Summer in Salzburg Austria

Monday 23 July 2012 – Slovenia to Austria

Day 101 and 58 to go

I can’t believe we have cracked the 100 day mark and are now two thirds of the way through our trip. Time is beginning to fly.

We slept fairly well with a constant drizzle throughout the night. It kept us cool and it was wonderful to be under the doona again. We were awake by 7.30am. I laid in bed reading while Paul got himself sorted. I had breakfast then a very quick shower. We pulled the plug on the electrics and filled the water and we were on our way to Bled at 9am.

Bled is a small lakeside centre that has a teardrop shaped island in side the lake on which sits a church. It also has a large castle perched on a rocky crag that overlooks the lake and centre. It is a picture postcard place and the images I saw of it winter under full snow are just magical.

It was only a 40min drive from our stop last night, so in no time we were parked and walking along the lake edge after picking up a map at the tourist bureau. There was no real direction in our amble we were happy to just take in the beauty of the scenery. Slovenia is very green with 58% forest and plenty of outdoor activities to kept the adventurer happy.

We walked about a quarter of the way around the lake edge before retracing our steps. The sun was now beginning to burn the clouds away and it looked like it would be a nice day for travel.

Once back where we started we stopped at the supermarket for some lunch things and a selection of local beers and then it was back to the van. With Salzburg in Austria plugged in as our next destination we were back on the motorway and heading North.  We stopped briefly for fuel and seconds later we were over the Austrian border and entering a tunnel 7846m long. Unfortunately it was single lane with the other lane coming right at you. The fumes from all of the vehicles were clearly visible. They really needed better ventilation. When we emerged a few minutes later we were up amongst the Alps and pine forests looking down over grassed valleys singing the “The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Music.”

We stopped at a layby at 1pm to have our lunch before making the final hour trip to Salzburg. The view continued to be enchanting with the Alps encircling us as we drove on.

At 2.15pm we drove into our campground, signed in and made ourselves at home with a view to Salzburg castle. With a quick freshen up we were ready to go and explore Salzburg. We booked a Sound of Music tour at reception for tomorrow and then walked down to the bus stop to wait for the number 3.

They have busses here but they are electric and run like a tram connected to overhead wires. It is a really ugly blight on the city. The ride was quick, passing large shopping area and then over the river and into the old city.

We made our way through the city that is famous for its Baroque buildings that are extremely ornate. We found a tourist bureau to collect a map and then made our way to the funicular railway passing through the Domplatz and the enormous Dom, another ornate religious building.

Once at the funicular we caught a cart up the 542m hill to the Hohensalzburg Fortress, an amazing castle that sits at the top and provides a spectacular view back over the city of Salzburg. We wandered through the castle checking out the marionette exhibition and then into the museum that had different displays and artefacts on show.

With the wander done we stopped at the restaurant for a drink and strudel that was delicious. It was lovely sitting in the sun and soaking up the view of the mountains, castles and the streets below.

We then caught the cart back and wandered through the streets and a fresh food and flower market.  We continued our amble over the footbridge checking out the fast flowing but very muddy-river. It was then back on the bus and a short walk back to the campground.

We unwound in the van checking out things to do in Salzburg. I read some more and cooked dinner at the same time. We played cards for a bit before finishing up for the night. 

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