway worker pulling a barricade across the road. A washout had the road blocked.

We couldn’t find any easy alternate route, but the highway person claimed there was an ‘easy bypass’ that was ‘just down the road’. With that, we were off. Before we knew it, we were traveling across increasingly less improved roads, then gravel roads and then dirt roads. When the dirt roads started getting dicey we also realized that we hadn’t seen any other cars or people for some time… and it was starting to get dark. Even the cows and sheep looked at us in interest as if they were saying, “What the heck are those people doing way the heck out here?”

Obviously, we made it out at some point, but we considered trying to head back the way we’d come several times. Because I was unsure if I could find my way back, and I was concerned about running into New Zealand hillbillies (cue the New Zealand banjo music…), we continued forward.

Two things that stood out from our time in Rotorua were a visit to a cultural center and a ride in a float plane over the volcanic region around Rotorua. From the plane, we could clearly see a rift that went across an old volcano, through a lake and a river. We were also able to plainly see other impacts of recent seismic events. It was an enlightening and beautiful flight, and taking off and landing on a lake made the flight all that more interesting.

We had a tour and traditional dinner at the cultural center. The Fairy Spring was very interesting. The natural spring here produces a huge amount of water daily. At one spot the water wells up in a pool that has blue-grey sand on the bottom. Eddies and currents from the upwelling of water made it appear to be boiling water – it was actually very cool. We also had a chance to observe several Kiwi birds that evening. They’re actually nocturnal, flightless birds, so spying them on the ground in the dark was difficult, but we thought it was something special.

Related blogs
New Zealand’s South Island – Nelson
New Zealand’s South Island – West Coast

Cactus

Did you ever wonder if the pointy end of a cactus plant was actually pointy… or sharp?

Julie, Sharon and I had left Carlsbad Caverns National Park earlier in the day and were on our way to Las Cruses, New Mexico. Idling down the highway at… (well the speed limit was 75 MPH…), anyway there is a beautiful view of the Guadalupe Mountains north of the highway. We found a place that had a great view and pulled over for a photo shoot.

What made the scene so appealing to the passengers was the scrubby vegetation and the barbed wire fence in the foreground of the mountains. This was an authentic southwest setting! We got some great photos.

So, about the cactus… I don’t want to mention who went first, but ‘someone’ mentioned that the cactus looked sharp, and then proceeded to touch the end of the spiny leaf… ‘Ouch!!’ It turns our that the pointy leaf is sharp. After some discussion about how hard you had to touch it… or how softly, the other someone proceeded to touch the end of the spiny leaf… ‘Ouch!!’ Seeing a pattern developing, I avoided the cactus.

The city of Cairns, at the base of the Cape York Peninsula in northeastern Australia, is known as the Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. However, don’t let that title make you think the reef is all the area has to offer. We spent a wonderful couple of days in town and out exploring the surrounding area. One note on pronunciation – we were coached on pronouncing “Cairns” correctly – ‘The R is silent…’ (Not sure that help us that much… the more we tried, the worse we got.)

Because the area has such a strong draw for international tourists, there is a pleasant array of different restaurants. We had no problem finding places to eat, especially down along the wharf. After dinner one evening we headed over to the ‘Night Market’, located between Abbott Street and The Esplanade. The market is a colorful experience and has just about anything you might want. Julie found the ideal ‘Australia hat’ with the required kangaroo embroidered on the front.

High Adventure

Most of our traveling companions headed for Kuranda via the old scenic railroad and returned by the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway one morning. Julie and I went climbing in the morning and white water rafting in the afternoon. So, where does one go climbing in downtown Cairns? To the casino, of course. We headed across the street from the Cairns Pullman Hotel to the Reef Hotel Casino and up to the third level. They have an interesting center there called the Zoom and Wildlife Dome that sits above the Casino. Koalas, snakes, crocodiles and a huge variety of birds populate the wildlife portion of the dome. Above all that are several levels of climbing lines, ladders, walls and such.

We got harnessed up and clipped in our safety lines and we were off. We had a great time climbing above the exhibits, even the crocodiles. (Thankfully, as we traversed the zip-line above the crocodiles, they were not actually leaping and snapping at us as the brochure showed.)

Once we were at the top of the dome, several stories above the floor, we headed outside. For the daring, you get a great view of the city, the harbor, and the surrounding terrain. If you really trust your safety equipment you can lean back and dangle over the empty space between you and the streets below. Oh, yeah. That was a rush!

White Water

After lunch (we were hungry after all that climbing), we headed for the Barron River for some more adventure. We started off just below the Barron Gorge Hydroelectric Dam with some safety training.

With helmets and life jackets in place, we pushed off. Our guide, Yoshi, had us run through procedures and instructions for paddling a few more times before we hit the rapids. At this time of the year, the river only has Class 3 rapids, but that was sure enough for us. We paddled, got tossed around, bounced the raft off rocks and generally had a great time. While no one from our raft ended up in the water by accident, some other rafters weren’t so lucky. We did leave the rafts a couple of times to ‘aggressively float’ through some of the less demanding sections. One section sucked you down under the water and spit you out the other side. That was awesome.

The water and weather were perfect. In the end, as we were slowly floating to the exit point for the rafts, Yoshi explained that crocodiles were not an issue in the Barron River. At that point, we were floating under a large section of overhanging trees as Yoshi explained that the real danger was from pythons dropping into rafts from overhanging branches. We quickly paddled back to the middle of the river. The Barron River rafting experience definitely gets two thumbs up!

Great Barrier Reef

The first thing you have to understand about snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef is that you have to get there first. It took us two hours to get to the reef via ‘fast catamaran’. Great Adventures has a semi-permanent platform we used as the base. Because there was some risk of jellyfish, we put on ‘sting-suits’ made of lycra before getting in the water. (The suits are very flattering… at least that’s what we were told). The water was nice and the abundance of coral and fish was incredible.

In addition to snorkeling, Julie took a ride on a semi-submergible that she described as amazing. I went out the second time after lunch and was rewarded as the light overcast cleared and the sea was lit up with bright sunshine. Whoa! Here I’d thought the morning was great; there are no words to describe to a variety of life and color! When the ship’s horn sounded at 3:30, signaling our return, we grudgingly climbed back on board.

Farming – Crocodile Style

With Julie’s farming roots, we were looking forward to visiting a crocodile ranch. Hartley’s Crocodile Adventure fit the bill. Floating along on the placid waters we were questioning the need for the steel cage material on the sides of the boat. Then we were told that it was feeding time and some red meat was hung over the side on a section of rope. There was a splash and a monster of a crocodile leaped out of the water and snapped his jaws shut on the meat. I found myself asking if the steel was going to be strong enough to keep that guy out if they ran out of food.

They raise crocodiles here for food and their hide. We had crocodile several times in northern Australia and it was pretty good. Crocodile hide is valued and fetches a pretty penny when used in footwear and women’s handbags. Fortunately, I didn’t need a new handbag.

Hartley’s also had a python demonstration that I took advantage of since I’d never had a python around my neck before. It was interesting, but I’d only recommend it in a supervised environment. The skin was not as rough as I expected, but I could sure feel the muscles under that skin. I was careful not to tick it off.

A Definite Must Do

I hope this gives you a good overview of our time in the Cairns area. There is so much to do here, not just the barrier reef. This northeast corner of Australia is a definite must see if you make it to Australia, we certainly enjoyed it.

More photos from Cairns can be found here.

The Ghan Train runs from Adelaide to Darwin, across some of the most challenging and desolate parts of the Australian Outback. We boarded the train in Alice Springs, which is just about the mid-point on the route.

The Ghan Train

“The Ghan” is a sort of throwback experience to the days of luxury train travel. From the moment we boarded the train I felt like we were in an Agatha Christie novel. As we were settling into our ‘cabin’, the consigner stopped by to explain everything and answer our questions.

Lucky for us, the bar was the next coach forward and the restaurant was just in front of that. First stop, the bar. We sat with many of our traveling companions from the group and had a drink before dinner. Meals and drinks are included, so what the heck! Our dinner was elegant and delicious; Linen tablecloths, fine silver, and stemware. This is definitely the way to traverse the Australian Outback.

By the time we’d returned to our cabin, it had been set up for sleeping with an upper and lower berth. We drew straws and Julie got the upper berth. Then we drew straws three more times until Julie got the lower berth. (Funny how that worked out…) While I slept great, the swaying of the train woke Julie up several times through the night. Before we knew it, it was time to get up.

Like dinner the evening before, breakfast was delicious and the coffee was hot. We had a planned stop at Katherine Gorge at 9:00 AM. I liked to think that they were taking on water and coal for the engine, but the engines were diesel and it was simply an opportunity to see the gorge. Where was Agatha Christie when you need her?

Kathrine Gorge

1,000 km north of Alice Springs, Katherine Gorge is a great stop for a little sightseeing. Actually a series of seven separate gorges, Katherine Gorge was just entering the wet season. Over the coming months, the water will be upwards of 18 feet deeper than it was when we were there in November. We cruised two of the gorges, walking between the two because of the low water levels. We had a glimpse of ancestral drawings on the gorge wall along the way. The geology of the gorges is interesting and the views stunning. Before we knew it, we were back on the train and headed another 300 km down the tracks for Darwin.

Kakadu National Park

Kakadu, located several hours east of Darwin, is almost 20,000 square kilometers – that’s about half the size of Switzerland, so we only got to see a small portion of what this place has to offer. The park offers cave paintings, the oldest of which are up to 20,000 years old. The park also has more than 10,000 crocodiles – a tenth of all the crocs in the Northern Territory! This was the start of our ‘beware of crocodiles’ portion of the trip. If there’s water, there are crocodiles. Over the following week, we saw countless crocks, the largest was about 18 feet.

The cycle of the region is for the floodplains to flood during the wet season with water covering thousands of square kilometers. Gradually the water retreats and the floodplains dry – this is the dry season. No winter, spring, summer, and fall – just wet and dry. As we visited at the end of the dry season, much of the wildlife had retreated and concentrated in the remaining wetlands and rivers.

We took the Yellow Water Cruise one afternoon and saw plenty of crocks in the water, water buffalo on the floodplain and tons of birds. At one point we came across the remains of a large water buffalo killed by a crock.

PWhistling ducks and magpie geese were abundant as we cruised through the wetlands. The guide on the boat kept pointing out different birds and sometimes got excited – ‘ooww, there’s a blue-eyed ring-nosed fish trumpeter…’ or something similar. We must have had ‘bird people’ on the boat because they also got excited… ‘Frank, look, that’s a male frog darter, what impressive plumage…’ (Frankly, they mostly looked the same to me). The camera clicked away.

Another notable aspect of the park is the abundance of termite mounds. These monsters can be over 25 feet tall. We stopped at one that was maybe 13 feet high and had our pictures taken with it. I kept looking over my shoulder for the swarm coming out of mound to carry us away, but it never came. Before coming to Australia, i’d always thought the mounds were sort of crusty-soft or sandy, but they’re not. Through some chemical process, the termites build the walls of the mound to be nearly as hard as a rock. I knocked on one to get an idea of how hard it was – it was solid. Then, when I thought I heard a rumble of termites massing for an attack from inside the mound I ran for the safety of the bus.

We heard a story of a young guy, who may have consumed some number to beers, who then drove his car into a termite mound. His car was destroyed and the mound remained. There is no truth to the rumor that he was then carried away and into the mound by soldier termites…

Nourlangie Rock Walk (Burrungkuy)

The Nourlangie Rock Wall is one reason why Kakadu is World Heritage-listed for outstanding cultural values. With its stunning rock paintings, this famous site documents life in the region from 20,000 years ago to the first contact with European explorers. We took a walk through this area; it was like exploring an outdoor museum, viewing several different examples of art from different periods.

Unfortunately, those of us that left our bug nets behind were frequently attacked by swarming insects. The bugs can be one of the distractions at this time of the year. A lightweight bug net is an east remedy. Add to that the heat and humidity and you can understand why we didn’t linger there too long. While we were there we did see some incredible wall painting.

In order to get a bird’s eye view of the park, Julie and I took a ride in an airplane over the park. The area is a mix of rock formations separated by broad wetlands or narrow rivers. Australia had done a wonderful job of preserving the area in its natural state. The flight provides a wonderful perspective on the diversity of the terrain and the scale of distance. There is little sign of human presence outside of several small towns.

Australia’s Northern Territory is a wonderfully diverse region that shouldn’t be missed. If you have the time, The Ghan Train is the best way to get there and enjoy a unique experience in the process.

Northern Territory Photos

For more information, check out the following links
Ghan Train
Katherine Gorge
Kakadu National Park

“Ayers Rock”, known as Uluru by the aboriginal people in the area, is a huge sandstone monolith that’s the centerpiece of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. The name ‘Uluru’ is the name given by the aboriginal people, however, it has no specific meaning. Uluru is just what they call it. This massive sandstone monument rises over 1,100 feet above the surrounding land and is almost six miles in circumference. So, you might ask, how does a huge sandstone monolith like this just appear in the middle of the desert? That’s a good question.

Geologists told us that a while back (we’re talking a couple of hundred million years ago) the center of current day Australia was a huge inland sea. Over time, sediments were compressed by the weight of the water and the sediments themselves and turned into a layer of sandstone.

Then, during a period of tectonic movement, the land folded like a ‘U’. The exposed ends of the ‘U’ eventually eroded away, leaving a stub of the sandstone layer sticking up out of the ground. The other leg of the ‘U’ is the Kata Tjuta (“The Olgas”) formation about 25km away. You can find more information at Austraila National Parks website.

We explored several different sections of the rock. I want to make it clear that we did our exploring in the mornings because the afternoon temperature hit 106 while we were there. Fortunately, in the late mornings, it was still a relatively cool 92. After noon, we made a bee-line for the resort and spent the afternoon relaxing in the lounge and swimming in the pool. We consider ourselves to be smart travelers!

The most interesting walk that we took was the Kuniya Walk on the southwest side. The distance is no more than 2km round trip and has a great deal to offer. We saw cave paintings under a broad overhang and heard aboriginal stories of how the rock was formed and how various marking and formations came to be. Walking along the well-marked trails we made our way to the Mutitjula waterhole, home to an ancestral wanampi water snake.

Not being a bird-watcher, I can’t tell you the names of all the interesting birds we saw, but there were many and they were all new to me. However, as an amateur photographer, I can tell you that the colors, shadows and bright contrasts made the entire experience wonderful.

For more pictures take a look at the Uluru Photo Album

As a result of our Facebook and Instagram posts over the past two weeks, we’ve gotten multiple questions regarding where we were and how the keck we got there. I’m writing this post to hopefully give some background on where we are today and how we got here.

Where are we? Well, we’re in Australia. More specifically, we’re in Jabiru, Northern Territory, Australia, just outside Kakadu National Park. How did we get here? Well, let me tell you, it’s been a long trip so far.

October 24 – 29th

We left from Toronto on Oct 24th, flying through Chicago and Los Angles on the way to Melbourne, Australia. With the long flight across the Pacific Ocean (16 hours) and crossing the International Date Line, we ended up landing in Melbourne on Friday the 26th. After we were situated in our hotel, we spent the rest of Friday and Saturday exploring Melbourne. Here’s a city that is not at all what we expected. It’s an interesting mix of old and new with quaint streets and blocks of skyscrapers. This is a clean city with a wonderful mix of architecture and culture – a fantastically friendly city.

On Sunday the 29th, Julie took an all-day tour of the Great Ocean Road. Me, I stayed in bed with flu symptoms. The Great Ocean Road was going to be one of the highlights for me, but Julie did a great job of capturing some stellar pictures for me to pine over.

October 30th – 31st

Fortunately, I got to sleep in on Tuesday as we had a mid-day flight from Melbourne to Hobart in Tasmania. After landing, we took a nice walking tour of Hobart’s historic waterfront district. (see Hello Tasmania ) It was ironically, Halloween the following day when we got to see our first Tasmanian Devil at the Tasmanian Conservation Park, en route to Port Arthur. These are cute little creatures until you get close enough to see their teeth. Then, watching them tear into their lunch consisting of a leg of some animal…, well. I can tell you that they lost any semblance of cuteness.

The story of Port Arthur and the life of those interned there is interesting. This place housed repeat offenders and political prisoners. There was no escape. The one land-bridge to the rest of Tasmania was guarded by a line of chained dogs. Regardless, the terrain is so challenging that most that made it past the dogs returned hungry and dehydrated after a few days. The community was close to self-sufficient out of necessity. If they wanted a new building because they needed to store more food, they designed the building. Then they quarried the stone and built it.

November 1st – 2nd

Adelaide and Kangaroo Island were our home for the next few days. The city of Adelaide is a small town with a bigger city feel. Our group took a ferry from Cape Jervis across to Penneshaw on Kangaroo Island. There were loads of seals at Seal Harbor Conservation Park and loads more land animals in Flinders Chase National Park. The winds were blowing and it was cool, but an awesome day.

November 3rd – 5th

Saturday morning we flew over 1,000 miles traveling from Adelaide to Alice Springs and then on to Ayers Rock. The flight provides some perspective to the size of this country. While we saw Uluru of Ayers Rock from the distance, we spent the afternoon exploring the area and getting used to the heat. We stopped at a viewing sight at sunset, but the weather wasn’t cooperating. We saw a colorful display of lightning across the desert, but the clouds kept the sunset hidden. We did, however, enjoy some wonderful snacks and champagne while we watched nature’s lightning show.

Several of our traveling companions elected to strike out at 4:45 AM on camels to see the sunrise. Julie and I chose the ‘sleeping in option’. We got up sometime after 4:30 AM and had breakfast before heading out on a 9 AM tour of Uluru. The weather was fantastic with clear blue skies and temperatures in the mid-90s. In addition to learning about the geology of the area, we saw the rock up close, viewed 12,000-year-old cave paintings and learned of the cultural significance the rock holds for aboriginal people.

We traveled most of the day by bus on November 5th. After passing through Collins Station, Alice Springs greeted up late in the afternoon. There are several notable galleries of native art in the city that we had time to browse through. Before we knew it, the time to board the train was upon us. Dinner time saw us heading north out of Alice Springs on the Ghan Train en route to Darwin.

November 6th

There were a lot of miles to cover overnight. Traveling on the Ghan Train is somewhat like traveling in a 19th-century book. The train has a wonderfully classic look-and-feel to it. Our compartment had stacked bunks, but it was an interesting experience. The linen tablecloths, hot coffee, and breakfast all added to the nostalgic experience from the day before. After a stop of several hours to cruise the Katherine Gorge, we were back on the train heading for Darwin.

After a quiet morning in Darwin, we headed for Jabiru outside of Kakadu National Park. This brings you up to date on how we ended up in Jabiru on the US Election Day, 2018.

We’ll get more photos and blogs posted in the coming days.
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When we arrived in Hobart, Tasmania mid-day today (Oct 30th)m we new that the Tasmanian Devill was iconic Tasmania. However, we were a bit surprsed when we discovered a Tasmanian Devil sculpture in the baggage claim (luggage arrival) area. No real marsupials in sight however.

Hobart is a city of about 260,000 on the southeast coast of Tasmania. The whole island has a population of 520,000 which isn’t surprising considering the ruggedness of the terrain and the location. The city is as far south as Portsmouth, NH and hilly as the Adirondack Mountains. We really just had time for a walking tour of the city today, but what we saw was fascinating.

This really was a penal colony for criminals from England and Ireland in the 1800s. Rumor has it that after the American Revolution, The UK had to find a not drop off point for their criminals, and hey… they had this new place called Australia. Hobart was isolated and made a great penal colony. Murder dictated a life sentence, I guess that was reasonable. Burning down a house netted fourteen years labor. Lesser offenses such as theft of turnips, bread or a woman’s handkerchief warranted only seven years of labor.

The harbor is beautiful with many original buildings still standing. The city has done a great job of repurposing building over two centuries. The sandstone buildings are in remarkable condition and have reportedly never needed cleaning. (The facades… not the insides) This is the result of high-quality sandstone available in Tasmanian quarries, the climate, and lack of industrial pollution and the resulting acids. These sandstone buildings are original warehouse from the early 1800s.Today they are taverns and restaurants.

As we crossed back into Germany from Austria, we traveled through this region and visited the legendary Eagle’s Nest fortress. We arrived early and were on one of the first busses to the entrance. Access to the park area is limited – you arrive at the welcome center and park your car (or bus in our case). Once you’ve purchased your entry ticket, you board a park bus for the trip to the entrance to the Eagle’s Nest.

The fortress was built during the Second World War as a retreat and command center for Hitler. The only access is via a long tunnel that was cut through the base of the mountain and then up an ornate elevator. The tunnel is large enough to accommodate an automobile, and high ranking officials were frequently driven into the mountain and dropped off at the elevator. We walked.

Exiting the elevator, I was struck by the size of the place. This is where my cinema bias from the movie “Where Eagles Dare” came into play. I recalled that Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood were running all over the place; up and down stairwells, down long halls and into numerous rooms where they hid. Well, the reality is that this place is much smaller than expected but still beautiful and interesting.

We walked through the public areas including the great room. Our guide provided interesting insight and gave us a solid historical perspective on the building and function of the retreat. However, stepping outside, we the best part – the view was awesome.

Whichever direction we looked, we had an incredible view. At an elevation of 1,835 m (6,020 ft.), the Eagle’s Nest (Kehlsteinhaus) sits high above the surrounding landscapes. The group of us walked up the path outside the Eagle’s Nest and captured stunning pictures. After about 30 minutes, we headed down the elevator. In less than an hour since we’d arrived there was a mass of visitors that had been dropped off by subsequent busses. It was a good thing that we got on that first bus and beat the crowds.

Munich – Again

By mid-afternoon, we were back in Munich where we’d started this tour over a week earlier. We had a nice dinner planned at the Ratskeller Restaurant and we stopped for a beer with several of our traveling companions on the way. Dinner was more like a gathering of old friends than a farewell to traveling companions who’d been strangers a week earlier.

Along the Autostrasse

Sunday morning was clear and warm in Vienna, so we had our breakfast outside, along the Danube River. Then it was time to climb back into the bus and head for Salzburg. About an hour outside of Vienna we stopped and hopped on a boat for a cruise up the Danube. We’d been following and crossing the Danube since leaving Munich a week earlier.

Cruising along the rural wine country in Austria was a completely different experience from the bridges in Budapest. Passing through the verdant hillsides and small towns between Kerms to Weißenkirchen was relaxing and a harbinger for the small town feel of Salzburg that was ahead.

There were two stops on the road to Salzburg. The first was in Melk where we stopped to get a look at the Abbey and as a bonus, we watched a strange version of curling being played in a parking lot with what looked like traffic cones. That’s something you don’t see every day. Next, we had lunch at a rest stop along autostrasse, east of Linz, Austria. The food was good, but the view from the deck outside was fantastic. We could see beautiful, rolling green hills out across the Danube. It was awesome.

Sound of Music

A great deal of what we saw in Salzburg was related to the Sound of Music. When Julie and I watched our grandkids earlier this spring, I enjoyed watching The Sound of Music with Sydney, our five-year-old grand-daughter. Let me clarify that… I enjoyed watching the Sound of Music the first three or four times. Beyond that, I had ‘… the hills are alive…’ echoing in my head even when I tried to sleep.

The first stop was Mondsee, about 45 minutes outside Salzburg. This is a little town and the church from the wedding scene sits smack in the middle of town. There’s a beautiful lake here as well and we all enjoyed walking and exploring the town and relaxing by the lake.

Salzburg Walking Tour

On arriving in Salzburg the first thing that struck me was that this was a much smaller city than where we’d spent the previous week. Munich, Prague, Budapest and even Vienna had a big city feel to them. Here was Salzburg which looked like a miniature version of its big-city cousins, but it was small and welcoming.

The exploring started right off as we headed for Schloss Mirabell (Mirabell Palace and gardens). From the top of the stairs, the garden spread out before us. These are the stairs from the last part of the “Do Re Mi” song. In “The Sound of Music”, Maria and the children dance around the Pegasus Fountain in front of the palace, singing most of “Do Re Mi.” It’s at the end of the song when they stand on the steps here and sing the song’s final bars. There is a rose garden north (behind) the stairs that had some significance, but neither Julie nor I can remember what it was. This is also where we got our first good look at the fortress towering over Salzburg.

Motzart-Wohnhaus

We continued through the gardens for quite some time. Even I had to admit the designs and colorful flowers were beautiful, and I’m not big on gardens. One block ahead from the Mirabell exit sits the house where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart lived until he moved to Vienna in 1781. Most of the house was destroyed in October 1944 during an air raid. In the 1990s the Mozart Residence was reconstructed true to the original building plans.

The walking tour continued through the town and crossed the Salzach River. Here we were introduced to the Old Town Hall and #9 Getreidegasse, the birthplace of Mozart. Born here on January 27, 1756, Mozart grew up and lived in the third-floor apartment until 1773. At that time the family moved to the “Mozart Residence” on Makartplatz Square. You can see that Salzburg is very proud of the Mozart connection from the restaurants, shops, and historical sites. You can even purchase a chocolate candy referred to as Mozart balls.

Residenzplatz

Residenzplatz Square is the site of a former ancient Roman Forum. Completed in 1661, the 45-foot-tall Horse Fountain is in the center of the square. Four horses leap out of the base and Trion spouts water from a seashell at the top of the fountain. The upper section is a replica of Bernini’s famous Triton Fountain in Rome and it is the largest Baroque fountain located outside of Italy. Back to “The Sound of Music”, the Horse Fountain in the square was where Maria splashes her hand while performing ‘I Have Confidence in Me’. A supporting platform had to be built for the movie since the walls of the fountain are much too tall to allow splashing.

The square was also used in the movie to show Nazi soldiers (the ‘bad men’, according to our grand-daughter) marching while their flag hangs above the entrance to the Old Residenz Palace. Picturing the movie in my head, it reminded me that Austria was annexed by Germany in 1938. I need to check, but I think this was part of the deal or appeasement worked out in hopes of preventing war.

Unfortunately, construction prevented easy access to a large portion of the square. In 1602 the Archbishop built the New Residenz (Neugebäude) on the Eastside of the square to serve as his guest house. The building is home to the Glockenspiel Bell Tower, Heimatwerk Shop, and the Salzburg Panorama 1929 painted by Johann Michael Sattler. The Panorama boasts a series of stunning 360-degree panoramic paintings of many European cities made during the early 1800s. We didn’t have an opportunity to visit these sites.

Marian Statue

It gets a little complicated, but we walked through the courtyard of the Old Residenz Palace and out a side entrance to the Domplaz- a square adjacent to the Salzburg Cathedral. Here we saw the Marian statue that was created by Wolfgang and Johann Baptist Hagenauer in the 1760s. Standing in the middle of the arches leading to Franziskanergasse, the Marian statue appears to be crowned by the crown on the side of the cathedral. There was quite a bit of competition to get just the right photograph of the alignment.

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Hohensalzburg Fortress

The Hohensalzburg Fortress was originally built in 1077. Like many other famous buildings in Europe, it was expanded and rebuilt numerous times.

In the year 1077, archbishop Gebhard had the fortress built and thus changed the Salzburg skyline forever. In the years which followed, his successors drove the ongoing development of the fortress architecture. The complex acquired the appearance we recognize today under archbishop Leonhard von Keutschach in 1500.

The original purpose of the fortress was to protect the principality and the archbishops from hostile attacks. In all of these years, it has never been captured by foreign troops

Dinner in Stiftskeller St. Peter

Our dinner was at a restaurant within the walls of St Peter’s Abbey in Salzburg, Austria. It is claimed to be the oldest inn in Central Europe because of a supposed mention of it in the Carmina anthology by the English scholar Alcuin of York, issued in 803 AD when he served Emperor Charlemagne and Bishop Arno of Salzburg… The worlds oldest restaurants

Photo album is available at Salzburg Photos