Ahhh...hello from the tropical weather of Austria! Apparently it's been one of the warmest Aprils here on record so it's been wonderful to experience Austria with the warm temps of summer but minus the crowds of summer! So, I am now officially travelling solo for 8 weeks. I left Christine behind in Schladming, Austria where she will be studying at a Bible School for 2 months. 
After I dropped off my little sister on her first day of school I spent an extra day in Schladming to explore the hiking trails in the area. I think I bit off a little more than I could chew because I picked a steep, uphill for 2 1\2 hours trail that was way beyong what I could do that day! So when I came to a form in the trail with the uphill trail to my left and the panorama trail to my right I of course chose the right one! I'd gotten so high already though that the view was pretty good from there! Needless to say I had some sore muscles the next day!
So travelling alone made me made me a little nervous at first but now that I've been on my own for a week already I'm starting to get used to it. I no longer have someone around to tell me when I have jam on my face or lettuce in my teeth but I think I can manage to stay presentable on my own as well! I think it also helps that I'll be visiting friends along the way so I won't be completely alone for 8 weeks, and hey, you never know who I might meet along the way as well! While in Salzburg I spent some time with an irish girl who was sharing the hostel dorm with me, so I'm already off to a good start!
Salzburg, like most of Austria, is a beautiful place. I wasn't really sure what to expect when I arrived, but it is one of the nicest cities I've been to. It's a little smaller, population-wise than most of the others, but it's locale and charm was really set it apart from some of the other cicties I've been to here. It's kind of like a Calgary, only because it's situated on the edge of the Alps, but it's way better because it has so much more history and culture and it's all condensed into a small area in the centre of the city.
Salzburg is famous for two reasons. One being that Mozart was born and bred there and as a result there's a huge fine arts music scene in Slazburg. It's not unusual to see people walking around with orchestral instruments in hand.
The second reason is that Salzburg is where the "Sound of Music" was filmed in 1964. So I could not very well visit Salzburg without paying homage to a classic like the Sound of Music! I signed up for the official "Sound of Music" tour with my irish roomate and was pleasantly surprised by what we saw. We visited the Mansion where the Trapp family in the movie lived. In actuality, they used two homes, one for the outside and one for the inside. The outdoor terrace scenes with the lake were all filmed at the Leopoldskron Manor in Salzburg and the interior scenes were all filmed at another mansion closer to Hellbrunn Schloß. We also drove by the Nonnberg Abbey and the best part was that they drove us outside the city to the Lake district where thay filmed a lot of their mountain scenery and it's also where the church in which Maria and the Captain get married is located. The countryside up there was so amazing! 
The former german chancellor (Helmut Kohl) even used to have a cottage at one of the lakes up there. I could see why Maria was so inspired to skip through the mountains in her free time I almost felt like doing the same but some other Canadian girls on the tour went for it instead so I just laughed at them instead! The best part, however, was when we just randomly stopped at an outdoor summer luge track on one of the hills overlooking a lake. For 4 euros we could try luging down the side of an Austrian mountain, and while I hemmed and hawed about it for awhile I decided at the last minute to give it a try. I was not disappointed! It was a short run but definately a lot of fun! I unfortunately didn't get a pic of me on the track tho...That's another downside to travelling alone, you don't always get a pic of yourself doing stuff or standing next to something cool. I've asked people on the street to do it for me but I have yet to encounter another tourist who can take a picture properly for me! By this I mean they always cut the top or bottom off or they don't tell me when they're taking it so I'm not looking...where are you Christine! Oh well, I'll have make do!
So my hostel in Salzburg was about 20 mins from the centre, but lucky for me I had bought a Salzburg Card which granted me free public transportation and free entrance into a lot of museums and sights for a 24 hour period. I definately made sure to get my money's worth out of that card on my second day there! I spent the entire day just hopping from one museum\sight to the next!
After I dropped off my little sister on her first day of school I spent an extra day in Schladming to explore the hiking trails in the area. I think I bit off a little more than I could chew because I picked a steep, uphill for 2 1\2 hours trail that was way beyong what I could do that day! So when I came to a form in the trail with the uphill trail to my left and the panorama trail to my right I of course chose the right one! I'd gotten so high already though that the view was pretty good from there! Needless to say I had some sore muscles the next day!So travelling alone made me made me a little nervous at first but now that I've been on my own for a week already I'm starting to get used to it. I no longer have someone around to tell me when I have jam on my face or lettuce in my teeth but I think I can manage to stay presentable on my own as well! I think it also helps that I'll be visiting friends along the way so I won't be completely alone for 8 weeks, and hey, you never know who I might meet along the way as well! While in Salzburg I spent some time with an irish girl who was sharing the hostel dorm with me, so I'm already off to a good start!
Salzburg, like most of Austria, is a beautiful place. I wasn't really sure what to expect when I arrived, but it is one of the nicest cities I've been to. It's a little smaller, population-wise than most of the others, but it's locale and charm was really set it apart from some of the other cicties I've been to here. It's kind of like a Calgary, only because it's situated on the edge of the Alps, but it's way better because it has so much more history and culture and it's all condensed into a small area in the centre of the city.
Salzburg is famous for two reasons. One being that Mozart was born and bred there and as a result there's a huge fine arts music scene in Slazburg. It's not unusual to see people walking around with orchestral instruments in hand.
The second reason is that Salzburg is where the "Sound of Music" was filmed in 1964. So I could not very well visit Salzburg without paying homage to a classic like the Sound of Music! I signed up for the official "Sound of Music" tour with my irish roomate and was pleasantly surprised by what we saw. We visited the Mansion where the Trapp family in the movie lived. In actuality, they used two homes, one for the outside and one for the inside. The outdoor terrace scenes with the lake were all filmed at the Leopoldskron Manor in Salzburg and the interior scenes were all filmed at another mansion closer to Hellbrunn Schloß. We also drove by the Nonnberg Abbey and the best part was that they drove us outside the city to the Lake district where thay filmed a lot of their mountain scenery and it's also where the church in which Maria and the Captain get married is located. The countryside up there was so amazing! 
The former german chancellor (Helmut Kohl) even used to have a cottage at one of the lakes up there. I could see why Maria was so inspired to skip through the mountains in her free time I almost felt like doing the same but some other Canadian girls on the tour went for it instead so I just laughed at them instead! The best part, however, was when we just randomly stopped at an outdoor summer luge track on one of the hills overlooking a lake. For 4 euros we could try luging down the side of an Austrian mountain, and while I hemmed and hawed about it for awhile I decided at the last minute to give it a try. I was not disappointed! It was a short run but definately a lot of fun! I unfortunately didn't get a pic of me on the track tho...That's another downside to travelling alone, you don't always get a pic of yourself doing stuff or standing next to something cool. I've asked people on the street to do it for me but I have yet to encounter another tourist who can take a picture properly for me! By this I mean they always cut the top or bottom off or they don't tell me when they're taking it so I'm not looking...where are you Christine! Oh well, I'll have make do!So my hostel in Salzburg was about 20 mins from the centre, but lucky for me I had bought a Salzburg Card which granted me free public transportation and free entrance into a lot of museums and sights for a 24 hour period. I definately made sure to get my money's worth out of that card on my second day there! I spent the entire day just hopping from one museum\sight to the next!
I visited Mozart's birthplace, the oldest preserved fortress in Europe, catacombs, Hellbrunn Schloß with it's trick fountains and the Austrian folklore museum. The most memorable museum was Miracle's Wax museum. It was located right next to Mozarts Birthplace and recreated life in the 1700's (Mozart's time) with wax figures. It was a little creepy actually! I didn't even give it a second thought when I walked in there but the dark alleys, flickering candlelight and sound effects of the 1700's with lifelike wax figures got a little freaky after awhile especially since I was the only person in the place! Not one other person was touring through the place so it was a little freaky, especially since some of them moved mechanically which made them seem even more lifelike. The worst part was when I turned a corner and there was an old bum wax figure hacking in a corner behind some barrels. An imigination can definately get carried away in a place like that! I never would have paid the expensive price to see this place but since it was free on my Salzburg Card I of course had to be cost efficient and see as much as possible! In the end it was a really cool way to see life in the 1700's and if any of you are ever in Salzburg I would suggest seeing the Wax museum, but don't go alone! After Salzburg I made my way to Vienna, the capital of Austria! Upon arrival I of course did the obligatory half hour of wandering around before I finally found my hostel (I gotta get better directions from these places!). Vienna is also a city that is very classical by nature.
A lot of classical music and art museums, which don't interest me as much as palaces and castles so of course that'what I've seen here. The interesting angle to Vienna for me is that back in my University days I wrote a large paper on the Imperial Habsburg family who resided in Vienna for over 400 years so it was cool to see some of the people and places I studied come to life! They had two palaces (just like any proper royal family does I've come to learn!) Schönbrunn was their summer palace outside the city and Hofburg was 
their winter palace inside the city. I saw both but definately like the Hofburg better. The interiors were beautiful, there's a special museum on Sisi, one of the Hapsburg empresses who married young and was murdered young (an interesting story), and also a special exhibit on the Imperial table services (table settings cutlery, centrepieces...very extravagent! ). I also really loved the statues guarding the front entryway as well as the two statue fountains on either side. They are so animated! I think it is so amazing how some of these artists have captured live body movements in a still form of art like sculptures. I also really like the Hofberg because there is a Starbucks around ever corner where I can satisfy my tastebuds on a warm day with a mocha frappacino..mmmmmmm and no Starbucks did not pay me write that! In my solitary wanderings I have turned to Mocha frappacinos! So good! After enjoying my frappacinos I have decided that I need to keep up on my exercise back home to balance things a bit! I was inspired by watching the Vienna marathon in action today! 
I have never run a marathon but definately feel that I would like to, so that I can participate in a marathon in a beautiful city like Vienna. These runners got to see all the sights on the marathon course that I was walking around all day to see on my own! Very scenic. I've done a lot of walking in Vienna only because it's been a little harder to navigate. There are so many little nooks and crannies to see (including a square where they used to hold jousting tournements!) but the best thing I saw here I encountered as I was on my way to see St. Stephen's Church which is located in Stephanplatz, the main pedestrian square in Vienna. 
I was sidetracked on my way to the church when I saw a silver painted mime type guy moon walking so I stopped to watch a bit, but when I saw a crowd gathering a little farther on I of course went to see what the draw was and a group of five guys was just getting ready to do a break dancing show. It was amazing. This wasn't just a bunch of guys hanging out breakdancing for fun. 
They had practiced, set up a routine to some great tunes and were doing it to entertain (and make a little cash of course too!) They had skills but were very artful in how they presented it. 
It was so great. I did eventually go to see the church but I went back afterwards to watch these guys do their routine again, they were really talented! And so ends my time here in Austria. Tomorrow I fly out of here super early in the morning and head for Münster where I will be visiting a friend I met at Bible School in British Columbia 6 years ago!! After that I will be migrating even farther north to Norway! (I guess it's too much to hope the weather will tropical up there too eh?!) Til next time!Laura
2 comments:
Nice Paragraphs.
Are you in Norway yet?
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