Day 62-63: Vienna & Salzburg

We got an early start on Friday. We checked out of our apartment at 9am and headed to the train station to lock up our luggage for the morning. From the train station we headed back into the city to visit the Belvedere Museum. The museum is housed in Belvedere, a series of two Baroque palaces that were completed in 1723. They were built by Prince Eugene of Savoy, one of the most successful military commanders in modern European history. Upon his death, the palace was left to his niece who eventually sold it to the Hapsburg Royal family. In 1776, they were made into a public art gallery. The grounds are beautiful...here are a couple of shots.

The art gallery houses works from the Baroque period, as well as art from the 19th and 20th centuries. While works by Van Gogh, Renoir, and Monet are displayed, perhaps the best known pieces are by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt. Most of his artwork focuses on the female form and appears to be influenced by Egyptian, Greek, and Japanese art. Many of his most successful pieces include gold leaf or other colorful decorations. Unfortunately, photos were not allowed inside the museum. However, I have included a picture of Klimt's "The Kiss" painting to give you an idea of his art style. We really enjoyed his pieces and the museum's collection as a whole.

We got out of the museum around noon and headed back to the train station. We had just enough time to grab a couple of sandwiches before boarding our train. Once again, we rode in luxury on RailJet...Austrian trains have been super nice so far. We passed the time planning our stay in Salzburg, reading, and catching up on sleep. 

At 4pm we arrived in Salzburg, Austria, which is on the border with Germany. Salzburg, which translates literally into "Salt Castle", is the fourth largest city in Austria and has one of the best preserved Baroque city centers north of the Alps. It is also on the UNESCO World Heritage List (we are really racking up UNESCO hits). The city is well-known for being the birthplace of Mozart.

We dragged our stuff (we have accumulated far too much at this point and need to send another shipment back to Canada) to our new home for the weekend. For a change, we are renting a room in an apartment, as opposed to an entire apartment. We met our host, Michael, and settled in. We had to hang out until 6pm to have another relocation chat with GE. After our chat, we headed out for dinner to a place called Die Weiss. It was basically a beer hall and is considered to have the best beer in Salzburg. We enjoyed a couple of brews along with some traditional Austrian fare. Afterwards, we headed to the city center to take in some of the sights at night. We didn't walk for too long but we were able to snag this pic of the town center, with the Hohensalzburg Castle up on the hill.

On Saturday morning, we woke up to breakfast provided by Michael, including apple strudel, ham, cheese, coffee, and orange juice. It was delicious (and a lot easier than handling it ourselves). We then set out to explore.

We started at St. Sebastian's Cemetery, where members of Mozart's family are buried. It is a beautiful garden and a serene setting just off a main shopping street. It was very peaceful. However, a few of the statues were really sad...particularly the two little angels (pictured below) that were weeping.

We then headed down a very narrow alley that reminded us very much of Rome and some streets in Prague. During an opening between buildings we were able to see the other side of the city and the large fortress.

We followed the introductory walking tour that was recommended in our guide book. Along the way, we hit the following sites:

*Salzburg Cathedral from the 17th century; we plan to attend mass on Sunday morning

*Dome of Salzburg Cathedral

*A strange statue consisting of a sphere and a human figurine

*Another view of statue

*Locals playing chess in a square

*Another cemetery that abuts a mountainside

*View of St. Peter's Church and Salzburg Cathedral from mountainside

*View in other direction from mountainside

After the tour we decided to stop for a quick and cheap bite. While we were told the wiener stands were good, a fried chicken stand appeared to be very popular. We bought a couple of pieces along with some local Stiegl beer. While not healthy, it was delicious.

After lunch, we walked down the main shopping street and passed Mozart's birth house. While we were not overly excited about this there were a ton of tourists taking photos. We then felt obligated to take one too (peer pressure).

At the end of the shopping street we stumbled upon a food stand selling roasted chestnuts. We had experimented with these for the first time in Vienna, but not with great results. These were much better.

It was getting colder and we were freezing. We hadn't worn our jackets because the weather forecast was calling for highs of 19C. I'm not sure if it got any higher than 12C. To warm up we tucked inside a cafe for a warm drink. After warming up we quickly walked back to our apartment, stopping on the way to grab some ingredients to make a salad for dinner. Now we are relaxing back at the apartment, relishing the warmth (Daryl is so warm and cozy he is sleeping).

Tomorrow we will do some more exploring. We plan to start with Sunday mass, which is supposed to feature some pretty glorious organ music. Then we will either climb the hill to the fortress or signup for the Sound of Music tour, which while kitschy and touristy, is supposed to be a lot of fun. It takes you out into the countryside to see different movie filming locations and even stops for a luge ride.

Until next time, Auf Wiedersehen!