Salzburg 10.3.11

Our first attempt at the city bus system was quite successful this morning as we made our way to the other side of town to the Untersberg Mountain. It was about a 1/2 hour ride to the cable car that goes up the mountain.  We met two girls on the bus that we noticed were also staying at our hotel, Melissa and Jen, who were seeing the same sights today as we were. We got to the lift just in time to take the next car up and it was packed right full, probably about 25 people. I was packed right smacked dab in the middle which was probably a good thing because the experience made me a little nervous to begin with. It was about a 10 minute ride up to the summit at 1853m or 6084' and when we got to the top we were greeted with the warm sun and 14 degrees Celsius. It was beautiful! 

There's a restaurant at the top and a shop but we didn't dilly dally, it's about another 30 minutes hike to the very top of the mountain. It was pretty packed with people but oh so worth the view of the Alps and Salzburg when we got there. We made our way back down and caught the cable car with only two other people, which was kind of scary! I could see everything all too clearly, including the steep drop down! 

It was fun though and we couldn't have asked for better weather, hopefully Zugspitze will be just as good! We took bus #25 back to the Zentrum-City Center-to pick up tickets for a cruise on the Salzach River.

We sat at a little outdoor cafe next to the river and had a quick bite before the cruise. A couple who was waiting for the cruise sat down next to us and started chatting to us...they were Americans too...Linda and Steve who live on the coast of Georgia and they were tickled pink when I told them I knew the area because it was right where we took a family vacation some 20 years ago, to Jekyll Island! They are retired from the military and are very familiar with the area that we live. We had such a nice time chatting with them but then as we were boarding the boat sadly had to part from them because they didn't pick up tickets for the ride! They had the Salzburg Card like we did but they didn't pick up an original ticket for the boat. They had to go back to the ticket booth and Linda yelled, "save us seats" but the boat filled quickly and they never showed...we felt bad but it may not be the last time we ever talk to them...read on...

The cruise took us to Hellbrunn Palace where we stopped yesterday to see the Gazebo from The Sound Of Music but this was a chance to tour through and see the famous Trick Fountains. Hellbrunn was built in the1600's by Prince Archbishop Sittikus.  It was his lavish summer "day" place -no bedrooms, he returned to Salzburg at night.

The cruise was slightly delayed because the water level was very low. We got moving...very slowly...because the currents were soooooo strong and we were going upstream. The 75 seat boat is powered by water jets and 25 minutes into the ride one of the engines had a problem and an alarm was going off like crazy, and of course we thought "only does this stuff happen to us" but the captain reassured us alles good and we docked shortly after. We then boarded an authentic London Double Decker for a 5 minute transfer to the Palace. We got tickets for the Trick Fountain tour and who do we see but our Hotel mates, Jen and Melissa again! The Trick Fountain tour was fun and we managed to get tricked by a few of the fountains :)

We toured through the Palace and said goodbye to the girls who were leaving early in the morning back to the states. They were going to the Mozart Dinner Theatre after Hellbrunn and so were Linda and Steve who didn't make the boat, so I gave the girls a message to pass on to them if they happened to run into them! I hope we hear from them!

We caught the same bus #25 back since Hellbrunn was in the same direction as Untersberg and then had to catch the #1 bus to the Steigl Brauwelt for tastings of Austria’s largest brewing company. Now some of you know that Dave and I have a hell of a time when it comes to buses and this trip isn't as extreme but we can chalk it right along with the rest of them. We were nearing the rush hour so the buses were actually running a little behind. We got to the city center to switch and ended up getting on the #1 going the wrong way! So we get off and are on our way until we sat and sat and sat in a stau for almost an hour. We ended up getting off the bus not knowing where exactly we were going but luckily there were signs for the brewery, thank goodness, because the little freebie city map did not show it in the right place! After a good 20 minute trek we found it! Unfortunately the waiter told us that since the store was closed we couldn't get our beer tastings (which btw were a €9,50 value with our Salzburg Card!) oh well we still tried a few. 

Beer is always better fresh at the brewery, and it sure was.

There was a very nice biergarten there but with terrible service and excellent food! Dave had a Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pie with Smoked Salmon and cabbage salad that was an Austrian specialty. I had a delicious organic beef goulash with a bread dumpling and it was soooooo good! It was the tenderest beef. We also had a St. Peters Bread which is a pretzel filled with 3 different kinds of cheese spread. After our bellies were full we walked back to a bus stop that we saw on the way there, caught the bus and had a smooth ride back to town where we walked about a kilometer to the Hotel.

It was a fun day, we were pooped! And the grand total of today's savings with the Salzburg Card = € 75!!

Pictures from the day:

Salzburg 10.3.11