Travel day from Vienna to Salzburg (Friday, August 7, 2015)

As we boarded a train from Vienna to Salzburg, I had time to reflect about our time in Vienna.

• It is a very beautiful, very clean city.  They have an Underground system (the only city in Austria to have one), but we didn't need to use it.  We stayed within the Ringstrasse (City Center) for the most part and found the city to be very walk-able.  
• The city was very crowded and very global.  Dan and I like to people watch and enjoy trying to determine strangers' countries of origin. There were so many cultures and nations represented in Vienna, we were not able to pick out "Austrians."  
• Don't get in a hurry to eat any meals at restaurants.  The time to receive your food doesn't take long, but actually ordering and then actually getting your check at the end of your meal takes ages.  They don't check on you much during your meals, but don't take it personally.  Waitstaff isn't overly friendly.  They usually factor a 10% tip on food and a 20% tip on drinks into your bill.  Also, don't expect ice or free refills.  You have to purchase bottled water at all restaurants.  The food is excellent, however.  
• There were lots of conservative Muslim families from the Middle East on vacation in Vienna during our stay.  Many women wore hijab (head wraps) of different types.  They were lovely people on holiday with their families and we often exchanged smiles as we passed each other.  In America, it seems like our mainstream media encourages fear of all things related to Islam.  I don't think these families would feel welcome in many places around the USA.  It was really nice to see everyone coexisting without people batting an eyelash.  
• The language barrier wasn't too terrible.  I learned enough German to say "please", "thank you" and "Do you speak English?"  Luckily, most people we encountered did speak English.  I still became frustrated sometimes when I attempted to read menus or the small amount of signage around.  I really need to make a conscious effort to learn more languages in all of my free time.  Ha!

Enough of my ranting...It may seem weird that I am posting my feelings at times, but I use this blog as a travel journal.  I want to be able to remember these thoughts/feelings in the future.

We had a fairly quick train ride to Salzburg, a little over 2 hours.  When we stepped off the train, we were able to get a cab ride to our apartment on Paris-Lodronstrasse.  We really tried to cut down on our luggage this trip, so it has helped us with negotiating trains, planes and cabs with 6 people.  

The heat hit us as soon as we stepped off of the train!  It was hotter in Salzburg than in Vienna -- upper 90s.  This unexpected heat wave really saps the energy out of you.  Our apartment was really nice and so high-tech that Dan and I had trouble figuring out how to turn on the lights and lock the doors.   The one thing the apartment didn't have is air conditioning.  We didn't find any buildings in Salzburg with AC because they don't usually have this type of hot weather.  We decided we would be better off getting out of the hot apartment and walking around the Old Town of Salzburg instead.  

We crossed the beautiful Salzach River.  "Salz" means salt, which is fitting, due to the many salt mines discovered in the area.  "Burg" means castle, which you can see above the kids' heads on the ridge line of the mountains.  The Salzach river was used for years to ferry salt down to the Danube and out to the Mediterranean.

Here is a picture of the kids with the beautiful fountain in the Residenzplatz.  It is the fountain (in The Sound of Music) that Maria passes on her way to the Von Trapp house for the first time, as she splashes water spraying from a horse's mouth.  We stood there for a bit to get sprayed by the water when there was a breeze.

Next, we ducked into Salzburg Cathedral to take a break from the heat.  Here you can see two of the five organs.  I can't imaging what Mass sounds like on Sunday mornings with 5 organs playing at once!?! Mozart was an organist here for 2 years.

Our next stop was St. Peter's Cemetery.  It sits atop a pagan Celtic holy site, and the current St. Peter's church was founded in the year 696.  This was such a beautiful cemetery.  We learned that grave sites are rented and not owned.  They send out rent bills about every 10 years.  If a family member doesn't pay it, the headstone is removed.  The graves are taken care of so beautifully.  Mozart's sister is buried in the cemetery.

This graveyard was re-created in a Hollywood film lot for the scene in The Sound of Music where the Von Trapp family hides from the Nazi soldiers.  Of course, I made the kids hide behind a headstone for a picture.   

Farther along the walk, we came upon the Festival Hall.  We couldn't go inside, as the Salzburg Music Festival was occurring for most of August.  We took a picture in front of the door, though.  This is the concert hall in which the Von Trapp family performed both in real life and in the movie.  

There were lots of food carts set up in the Universitatsplatz.  We thought that these were the biggest chocolate covered pretzels we had ever seen.  While I normally would have bought one, it was just too hot outside.  We would have been covered head-to-toe in melted chocolate in a matter of seconds.  

We ate dinner outside on the patio of a cafe and then headed back to the apartment.  Mirabell Gardens and Palace are only a block away from our apartment. The gardens figure prominently in the Do-Re-Mi scene in The Sound of Music.  Here is a sneak peek.  The real Sound of Music photo shoot will take place tomorrow.  

We did manage to stumble across the end of a free concert in the gardens.  We have figured out a new way to rent out Sidney with her harp -- an "oompah" band!  Who would have thought?