Salzburg Bound.
Aug 15th, 2007 by B.
Didn’t we just get back from vacation? Still, the girls have a couple weeks off in October and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to hit the road. We kept going back & forth between Switzerland and Austria, but in the end Salzburg won out. Here are the top 3 reasons why:
Ok, fine, I’m a geek… but this looks fucking awesome!
From far away you will notice the huge cave entrance 20 m wide and 18 m high. The complete cave system measures over 42 km. Its first part, one km long, displays gigantic ice structures. This part of the cave is open to the public on guided tours. Inside the cave the temperature reaches about -3 degrees Celsius during the summer months.
The mighty castle once belonging to the Archbishop of Salzburg dates back to the 11th century. It offers its visitors attractive guided tours daily including the weapon exhibition.
The 900-year-old Hohensalzburg Fortress, the city’s chief landmark, is the biggest and most fully-preserved fortification in Europe. Built by Archbishop Gebhard during the investiture controversy in 1077, it served to protect the clergy and the population.
Then there are the salt mines and lake district. Am I missing any other must-see things nearby? We’ll have 10 days to explore, so plenty of time to fit other stuff in. Oh, and have any of you been to the Eagle’s Nest? I know it’s close and thought it might be interesting, but then I read that it’s a restaurant now and kind of lost interest…
On this day..
- For Jim. - 2007
- Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. - 2007
- Soon. - 2006
Yes, you’ve missed the best thing in Salzburg: Hellbrun Schloss. I’ve been waiting for you to go to Salzburg so I could recommend it. The tour there of the water features was my favourite thing from my trip round Europe. Just magic - but take a jacket!
While speaking of a few of my favourite things, there’s the Sound of Music tour. That could be quite fun (the pagoda is at Hellbrun).
There’s a crypt built into the cliffs near the town and there’s a bunch of Mozart stuff. Get the tourist card from the tourist office. It’ll save you money on all this stuff.
I ~loved~ Salzburg.
Wow, how the hell did I miss Hellbrun Schloss?? Thanks for pointing it out; I googled it and now can’t wait to go. The crypt sounds interesting too, it’s up next to be searched for.
Just out of curiosity, did you visit the ice cave while you were there? I’m still giddy at the thought of it, and wanting to know if anyone else has been there/done that.
So Salzburg had some of your favorite experiences in your tour of Europe? That’s a pretty hefty recommendation… now I can’t wait for October to get here!
GREAT CITY. We were there for one Christmas holiday. SNOW fell the night we arrived and it became a winter wonderland. Yes, to THE Nest. Saw a place for food but none, that day at least. Great view. If you are “into” Sound of Music at all, take the bus tour. Our guide was hysterical. Perhaps he “adorned” the story a bit. But was truly fun …. and educational, even if NOT all true.
Grüß Gott! (A phrase you will need for your trip to Austria)
sounds like you are onto the salt mine tours. i went to one in Hallein ( where there was also a celtic museum. in the mine we put on white suits and went down a wooden slide (rutsche). it was lots of fun and definitely something you can’t do in the states.
http://www.keltenmuseum.at/info.htm
Looks like the celtic museum is free if you go to the salt mine.
have fun! Salzburg is beautiful.
a
Thanks Lee & Ann. The salt mines in Hallein are the ones I figured we’d go to. Sydney saw their website and got pretty excited about the slides.
I wasn’t sure about the Sound Of Music tour… saw the movie so long ago that I hardly remember it, but it sounds like the tour is campy & fun. We might just have to go.
Dang, we’ll miss you! (We’ll be there in September.) The salt mines are great (actually, they’re in Berchtesgaten.)
Carol
I love Salzburg! If you have a day, go up to Berchtesgaden. It is a bus ride away from Salzburg and near the Eagle’s Nest. I did not go to the Eagle’s Nest, but I did take the boat across the lake, which is between the mountains. It was some of the most amazing scenery that I have every scene. Then you get off the boat at this old monestary where I had the best beer, brat and potato salad of my life.
I also took the Sound of Music Tour. Yes, campy, but hilarious. Also, the bus ride alone is a great way to see the countryside.
I didn’t get to the salt mines, but I have a pamphlet for one here. http://www.salzbergwerk-berchtesgaden.de. It says “…Dressed in the traditional uniforms of miners, you take the mine train far into the mountain. Skimming across a salt lake on a raft. Using downhill slides to slip from tunnel to tunnel.”
Panoramatours.com offers a number of tours. I did “Barvarian Mountains tour”. It went around a few of the mountain towns, and to the carpark below Eagles Nest. On reflection, I would now do one of the others, but it was quite pleasant.
The discount card I mentioned is called a Salzburg Card. It saved me quite a bit.
The crypt was okay, but not anything too interesting. 4 years ago, there was a big archeological dig under one of the churches (maybe the Dom?) that’s probably still going on. I find that history stuff interesting, but maybe younger people wouldn’t.
You’ve got me digging through my travel file and getting all nostalgic now!
Gruss Gott.
I think you should all be congratulated on the interesting comments in your messages. This is one of the better pages - although at our age we are not quite into the use of some words which when we were your age were not considered right to use - but seem to be common place now !!
Carol’s comment number 6 re salt mines. Actually there are salt mines in both places - one each side of the mountain.
Re Sound of Music Tours - there is an American couple in Berchtesgaden who run Sound of Music and Eagle’s Nest Tours - Christine and David Harper - and they are very popular ( the tours as well!). They are situated the opposite side of the new roundabout (finished at last !) in front of the Berchtesgaden Bahnhof (railway station) and they are well worth talking to.
If you have never been to Berchtesgadener Land or Salzburg go when you are young - because you will then have some wonderful memories to relate to your kids when you go back when you are older (in our case - we take the grandchildren).
auf Wiedersehen !
Bob
ps The Eagle’s Nest is not just a restaurant - it’s a whole new experience !
If I’m allowed - try http://www.berchtesgaden.co.uk
Bob
First, I am so jealous as this area was my favorite vacation of all times. That said, at the castle, there are evening Mozart concerts. The food at the castle is just average but the concert was well worth it just to walk around the castle all lite up in the dark.
Outisde of Salzburg is the Salzkammergut area, which is the lake district. There are boat tours (if it’s not too cold then). We stayed at the Weissen Rossl (http://www.weissesroessl.at/) in St. Wolfgang. Although expensive, it was wonderful and they did have a couple furnished apartments instead of the traditional hotel rooms but you can still use the hotel spa, pools (indoor and heated outdoor pool which sits in the lake). The food was good and the breakfast incredible. Nearby was Jospeh’s Restaurant, where I had the best food I have ever eaten. There are tons of hiking trails in the area. Next door is St. Gilgen, a quaint town which has a funicular up the mountain so you can hike up there or just see the Alps all the way to Switzerland. I could go on and on so just drop me a note if you want more info.
Again, so jealous!
The catacombs!
And yes, you must do the salt mines, the kids will LOVE it — great fun!!
Yes, I did the Eagle’s Nest — it was not a restaurant when we went, if I remember right. The bus ride up IS terrifying, but I have a height thing, so … whatever. It was interesting, and of course the view was really something.
Well it sounds like Eagles Nest is a must see, and I love catacombs! I still haven’t come across anyone who’s been to the ice cave, but I’m still going. I can be the first to write a review!
And wow, Im Weissen Rössl am Wolfgangsee is swank!
Hi B! My two cents: You might take 45 minutes and visit the Natural History Museum. They have a great taxidermy exhibit filled with freaks of nature: Unicorns, Cyclops, and offspring of animals that were never supposed to have got it on in the first place. It’s a refreshing switch from history and art.
A great resource of where to eat in Salzburg (hey you gotta eat!) you’ll find here from an ex-neighbor of mine in Munich: http://www.deliciousdays.com/archives/2006/05/08/salzburg-mozart-and-beyond/