We arrived in Salzburg in the early hours and took a train directly into the city centre. Knowing that we only have a day and half in Salzburg, we have long decided to max out our time here with 2 day trips planned for Ice Caves near the Salzburg Alps and Eagles Nest at Berchtesgaden, Germany. Yes we know that the "Sound of Music" tour is usually the key highlight, but knowing we could cover some of the places e.g. Mirabell Garden on our own as well as negative feedback from friends who have been to Salzburg.
In short, Salzburg is a beautiful place. Very peaceful and quiet; charming as a old city yet we know its violent place and historical significance - birthplace of Mozart, previous "country" of its own.
We took a quick walk from our hotel at Haupbahnhof to Mirabellplatz, taking in the sights of this small town. We then moved around Mirabell Garden, crossing the Danuhe to the outskirts of the old town before returning to Mirabellplatz for the tour to Ice Caves. The Ice Cave is at Werfen, about an hour drive south from Salzburg. Reputed to the BIGGEST ice cave in the world, the entire cave stretches an amzing 42km, with the first 1km covered in ice. As we were told, 772 steps up and 772 steps down. We had to cover 20 minutes uphill after alighting from the coach, a quick cable ride up Europe's steepest cable car (in less than a minute!) and then another 25 minutes walk to the cave (Read
here for more details).
Breakfast in the morning was a little yucky, with slices of ham, lotsa cheeses and bread - typical Austrian stuff. Our hope for a full continental breakfast has to be postponed to Vienna. The cold/rainy weather didn't add to our joy as we waited to be fetched to the
Eagles Nest in the Bavarian Alps, briefly crossing the German border into Berchtesgaden. The tour took us the entire morning, with a ride up the Alps and about 45 minutes at the 2nd headquarters of the Nazi Party and Adolf Hilter's home. Click
here to see the pictures.
We spend the rest of the day touring the old town and going up to the
Festung, a Salzburg fortress, and a key highlight of the Salzburg city. View up there was beautiful and it certainly didn't make us feel like leaving. Although we did eventually depart for Vienna in the late evening, saying a sad goodbye to this charming town and hoping to return for another visit.
Vienna - a city that loved and loved by Mozart. A pity over commercialised in my opinion and, having visited Salzburg, a bit of anti-climax for me. While peace was a premium, its architecture certainly hold its weight against the likes of Paris and Rome. St Stephanson Cathedral was a tad too similar to Duomo in Florence though.
Vienna is a paradise for photographers and I did like the historical significance of the place, despite Ms Wee's boredom after "churches-and-museums again?!?".
