Hallstatt and St. Wolfgang today...

And tons of sun, I might add. It was an absolutely glorious day today, perfect in every way. Hallstatt was a treasure, a jewel...or in German, schmuck...not even kidding, look it up.
We were so happy to see the sun and it was worth the wait. So glad we saved these two lake towns for today.

We rode the ferry across Wolfgangsee and then took the old cog railway up the mountain. It's a steam engine that pushes the passenger cars up the incredibly steep rail to the pinnacle. The views were amazing, 360 degree panoramas sheer dropoffs and crazy paragliders zooming around the summit . It was breathtaking. I know the hundreds of pictures we took today will never do justice to what we saw.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SK_-qipqcWU

Still no sun..but it's not stopping us!

More rain this morning so we went to see the Krimml Waterfall on our way to Innsbruck. Spectacular!!! 

Had a great hike up, and as I predicted, dad was WAY ahead of all of us! I was continually shamed on the hike by the elderly people conquering the hill while we took frequent breaks, huffing and puffing!!



On to beautiful Innsbruck...after a lunch stop in a beautiful ski town we happened upon...

 I think that Innsbruck was my favorite place on this trip. By the time we got there, the sun was breaking through the clouds and we all cheered and took even more pictures.  The old city was free from car traffic, typically Austrian clean, and full of perfectly restored buildings with intricate facades. Even the McDonald's had a beautiful sign....

We wandered through all the streets loving the architecture and.......taking pictures!! What a group....for dinner we had strudel and coffee...delicious.

Catching up

So you have to pay by the hour for wifi in our hotel and who has time in all this fun to post?
Today is a cloudy day so we are passing the time at the Stiegl brewery using their free wifi and eating delicious food with our beer. I finally found a beer that doesn't make me sneeze! It's organic, of course!

Mozartplatz in Salzburg.....
 The funicuar up to the fortress...that was a fun trip!

The view from the fortress...

 Too cute little boy at the fortress...

St Michael's Cemetery in Salzburg...beautifully kept and decorated.

 

 Goldgasse...shopping street in Salzburg...lots of fun!! Such a beautiful city...so clean...

Pretzel stand outside the funicular

We visited the much protested salt mine today ... too much fun.

http://www.salzwelten.at/en/hallein/saltmine/

Dad and Alice going down the slide into the mine...what a blast!


This picture is taken from the boat ride inside the mine, can you feel the claustrophobia?

First day in Austria...so we drank beer and ate strudel...

We had a lovely flight to Munich, not first class but we did get the bulkhead seats so at least we could stretch.
We were impressed with how pristine and clean Germany looked, even from the air!  When we got off the plane the first thing we notice was how QUIET it was. The atmosphere in Newark airport was bombastic compared to this pervasive hush throughout the entire terminal. It was also odd how many people smoke in Europe, the airport had this strange, hermetically sealed room in the middle of the terminal where you could see all the smokers gathered. There was a huge Camel ad with the words "Smoking Kills" on the side.

Outside in the courtyard, you can get some Smokey Joe's BBQ....kind of a study in "One of these things just doesn't belong here!"

Still not sure how this works on my phone so we shall see. And i can only upload pics from my phone. Amateur blogger problems!
Today as we passed through Germany, and avoided the 9 million people in Munich for Octoberfest, we stopped at Ludwigs castle in Herrenchiemsee. This was one of two fountains in front of the castle. Of course, no pictures allowed inside..
.http://www.germany.travel/en/leisure-and-recreation/palaces-parks-gardens/herrenchiemsee-palace.html#

  What an explosion of gold leaf, crystal chandeliers and obscene, bankrupting indulgence. All for an unfinished replica of Louis xiv Versailles palace that he spent only 10 days in and then mysteriously drowned before he could return. Very interesting and informative tour! And further admonishment to lay up your treasures in heaven!

Our transportation to the castle!!!!

We had the first of many strudel outside the castle...we each got our own and shared!! Huge portions of yummyness... the perfect lunch for our first day!!

Arrived in Salzburg in the afternoon and took a nice nap and shower before dinner. We had a very traditional Austrian meal at Guldene Ente and left stuffed. R.T. will be happy to note that we are thinking of him and ordering somewhat off the grid. Dad and I had a hearty venison stew and ended with a crazy meringue puff over raspberries called Salzburger Nockerl. Pictures to follow after I get a new cable.
What a great first day. It's 5pm at home so it must be time for bed.