Fri 31 Mar 14° Vienna

Warm sunny day, spent morning doing blog and bookwork,  after lunch bus and train into city to find Kursalon and Golden Strauss statue which we found shining in the sunshine I  Kursalon park,

We  bought a  piece of Sacher Torte, without the name, yummy and a coffee in the park, it was quite something watching all the people. It is such a multi cultural society with only 10% of population actually coming from Vienna.

Beethoven statue

Kursalon

Gold statue of Strauss

Kursalon Park

We walked and meandered all around , had an ice cream and walked smell more, by late avo we came across not 1 but even Easter markets, filled with little wooden huts selling, food, drinks, cakes, thousands of painted eggs as well as the usual scarfs, and jewellery etc. Had to try a couple of the local cakes, one was a pressed poppy seed cake, which was quite a rich paste in a cake pastry and too big for one person, we shared it then tried a different specialty that was too sweet for me.

St Peters Curch

 

We walked some more and at the Opera house we took Tony's photo as he recalls it was here 43 years ago when he was here before.

An amazing city just to wander around. Train and bus back no problem, looks so different in the daylight. It's now 7pm so better get the dinner going, Chicken fillet and chips with courgettes and tomatoes. Then have a look to see where to go tomorrow.

Thurs 30 Mar 9° Vienna

Cool grey day for day day into the city. Caught 68a Bus €2.40 each one way to Reumannplatz on outskirts of city. A very helpful lady told us we then had to get U1 underground into city and to get off at St. Stephens Cathedral. Very easy and clean.

When to got up to Street level we were immediately approached by vendors in period costume selling their different concert tickets for tonight's shows. We listened politely to 2 different ones then walked on to Tourist Information Center. Not the most helpful we have been to, when I asked if they had a map, she just said, on the wall, of which there were many, in several languages,  so just had to plough our way through.

We had a coffee and croissants while we discussed options for the day, decided to get the hop on hop off bus tour, two routes and  a free 90 min walking tour of the inner city. Found the Big Bus Tour paid our €25 each and left at 11.30 with a very interesting guide.

Certainly the city of Palaces, winter one, then around the corner, summer one, museums and hotels that were once Palaces but converted when different King's didn't like them anymore. Many different styles, Baroque,  Renaissance,  Gothic even evidence of Roman ruins, yes they got everywhere those Romans.

We walked past the training stables of the Lipizzaner Stallions and caught a glimpse as €200 to watch them perform, so decided to pass on that one.

St Stephens 12th Century Cathedral with its 136mt spire was the highest when it was built.  These ancient buildings are constantly have restoration work done on them to maintain them.

There was a magnificent carved statue topped with golden figures representing the Holy Trinity, it was also a political statue with the crowns of the Austrian, Hungarian and Bohemia empires around 3 sides.

The Big Bus tour was 4 hours in total on inner and outer rings of Vienna, with very wide tree lined boulevards and roads, marking where the old city once was. So much history, good and bad, we'll worth doing.
Sites along the way....piggy bank, spring blossom , river danube and bungy jumping tower

After the tour we started to walk towards the Kursalon, a magnificent building in Italian Renaissance style where the golden statue of Johann Strauss jnr is in front.

However we were once again approached by yet another, very handsome clad concert vendor,  his English was excellent, basically the difference between the two concerts on offer, we're one includes some ballet and opera and are in period costumes,  the other is straight music. As time was getting we decided on the first option,  same price €32 each, discounted and upgraded as now late and wanting to fill seats. Well done again skipper for saying this morning we would wait.

Tickets in hand, well somethings just have to be done......we went off to the AugustinerKeller for traditional veal schnitzel and potato salad. Yummy....got music as well and we even had our mini vieanese waltz. Big tick off Tony's list.

The concert was in the Palace Palffy, where Mozart performed Figaro in 1762. It was excellent and performed Mozart and Strauss a little opera and dance.

We were told the thing to do was to have coffer and famous Sacher Torte, named after the hotel that created it, a chocolate cake with a layer of apricot jam, I imagine a bit like a jam sponge, but imagine we must as couldn't find any, even though we were told it was every coffee house.  It was also 10.20pm and we were at the U1 so decided we didn't need cake but we did to get the train and bus back to Bessie. Ticket machine had buttons in several language skills so was easy to get our tickets €2.20 each, covers all transport, even the trams which travel alongside side several large busses and cars on the roads, very well planned city. Easy to find our way back to end of line, then had to try to find the bus stop , all looks different in the dark....but people very helpful and told us to go just around the corner. So here we were 10.30pm side street in Vienna waiting for a bus.....not many people about but felt quite safe. Had to wait about 15mins and got back safely at a out 11.15pm pleased to see Bessie had some company with another motorhome parked opposite.
Magical day and evening in Vienna.

Wed 29 March 11° Ardagger to Vienna

Excellent facilities, clean spotless public toilets, waste and water points. Warm sunny day for our journey to Vienna.
Last night first experience of midges, but Bessie is well equipped with fkyscreens so not  problem.

The Jesus and Mary statues in France and Germany now appear as shrines along roadside.

Melk 11th century Abbey and vast Monestry on hillside, undergoing restoration work.

Miles of agricultural fields and wind turbines, all very clean with excellent road surfaces.

Back to Jesus statues on the cross outside houses and overlooking fields.

Drove for miles of rural countryside with a spattering of little villages.  Quite a bit of new apartment and town house building going on.

Coming into Gablitz through forest and forestry processing plants. Some houses painted bright blue, lilac,lots of pastel colours, very smooth square lines bit like iced cakes.

Arrived at site eventually after driving around Vienna and no picture all day on Sat nav she just spoke the directions to us,  then she froze and came up with error message. Emailed Falcon for help.

Very pleasant grass and tree lined car park, free for the night 6km south of city, right near bus stop for 68a bus into city. Driving instructors giving lessons all around the car park, lots of reversing into the different spaces,  heaps of room.
Laar Berg Kurpark.

Tony was here 43 years ago and has noticed a few changes, including 2 beggars at the traffic lights.

Tues 28 March 12° Salzburg - Ardagger

A warm and sunny morning, paid the camp and farewelled Kent and Judith after exchanging emails, had an invitation to visit if we get to Leicester.

Sat nav disagreed with Michalin on timings to Vienna, probably using the toll road, so looked for camp half way, found a free sight at Ardagger near Amstellen.

Stopped for diesel €1.09 got €50 46ltrs.

Pristine fields of crops for miles, dotted with chalets and shops.  first sunblock applied to driving arm, certainly know we have been driving through countryside due to the rural smells wafting in.

Kremunsterer double 'onion ' roof tops, lots of these on Austria, but not double.

Good free site Ardagger, we'll done search for sites. Christened our outdoor chairs for an hour of late afternoon sun. Well equipped site with clean toilet block, toilet disposal and fresh water on outskirts of small village in park area, with quaint old church on hilltop.

Skipper cooked salmon to perfection complete with crispy skin, courgettes,  onions, tomatoes and little boiled potatoes.

Mon 27 March 6° Salzburg

Very fresh, crisp morning but sun shining brightly. Judith and Kent from next door, very chatty and friendly. After lunch mini van picked us up for Sound of Music Tour, dropped us off at huge 84 seater coach, which was full, 1 Australian, 3 Kiwis a skattering of English and the rest American.

First point of interest Mirabell Gardens, the do ra me song, from the distance, not allowed in anymore. Second stop Leopoldskron Palace and Lake, back garden view in film where they were filmed in the boat on the lake , they fell in when they saw the Captain. This scene was apparently  shot twice.

From here to Hellbrunn Palace where the gazebo was filmed for Ralf and Lisl  song 16 going on 17.

Tour continued to Nonnberg Abbey where the real Maria was a novice in 1920s and where she and captain Von Trapp were married in real life.

Then up into the mountains and Lake District where panoramic shots were filmed around lake Fuschl and Lake Wolfgang at the beginning of the film to highlight the beauty of the region to the world.

At this stage the sound of music soundtrack was being played on the coach so we could all sing along in the mountains as we drove.

The headquarters of Red Bull is up here, a glass domed building set in a lake  with a large sculpture of a red bull in the water.

Final stop was in the village of Mondsee,   this is where they filmed the wedding at St. Michael's church.

We had 3/4 hour here to walk around, went to cash machine as the campsite only took cash no card transactions. Bought an ice cream, quite icy, not creamy like we are used to. Pretty little village to wander around.

Back on the coach they played a dvd  of the making of the movie introduced by Julie Andrews and narrated by Lisl .  Very interesting story and as often happens  Hollywood took poetic licence and altered the story somewhat.

Warning, spoiler alert !

The ending for instance where they supposedly walked across the mountains to Switzerland and freedom, in reality they escaped by train to Italy then went to America and settled in Stowe, Vermont.   Their fame as singers grew and with many people visiting the ranch, they built accommodation and eventually their ranch grew into a unique family lodge resort.

A great day, perfect weather and ended with some of the 80 people singing Eidelweiss as tour came to an end.

Back at Bessie we had a cool beer in the last of the sun, but it soon cooled down.

We were at Camping Panorama 2km from Salzburg.