I’m convinced that this artist was inspired by a dream of a giant Mozart kugel (a delicious candy here)
A good reminder that WWII was here but also evidenced by someone trying to drive their tank into a street too narrow!! Â My rented bike on the left. Which is a great way to get around. It was easy to get to Hellbrunn Palace a couple of miles south of Salzburg. They have bike and walking paths everywhere.
Sites back in Salzburg of the wallA bridge with love locks on it.A different view of Hohensalzburg Fortress
My train upon arriving to Salzburg! Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â On this trip as soon as we crossed the Austrian border from Hungary, the Border Patrol was onboard the train checking passports. Â That happened one other time traveling between Switzerland and France.Mirabell Palace – Mirabell means beautiful viewLooking up at Hohensalzburg fortress from Mirabell gardensAndrakirche Salzburg. Â The two towers once had points on them but the bombing of WWII destroyed much of itArt that was in the churchGetreidegasse which is a street and translates to grain alley. It is very picturesque!
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Friday October 5th A beautiful day to see the Bavarian Alps –
Eagles Nest and views from up there as well as on the way up                    Berchtesgaden/Eagles Nest was a bus tour with Panoramic Tours, a very professional and well run company who also does a Sound of Music tour among others….I haven’t done that one (yet). It is a short jont to Germany from Salzburg, just over the border and this time no passport check! The tour started out with our funny, older (probably my age), Bavarian guide, wearing a scaled down version of the regional attire, and as we ascended the mountains, we were given a little history and then it wasn’t long before the views of the Bavarian Alps were all around.
Eagles Nest is the first stop – the tour bus stops at a parking lot where everyone gets out and takes shuttle buses to the top. Â It is VERY organized And systematic and timely-Â
There are 6 shuttle buses and they say:  bus 1, bus 2, etc. and they all leave Exactly at a certain time and follow each other going up the very narrow, one way mountain road. There’s a certain spot that the group of 6 buses Going Down, pull off and stop, letting The group of 6 buses, keep going up, without slowing down!  It’s all very precise and unbelievably timed! Â
(By the way you could drive there from the other side of that mountain)(but I’m not sure you would want to).Â
We get out of the shuttle buses and go like cattle, to the elevator that goes directly up to ‘The House’ called Eagles Nest. We find out on the way down the mountain with our group, that He, (Hitler) was only there only 14 times because he was afraid of heights!!  He actually lived in a location close by, the area that got bombed extensively during WWII;  the house Hitler lived in part-time is there.  Why that isn’t on the tour I don’t know maybe it’s not that interesting…?
Eagles Nest was used for entertainment and is currently a restaurant and quite frankly I couldn’t get a feel for it being ‘a house’ as it was Very crowded.   So, no photos.  Nor were photos allowed. I actually did not have that great of a feeling being up there, due to the energy of the past is my guess.
But outside was the fun part anyway. It was like being on top of the world.  With quite a few friends!!😃
Then we were expected (it was like the gestapo)!  – to get on the shuttle bus no later than ‘X’ because those buses leave at certain times!!  so that we could leave with our tour group on our bus, at a certain time.   Whew, quite the ‘tourist’ experience.  There were vibes there and so the views were great but it was good to get to ….
The Next stop which was Berchtesgaden, a Bavarian town. (Germany vs. Austria).  I learned that there are a lot of different delicious schnapps!!  Which now I know is what Bob’s uncle served us when we visited Kiefersfelden back in 1995.  I always wondered what that was we were drinking that he served us in a small amount and seemed so precious and special.  It is a refined version of whatever I have had in the U.S. Â
I chose to walk around and see the town, take some photos versus eat lunch at Berchtesgaden, as I have learned on previous tours that you either eat lunch or explore the town, it is really one or the other despite what the tour guide may say (that you have time after lunch, not) Then we went back to Salzburg. Â Got back shortly before 2pm so a half day.
A fun time. Â I also sat next to many people as there were the shuttle buses, our bus, and many many Americans! Â Some Scottish people are there for some games.
Looking up at the citadel and the statueLots of interesting looking buildings
On Castle Hill – A town exists up there with a church, hotels that look like they would be fun to stay at, a castle/palais, tunnels, and more!
They gave you lanterns to go through this labyrinth of tunnels and part of it is pitch black. Â There were many diversions and so I was glad there was a nice Indian Family nearby that was talking or I might still be in there!! Â Dracula was imprisoned here! Â There were also torture chambers! Â EEK.Matthias Church on Castle Hill. Â It was originally built in Romanesque Style in 1015, although the current building was constructed in the florid late gothic style in the 14th century and restored in the 19th century. Â It was the second largest church of medieval Buda and the seventh largest church of the medieval Hungarian Kingdom (Wikipedia)
fisherman’s bastions – is a terrace in neo-gothic and neo-romanesque style situated on the Buda bank of the Danube, on the Castle Hill.  Built between 1895 and 1902 (Wikipedia).  It does look fairytale like and the views ….
The views of the city and Danube River from that location
Other sights on Castle Hill
Buda tower
Castle Hill at night and views from there
Looking up at castle hill on my way back down
By the river now
Jewish SynagogueSt Stephen’s Basilica – a Roman Church named in honor of the first King of Hungary, Stephen (c.975-1038), whose supposed right hand is housed in the relinquary.  (I did not check on this)Other sights
Budapest from the water
The Parliment
Budapest train station this morning, leaving for Salzburg Austria
This shows the location of Leobendorf which is the train stop to get off to get to Burg Kreuzenstein from the main city of Vienna.  There was nothing at that stop, no buses, no town, but I knew the direction to go and it was about a 30 minute walk. Sometimes that’s when you get the best photos!The train to Leobendorf.Gladiolus field
Back in Vienna at Karlskirche
Opera on the big screen LIVE in front of the Opera house last night!!!A nice design in a dress shop
Anker Clock  It was the top of the hour and a bunch of people gathered to see the clock…Nothing happened.Maria am Gestade the oldest gothic church in Vienna
The Freyung A Benedictine Monastery and Palais Ferstel is located hereRathaus
Votiv churchVotiv church. The front was covered due to renovationVienna UniversityA university building (I think)
Rathaus. I actually would have taken the photo from a different angle but there was a (what looked like, a homeless person sleeping there)RathausThe Rathaus with a circus set up in front of it…Burg Theater
Museum Quarter
Palmenhaus
National Library
A miniature of an illustration in the book on view.
Inside the library is a high tech display that you can find out more about each particular section of the painting on this ceiling. If you were so inclined to find out…
Astrological globe
The particular types of wood (walnut etc.) that were identified were making up the little books. (In the rear of the photograph)
 
