10. Salzburg - fortress, christmas, Mozart dinner

Yesterday we began by heading for the funicular to visit the Festung Hohensalzburg (somewhere in all that it means fortress).

View of the fortress through the skylight in our room.

Heading for the funicular (Festung Bahn) in  the cold autumn morning.

Views of Salzburg from the fort.

And guess which company runs the funicular.  This is for Hoon!

After lunch we wandered around the town a bit more.
Saw this food stall

and this is a cheese cutter.

Christmas is coming.  What a window display

and inside the same shop.

For my birthday, we went to a dinner with music (Mozart of course, there are no other composers in  this town) between each course.

As we came in - we were early.

A few more people.  We had a mother and daughter from Melbourne next to us and a couple from LA across from us.  One of their friends had lost a home in the fires.

This was during the performance.  The Christmas tree was on the stage so the musicians and singers had to sing from the front of the dining hall.  Not a problem for us.  The man is the tenor enjoying teasing the crowd.

11. Food - and other bits & pieces.

I have commented on the food.  Just as we were saying how little fish was available, we saw this, right next door to the Mozart Birth-place museum.  An entrepreneur has found a niche!

A closeup of the window.

KM was happy!

We all know that the tourist stuff here was originally for Australia, and only ended up in Austria because of a typo.


This TShirt had its say.

12. No gap to mind - and food

Today we caught a train from Salzburg to Vienna.

NSW is not the only system with double-deckers.

But the internal steps are easier to negotiate. Wider and with a lower rise

Inside - comfortable.

And they have a little retractable thingo that eliminates any gaps!  Called gap-fillers, apparently.

And they take recycling seriously.

Dinner at a nearby pub.   Sausages and sauerkraut for KM, goulash for me. Water does not come automatically.

I have been rude about German/Bavarian cuisine.  Anything based on sausages and sauerkraut..... not that cabbage had a lot going for it anyway before they fermented it.    But there was one recipe that took my interest - Salzburg nockerl - and I think I will just look it up on the internet.  Didn't get a chance to try one - it is a kind of souffle.  Pic from Google.

13. Schonbrunn Palace

Today we caught the U4 to Schonbrunn station to see the Palace of the same name.  It was a crash course in the Hapsburg Empire.  The last emperor was Charles I who gave up his role in 1918, also 100 years ago.

It was also a poignant  visit as I recall looking at Yvonne's video and pictures when she went there with Beo Lan several years ago.

It was a magnificent building.  We went on a tour of the state rooms, no pics allowed.  This is the outside.

If you walk into the gardens and look back, this is the view.

And there are laneways off to the side.

It is big.

And a graphic warning about bollards.  Not sure how the German translates.

14. Vienna - cathedral, catacombs etc

On our first day in Vienna, we went to the main cathedral, St Stephens.

Then I discovered they had catacombs, accessible only on a tour.  I had never seen catacombs before, so we waited.  Sadly no pics, but here is the entrance.

There were coffins of various archbishops, urns (that looked like tins) of the intestines of various rulers (they were removed to aid the embalming process), and then lots of bones of people who had been buried there.  When they needed more space, they got prisoners to clean up the bones and put them together.  So now I have seen catacombs - pretty much as expected.

Street scene outside the cathedral.

The souvenir T-shirt here is "No kangaroos in Austria". They were on sale at this shop, but the advertisement certainly didn't show a roo!

Further on the subject of recycling - you have to sort according to the colour of the glass.

And the endlessly fascinating topic of loos.  Saw this.  They are the toilets at Cafe Korb, apparently frequented by Sigmund Freud when he developed his practice in Vienna.  I have seen it written that these symbols were in deference to his views on sexual impulses.

and a back-to-front toilet.  But it worked.

You have to take your camera absolutely everywhere when you are on holidays!

15. Food for the soul and the body

Today, with Anne's access to and skill using Google Maps, we caught a tram to the Belvedere.

A Vienna tram

with in-journey entertainment supplied.

The Belvedere is the home of many Gustav Klimt works, the most famous of which is The Kiss.  No doubt you have seen many photos of it, but this is mine.

And another GK - Adam and Eve

And this one was here too- not a Klimt!

After a day at the Gallery, Anne found the way to Cafe Sperl for Austrian cakes.  Below are Cheesecake, Sacher Torte and Sperl wafer.  All delicious.  I was thinking of relenting and buying the cookbook, until I read that each cafe jealously guards its recipes.

A later dinner was traditional Austrian fare again.  Wiener Schnitzel, served after we heard the pounding in the kitchen,

and tafelspitz for me.  This was described as boiled beef, and it was suspiciously like corned beef, although less red.  There was grated carrot and something else, creamed spinach, potatoes and apple sauce with some horseradish flavour to it. Easy eating!

And Christmas markets are just beginning.  Saw this tonight outside the Rathaus, and you can see a familiar reflection in  the tram window!

16. Partly cloudy with flurries - and Freud

I didn't know that my mobile phone even had these words in its weather forecast!  Never been used (on my phone) before.

Today is noticeably the coldest we have had.  Two pairs of socks as we go out for dinner tonight.

Today we went to the Freud Museum.  It was his office and practice until the family left Austria for London in 1938.  Despite the entreaties of friends, Freud resisted leaving Vienna until his daughter, Anna, was detained by the Gestapo for 24 hours.  Freud moved his family, their furniture and possessions with them to London, including his famous couch.  He had to pay a substantial tax to the Nazis.  He died in London the next year.

However this location in Vienna has been developed as a a museum, with substantial input from Anna, after the war.  Very generous of her I thought. You won't learn much about the details of his work, but there are lots of pictures and documents from his life, including a film of home movies with commentary by Anna.

Outside the Museum.

Inside - his shingle.

There is another museum in London - now added to our list when we are next there.

17. Trains and Prague

It has been cold in Vienna - we woke to light snow on cars and the roof.

We caught the train from Vienna to Prague.

Inside the train - seats.

Inside the trains - vestibule

Inside the trains - speed signs.

Along the way, we could see some snow in the fields.

And later in the day there was none. Very pretty scenery.

Prague is also cold, but it doesn't seem so bad!  Somewhere between 0 to 3 degrees. We must be acclimatising.  Imagine busking in this weather - playing a keyboard in gloves!

But some do eat ice-cream it would seem - cucumber ice-cream at that!

Mulled wine for sale - introduced to us by Anne.