Day 4 : Salzburg City

We make our way back into Austria towards Salzburg, which is about 45 mins drive from Eagle’s Nest. 

My impressions of Salzburg – I really like this city.  It’s very pretty, and the river running through the city centre enhanced the personality of Salzburg.  Salzburg is also famous for a few things : The movie “Sound of Music”, and the birth place of Mozart.

Didn’t realise that they also had an Oktoberfest celebration in Salzburg, so the city centre were filled with crowds on the streets.  I would really like to see Salzburg without the Oktoberfest event, as believe it would be nicer.  So glad that I didn’t choose to stay in the centre of Salzburg, but at Hotel Seebrunn next to the lake.

We walked through the city centre, that was filled with crowds dressed in the traditional Oktoberfest outfit. 

We got curious and went into a proper store that specialises in making the traditional Bavarian outfit and Frank checked the cost of Lederhosen (the pants for guys) – we were shocked that the price can go from Euro 600 up to Euro 2,000! 

On the surface, it looked completely the same to me as those which were selling on the street stores for about Euro 60 (or less).  The lady at the store said the reason why it cost Euro 2,000 was because it was made of deer skin (I agree it feels softer, but it also didn’t feel like leather), and was hand stitched.  I wonder who would pay Euro 2,000 for a pair of pants!  I could buy a lot of things with that amount.

Key sights in Salzburg :

Schloss Hellbrunn (Hellbrunn Palace)

Schloss Hellbrunn is a villa designed in a Baroque style, and was built in 1619.  It was built as a day residence in summer for the Archbishop, and is famous for the hidden water fountains in the gardens.  We didn’t enter the grounds and walked around the exterior of the Palace. 

Attached to the Palace is also a park, and also houses the Pavillion that was used in the “Sound of Music” film.

Hohensalzburg Fortress

The fortress is over 900 years old, and is one of the largest preserved mediaeval castle complexes in Europe.  The area of the fortress with 50 buildings covers and entire area of 33,000m².  It was originally built to guarantee the safety of the archbishops; while also serving as barracks and a prison.

We took the lazy way of going up via a funicular, particularly since the fortress was situated at an altitude of 506m.  Inclusive of the ticket for the funicular was admission to the museum. 

The view from the top was definitely worth making the visit, as one could see entire Salzburg city below.

We didn’t have lunch today, and as it was rather close to dinner time, we decided to order a slice of cake to ward of the hunger pangs. 

One of the most famous cakes in Austria is the Sacher cake, which should officially be eaten at Hotel Sacher. 

I had a slice of Sacher at the Vienna branch of Hotel Sacher earlier this year, so wasn’t too hard up of needing to eat it at the same hotel, which also has a branch in Salzburg.  Frank ordered the Mozart cake, which is also a specialty in Austria.

St. Peter’s Monastery

Located next to the base of the funicular is St. Peter’s Monastery, a Benedictine monastery and former cathedral.  It is considered one of the oldest monasteries in the German-speaking area, and in fact the oldest with a continuous history since its foundation in 696.

What I found intriguing is the catacombs, as they are carved out of the rocks behind the monastery.

Bridge of Love

This bridge caught my attention.. a sea of padlocks attached to the fence just below the railing of Salzburg most modern pedestrian bridge, the Makartsteg. 

I had seen something similar when I was in Paris, with each lock written with their names or in a number of cases seen on this bridge, engraved on the lock, to represent a couple declaring their eternal devotion. 

Schloss Mirabell & Gardens

Another Palace, this was built in 1606 by the prince-archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, as a token of his love for Salome. 

The design of the castle includes the famous sprawling Mirabell Gardens.

Mozart Museum

This building has become a tourist attraction, as it is where Mozart was born on 27 Jan 1756.

 

 

 

Other Images from City Centre

 

Day 4 : Eagle’s Nest (Kelhsteinhaus)

After a 45 mins drive from the hotel, Frank & I reached the base of the Eagle’s Nest or also known as Kelhsteinhaus, located in Germany and very close to the Austrian border.

At 1,834m high, the Eagle’s Nest was presented to Adolf Hitler on his 50th birthday as a retreat and place to entertain friends and visiting dignitaries.  It was paid for by the Nazi Party and completed within 13 months, and was marked as a unique engineering feat. 

Just at the foot of the Eagle’s Nest mountain is Obersalzberg, which was Hitler’s home and southern headquarters (second seat of power).  Though the area was bombed during the WWII, the Eagle’s Nest was miraculously left undamaged.

Day 3 : Frank joins on Road Trip to Salzburg & Fussen

It’s back to Munich airport to meet with Frank.  I am really glad that he is able to join me for a few days while I am in Europe and gives us the opportunity to catch up once again, since the last I saw Frank was in Singapore in December 2015, when he was there for a business trip. 

I took the 6.50am bus from Nuremburg – this time round I was no longer the only passenger on the bus as there were 8 other people on board.  Am I glad that the hostel is just located next to the bus terminal!  Very early morning, and got to see the sun rise while enroute to the airport.  

Upon Frank’s arrival, we went to pick up our car rental, which turned out to be a really nice car to use for the next few days – Mercedes Benz C Class! 

 

 

Day 1 & 2 : Nuremburg / Nürnberg

After 12 hours on a plane with very little sleep, I finally arrived in Munich at 5.30am.  Customs was very smooth and quick – efficient Germans! :)  Had to wait at the airport for a couple hours for the bus, as the plan was to head straight into Nuremburg for 2 nights, before going back to Munich airport on Saturday morning to meet with Frank for our road trip to Salzburg and Fussen. 

The bus ride from Munich Airport to Nuremburg was painless, and surprisingly, I was the only passenger on board the bus throughout the entire 2hr 10 min journey – my personal limo! Much better than having to take a train, as that would involved a number of changes, and more costly.

Upon arrival in Nuremburg, I had some trouble with finding the hostel as was given wrong directions by 3 different people, that led me walking around for about 35 minutes.  When I finally found the hostel, guess what, A&O hostel was literally just beside the bus terminal, less than 1 min walk away!!!

So what is interesting about Nuremburg that I chose this as my 1st stop?  Besides being a Mediaeval Town, this town contains rich German history.  It was here that the fanatical party rallies were held, the boycott of Jewish business began, and the infamous Nuremberg Laws outlawing German citizenship for Jewish people were enacted.  This city was also chosen as the site of the war crimes tribunal (Nuremberg Trials). 

 

Big Trip 2 : T-1

Doing last minute packing, and I am struggling to fit it all into my luggage – the same luggage I used on my last big trip.  You would think that by the 2nd time, I would know better huh?

Met with Aliang a few days ago, and he said that if he was to go on a long trip again, he will carry a smaller bag than what he used the last time.  It might be easier for guys to pack lesser, however as a female, we have a few more requirements to factor in. 

Big Trip 2 – Cuba, Mexico, Central America, Germany

12 more days and counting down!  Never expected that I will get a chance to go on another long trip, albeit likely no where as close to the duration I went previously.

Things happen for a reason, and as usual, chose countries that are farthest to get to from Singapore.  Reason being it’s likely that I will never get to travel to those countries on a normal leave while working full time. 

Time to start thinking of how I can be more mobile yet still earning a decent income!

From plans, its looking to be about 4.5months of travelling, covering :

• Germany (Munich and Bavaria region)
• Mexico
• Cuba (woohoo, finally!)
• Belize
• Guatemala
• Honduras
• El Salvador
• Nicaragua
• Costa Rica

 

Day 272 : Paris – City of Love

They don’t call Paris the City of Love for nothing – Looking out of the window as I woke up this morning, I saw this love note on the floor, and it brought a smile to my face.  Ahh…. how sweet and romantic!

Off to explore more sights! 

Day 271 : More Paris Sights & Familiar Faces

Taking a VERY long walk from the apartment, I made my way towards Hotel National Des Invalides, as this path allows me to get towards Place de la Concorde and the Louvre.

On the map, it didn’t seem that far away, but it took me about an hour to walk over!  I found it a great way to experience the city and seeing the sights. 

Day 270 : Paris City Sights

I took a long slow walk from the apartment towards Avenue des Champ-Elysees to catch the main sights such as Arc du Triomphe, Grand Palais, Petit Palais and Louvre. 

Along Avenue des Champ-Elysees, there were also a number of car showrooms with some car designs which I had never seen before and wanting to take a closer look, I stepped into a couple of them. 

While visiting the sights, I got a call from Fabien and we arranged to have lunch together since he was near the area. 

After lunch, he brought me to the auction houses of Drouot.  It was the first time I visited an auction house and was an eye-opener!  The building was filled with numerous rooms, almost all with live auction happening at the time of my visit, varying from paintings, artefacts, decoration, statues etc.  I was so afraid of making any sudden hand movements in case someone thought I was bidding on the items!

Day 269 : Arrival in Paris

My original plan was to fly out of London after visiting Betty, but seems the airport tax for flights out of Heathrow airport was a couple hundred dollars more as compared to my original flight out from Barcelona.  After speaking to Singapore Airlines, I decided that it was better to fly out from Paris since both cities are easily connected by rail and the difference in flight cost was able to cover for my train ticket to Paris!

I took the 4.01pm train to Paris and within 1hr and 16 mins, arrived in Paris.  After numerous email exchanges, I finally met Fabien for the 1st time after 3 years!

Fabien had offered to put me up at his place during my week in Paris however due to some complications at his home, he put me up at his sister’s city apartment, which she uses as a layover when she travels back to France to visit family.  The apartment was lovely and being so close to all the key attractions, it was perfect for visiting all the sights with total freedom.

 

After settling me down at the apartment, Fabien brought me to a cozy French bistro walking distance away from the apartment which served fantastic French cuisine.  People were really friendly at the bistro too!  Knowing that I was a foreigner, the table next to ours even made the effort to speak in English.  I was pleasantly surprised as I have heard often the contrary from travellers, that Parisians are extremely unfriendly and will never speak English even if they could.

Looking forward to the rest of the week’s stay in Paris!

Day 263–268 : London

Hello London, we meet again!  This is the first city on this big trip that I had visited previously.  The last time I was here was in 2004, when Betty just moved over for work, and had went over to visit her while on way back from a business trip in Germany and to also spend Xmas and New Year’s holiday in Scotland and London.

Having seem most of the key tourists sights the last time round, the main purpose of this trip was just to spend some time with Betty before heading back to Singapore.  It’s good to be able to chill rather than pack the day filled with sights and activities.  Still I managed to see some new attractions (and old), visited the nearby parks and even managed to watch a musical “Blood Brothers”!