Salzburg
Salzburg is a UNESCO world heritage listed town famous for being the birthplace of Mozart! We explored the old town including the Salzburg fortress (Hohensalrbug castle), Mirabell Palace and gardens where the sound of music scene was filmed, Mozart’s Residence and birthplace (now turned into a museum), Hellbrunn Palace and St Peter’s Abbey. We parked in a free carpark around 2km out of town and cycled along the river into the city. As we visited in late February, it was amazing to have sunny days with temperatures reaching 18 degrees during the day! Taking advantage of the weather, we lounged in the sun on the banks of the river and played cards.
Mirabell palace and gardens.
Vienna
We reached the capital of Austria – a metropolitican city that holds so much of Austria’s history, culture, economy and politics. It didn’t disappoint! We really enjoyed the city renowned for its opulent architecture and classical arts. Vienna was once the capital of the powerful Hasburg dynasty – the Austrian royal family who ruled the Holy Roman Empire from the 15thcentury until the 18thcentury when the male line ended. They were notorious for marrying their offspring with other European royal houses (Spain, Austria, Mexico, Germany, Italy, France, Portugal, Hungary, Czech Republic/Bohemia, UK, Luxembourg, Romani, Croatia) to ensure strong alliances and to keep the titles within the family. We learnt a lot about a few of the more famous Hasburg members including Maria Theresa and her husband Francis I, who were the parents of Marie Antoinette!
Schubrunn Palace and Gardens.
Inside St Stephen's Cathedral.
We went on a free walking tour and visited the Hofburg Palace (the winter residence of the Hasburgs), St Stephen’s Cathedral, the Vienna State Opera house, the Jewish Quarter, the Bermuda Triangle, the Imperial Crypt, Mozart’s house and the Vienna Ring Road. We got shown where to eat the original and best Wiener Schnitzel and straight after the walking tour, we had lunch at that restaurant and enjoyed truly the most delicious schnitzel ever! We learnt that there is a specific art to cooking it including cooking it in 3 different temperatures to ensure the famous crispy coating.
The most amazing Wiener Schnitzel served simply with a side of salad and a wedge of lemon!
The only remaining Jewish synagogue left in Vienna, guarded by 24/7 police.
We stayed at a ‘camping platz’ a little outside of the main centre of Vienna and caught the metro around the city which was very easy to use. On our second day in Austria, we visited Schonbrunn Palace and its gardens; the summer residence for the Hasburg family which is considered the ‘Versailles’ of Austria. For lunch, we went to a Japanese restaurant in a neighbourhood a little outside of the city centre. It was here that we stumbled upon the Naschmarkt, a huge market place stretching 1.5km filled with stalls selling fresh produce and a lot of international foods (lots of Asian, Indian and middle eastern). We bought some delicious bags of nuts, stocked up on some Asian groceries and Joe bought a cheap replacement wedding ring after losing the original in Croatia.
On this balcony, Hitler announced the annexation of Austria to Germany.
