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Gabrielle Ingram
Gabrielle Ingram

Gabrielle Ingram

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  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeViaggiatore
    My kind of road system

    Autobahn

    15 ottobre 2017, Germania ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Alrighty, I am not cut out for this 'no speed limit' caper. Craig got up to 163kph on the autobahn today. I was a nervous wreck, and yet we were not even in the fast lane and cars were passing us at great speed even then. The kids were in the background going "weeeeee" when he sped up to overtake a "slow" person. I was white knuckled, eyes closed, heart rate elevated. I swear I lost weight expending nervous energy on the 1.5 hours of the autobahn.

    At one stage we passed one BMW towing another BMW with 3 metres between them doing 130kph on the autobahn. I just about died from anxiety as the car being towed was drifting as we passed (doing more than 130).

    I am much more a 'quiet country lane' type of gal. Much more sedate and less stress. Happy to be the tortoise, not the hare.    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeViaggiatore
    The entrance gate, and a fallacy... Work Brings Freedom
    Footprint of one of the barracksThe main avenue between the barracks, lined by poplarsLooking back across the barracksIf prisoners set foot on this grass, they were killed immediately by machine gun from the towersParade ground, looking at the main administration and processing buildingEvocative art piece "Into the Wire"Roll call held here twice a day, all weather conditionsNever AgainPrison cells inside the "Bunker"

    Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site

    15 ottobre 2017, Germania ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    A sombre day...

    We have spent a reasonable amount of time on this holiday doing things associated with either WWI or WWII. It only makes sense whilst in Germany to visit the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site just outside Munich, the site of the first concentration camp established by the Nazis in 1933 and liberated by the Allies in 1945.

    This camp served as the blueprint for all 80 or so concentration camps which followed. The main administration building, which is now a large museum through which you linearly travel through the 12 years of Dachau's history, was formerly the receiving and processing stations, including the place where prisoners personal details were registered, stripped, shaved, showered and provided their uniforms. It also included the kitchens.

    There is a recommendation that children under 12 do not enter the museum, so Kate stayed out with Craig whilst Finn and I went through.

    Behind this building is the "Bunker" with the corridor between the two buildings forming the execution area for special prisoners, as well as the place various tortures were performed. Within the Bunker, the special prisoners were housed and included isolation cells and standing cells - 70cm x 70cm cubicles with no light where prisoners could neither lie nor sit and were submitted to this torture for up to 3 days at a time.

    Between the main admin building and the first of the dormitories was the parade ground where roll call was made twice a day. Even in winter with temperatures of -12C, prisoners had to stand there for a minimum of 1 hour each time. Longer if the guards felt like it. The area held approx 40,000 prisoners.

    The barracks were all destroyed after liberation, with two having been reconstructed to demonstrate the cramped living conditions for prisoners. What is left of the barracks that stood there previously is now marked by the footings of each building, along the poplar-lined main walk. At the end was the SS quarters, now converted into a convent for the Carmelite order.

    To the left was the old and new crematoriums, and the gas chambers, which at Dachau were reportedly only used a few times for a few small groups or individuals and experimentally. I could not bring myself to take a photo of these buildings. I had always imagined them to be large processing plants. In fact they were quite small, and in the new crematorium which was built because they couldn't keep up with the demand for use by the smaller crematorium, there were only 4 ovens, which would usually be used for 2-3 bodies at a time. Mass graves were in fact only employed after there became a coal shortage, so the crematoriums could no longer be used.

    I am not quite sure how to process the actual experience of today. Of course I have read novels and seems documentaries, but being physically here is still quite different. The memorial site is so peaceful and quiet. It certainly defies any comprehension of how men could commit the atrocities witnessed here on fellow human beings. One would like to hope that the sentiment on one of the pieces of art work outside the main administration building is true - Never Again.    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeViaggiatore
    A spectacle, no other way to describe it!
    We are lucky to experience beautiful autumn leavesView from the bridgeAnd from the carparkFinn having veal with spetzle and sauerkrautWe found this old wall in the park nearbyMy beloved and meThe Lech RiverOrnately painted building in FusselKids just loving playing at the water

    Schloss Neuschwanstein

    14 ottobre 2017, Germania ⋅ 🌙 11 °C

    In keeping with movie themes, we visited Neuschwanstein Castle today, which is the castle that Chitty Chitty Bang Bang flew over. It is also the castle that Walt Disney reportedly based the Disneyland castle on. It is located in lower Bavaria close to the Austrian Alps, so only just over an hour drive from where are staying. I read that it is Germany's most visited attraction, and judging by the fact that we are entering low season and the place was positively crawling with people, I can well believe it. Craig wants one of those pen's recently placed on Facebook which has written on it "I hate f****n people". There really are some quite obnoxious people travelling out here.

    If we had lined up for tickets to do the 30 minute guided tour, the earliest we would have been able to do the tour was 3.00pm (and we were there at 10.15am) and tours were leaving every 5 minutes! So King Ludwig II might have been called Mad King Ludwig, but I suspect the tourism board is laughing all the way to the bank with this one.

    That said, it was rather a magical setting, and I suspect the external viewing of the castle was more of a spectacle than the inside, so we settled for that. This included a walk to a bridge over a gorge which looked back along the castle. Just nearby, and down the hill, was the castle where Ludwig lived as a child.

    We drove to another nearby village called Füssel which was crammed with typical Bavarian buildings, lots of cobbled pedestrian streets and with the river Lech running through it. Something we have noticed about all rivers in Germany and Austria - they are in a real hurry to go somewhere and could almost be described as swift water. They are also a lovely colour and crystal clear. There were also a larger number of people casually wearing traditional dress in the streets today – dirndls for the women and lederhosen and related paraphernalia for the men. When we were in Munich yesterday, we dropped into a very large retailer of traditional dress. Just the lederhosen shorts alone retailed for circa €200! A dirndl here was around €100 for a more basic version, but we were seeing them up to €600 in Austria for quite ornate versions.    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeViaggiatore
    Taking the guitar for a walk to our local lake
    Kate makes an autumn boatLetting the "boat" set sail in crystal clear waters

    Pöcking

    13 ottobre 2017, Germania ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Our AirBnB is in Pöcking, which is located on the Starnberger Lake (5th largest lake in Germany). We went for a walk down to the lake this afternoon, taking the guitar with us. We also needed to surreptitiously collect kindling for our fire (none provided, not sure if you are allowed to collect sticks?). Kate has also been on a quest at each water location we have visited to float leaf boats with a stone in it. She had an abundance of large autumn leaves to choose from today.

    Our accommodation is the top floor of a traditional Bavarian home, so we have a wooden ceiling, huge beams and sloping ceilings.

    Finn was desperate to try on his new football kit after dinner. I have never seen him so happy - I think we have hit on the best birthday present ever! Brought tears to my eyes...    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeViaggiatore
    Rathaus-Glockenspiel
    Maypole in Victualienmarkt, MunichBavarian food in Bavarian bierhausBayern Munich home ground, Allianz Stadium, in the distance...One happy chickenAugustinerbrau (bierhaus), drinking a Augustinerbrau lagerBrezel in bierhausBeautifully decorated buildingsRathaus tower

    München

    13 ottobre 2017, Germania ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

    We are staying at a place called Pöcking which is a village about a 45 minute train ride from the centre of Munich. We decided to spend the day in Munich today given things close by 2pm in Germany on Saturday. At the train station, we were buying our tickets for the train and a German couple came up to ask us if we needed any assistance. Then another man came over and started chatting to us. We talked for the 10 minutes whilst waiting for the train and the 40 or so minutes in on the train. He was a 62 year old psychotherapist, and a lovely guy. We had an interesting conversation about the psychotherapists across the world and their opinion of Trump. I had read a number of articles previously about his narcissism and sociopathic traits. Since I last read up about it, a lot more literature has appeared online! Anyway, both those instances in the space of an hour go against the general information Mena and Mia (our German au pairs) have given us about grumpy and unfriendly Germans. We will continue to monitor if that changes during the next few weeks ;-)

    The train spat us out at Marienplatz, the main town square, so we were able to hang around there, go up the tower of the Rathaus (town hall), and witness the Rathaus-Glockenspiel "show" in the main tower which consists of 43 bells and 32 life-sized acting out one of two songs and stories. Up in the tower, we were able to give Finn a glimpse of the Bayern Munich home ground, Allianz Stadium.

    We had a walk through the Viktualienmarkt, which is an open market place packed with all sorts of shops selling sausage, cheese, mushrooms, mulled wine, fruit and veg, bakeries... and a maypole.

    Finn was on the lookout for every sport shop known to man now that he is in football country, so that he could buy a pair of away game shorts to go with his away game jersey for Real Madrid. We found a lot of shops, but all were either sold out or didn't have his side. He can now nag us until we get to Berlin about finding a sports shop. Oh yay.

    We went into the Bayern Munich Fan Shop which was on three levels and had everything branded with Bayern Munich you could possibly think of (babies dummies, toothbrushes, dog bowls - you name it!). Finn sweet talked us into his birthday present (training shirt, shorts and socks, and they threw in a cap for free), which he now needs to wait two months to receive. Birthday shopping done!

    We had lunch in a bierhaus. So one thing we have already noticed in Germany (or perhaps this is unique to Bavaria) is that if they say something on the menu to describe the meal, it is quite literal. The kids ordered traditional Bavarian meatloaf for lunch. The menu described it as "200gm meatloaf". What arrive was a white plate with 200gm slice of meatloaf. That's it - no garnish, no sauce, no anything. Just a lump of meatloaf.

    I ordered something described as "white sausage salad with gherkin and onions". What I received as the most gigantic pile of thinly sliced sausage scattered with red onion rings and 1/2 a gherkin with a clear vinegar type of dressing over the top. No actual salad item. It is quite bizarre.

    One of the other things I had noticed in the villages we drove through yesterday and again in Marienplatz is the blue and white stripey poles. They are mostly ornately decorated. Googled that too and note they are Maypoles. There is one outside our AirBnb and even a small one in the garden.    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeViaggiatore
    1View from the "back yard" walk at Eagle's Nest across to Austrian border
    Eagle's NestIn the beer gardenLunch at KehlsteinhausView from my chair at lunchThe (in)famous "sun terrace"

    Eagle's Nest

    12 ottobre 2017, Germania ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    After we finished our toboggan run, we took a short 15 minute drive to the car park at the base of Eagle's Nest. In a highly efficient operation (we are in Germany after all), we were on one of many specially designed buses which can manage the narrow road going up. Once we get up, you then walk through a 124 metre tunnel, to get in a brass lift to go up 124 metres, which pops you out right inside Kehlsteinhaus. It has been operated as a restaurant since the 1930s, with all proceeds from the leasing and tourism venture going to charity.

    The views across the Alps are incredible. The sun terrace where many of the famous photographs of Hitler and Braun were taken is now simply a corridor to another part of the restaurant, with information panels and archival photographs in place. This is the only reference to the Nazi Party that we saw at the actual site.

    We ate lunch out on the terrace with splendid views. I admit though I was surprised as I had more of an idea of it having a large grassed slope behind it, but perhaps I am just mixing up various archival footage in my mind.    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeViaggiatore

    Keltenblitz Summer Toboggan Run

    12 ottobre 2017, Austria ⋅ ☀️ 6 °C

    On our way to Germany this morning we stopped off at two places - one a summer toboggan run which was 2.2km long, had inclines at 58% and an awesome chairlift to get to the top. The top of the chairlift was actually right on the border with Austria.

    Finn isn't the best with heights, and only opened his eyes about halfway up the chairlift after asking me what sort of parents would make him get on this thing, and why can't we just have a day at staying at home. Bad bad bad parents is the obvious answer ;-)

    We arrived an hour before they open so did a little walk up the hill to enjoy the view whilst waiting.    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeViaggiatore

    Sound of Music

    11 ottobre 2017, Austria ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    We managed to see a few The Sound of Music things in Austria. Actually turned out quite hard to get a photo of alps, green grass, fir trees and to be able to actually get onto the grass. Saw lots of settings, couldn't access them!

    My lovely husband did do a drive by of the church in which the scene of Maria and Captain von Trapp getting married was filmed in Mondsee, the village we were staying near.

    Kate and I also went to visit the farm animals one last time in the barn.

    The kids have declared this the best place we have stayed at all holidays. Ranking highly on the judging criteria were: good internet, many cats which were happy to make themselves at home in our apartment, trampoline + "the best games room ever" + swimming pool.    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeViaggiatore
    Talk about contrast of environment!
    Our first avalancheThe hills are alive with the sound of musicPerspective... each one of those gondolas holds 40 peopleSnowball fight is in full swing nowGotchaMade it to the end

    Hike in the Dachstein foothills

    11 ottobre 2017, Austria ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

    We got back to the bottom of the gondola run and saw there was a track which took you to across a bit of a track. Had eaten a big lunch, so decided a bit of exercise wouldn't kill us with a 1.5 hour round trip, or thereabouts.

    Turned out to be a great idea - the kids got to have some snowball fights, Kate drank out of the little streams of melted snow that were running down the hill, we saw wild mountain goats, mainly because they had to move to escape the avalanche! In fact, we got to see three avalanches which was rather spectacular. They signal "look up now" with a large thunderous crack, and then snow just comes tumbling down. We saw the goats because they had to move to get out of the way of the second avalanche.    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeViaggiatore
    Thick walls of ice
    The throne1Channeling my inner Delta from The VoiceMonster girl1Gangsta KingIn hindsight, this does not look like an age-appropriate ice sculpture

    Ice Palace

    11 ottobre 2017, Austria ⋅ ⛅ 2 °C

    There are 8 glaciers up the top of the mountain which are collectively known as the Dachstein Glacier. An enterprising group of people have created an underground (underice?) labyrinth where there are various sculptures carved into ice. At one stage we were in a section with 26 metres of glacier overhead. A bit of trivia... it is a steady -0.2 degrees in all glaciers across the world. Felt a lot colder!Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeViaggiatore
    The suspension bridge across to the Stairway to Nothingness
    Craig and Finn on the Suspension BridgeFinn and I on the Stairway to NothingnessStock photo to show the view side on of the stairway

    Suspension Bridge and Stairway

    11 ottobre 2017, Austria ⋅ ⛅ 2 °C

    So there is a suspension bridge which takes you across a ravene, with the option on walking out onto a platform called the "Stairway to Nothingness". I was the only one up for the challenge, until Finn, my boy who is usually afraid of heights, decided to join me. There is no logical reason why this increases the fear factor, but the last three stairs and the platform are made of glass, and really slippery with ice, and just stepping onto them increased the heart rate considerably.

    Good fun though!    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeViaggiatore
    Distracting view when you are trying to drive!
    It is REALLY coldSpectacular viewsTrying to convince the kids that snow angels are not a good idea in these clothes!Breathtaking viewsStrudel with a view-del (sorry, it had to be said...)In the gondola on the way back down

    Dachstein Mountain

    11 ottobre 2017, Austria ⋅ ☀️ 0 °C

    When you are staying somewhere with lots of mountains, it is inevitable that a “thing” you want to see if on the other side of several mountains. The case today, where we drove nearly two hours back around the top of Salzburg and then south, and then west to get to the Dachstein Mountain in the Austrian Alps. Agenda: A cable car up to 2,700m, a walk across a suspension bridge, a daring walk down the “stairs to nothingness”, a journey through the “ice palace” carved inside a glacier, and then once we had come back down in the gondola, a 1.5 hour hike.

    We were blessed with perfect weather today – clear blue sky, 20C up on the mountain (but a lot colder in the wind) and 30cm of snow. The views across the alps were simply breathtaking.    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeViaggiatore
    Landslide protectionAtterseeDiving attractionsAchtung, dangerous children may be present in these areas

    Attersee

    10 ottobre 2017, Austria ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    We passed along Lake Attersee on the way home from Halstatt, so stopped off to let the driver have a bit of a look at the scenery. There are some serious constructions around to protect the roads from landslides!

    We were laughing about the "Achtung Kinder" sign. Craig says "Mein Gott im Himmel, what's wrong with these people? At least in Australia it is only the crocodiles that eat the Germans. Here in Austria, it is the children!". Cracked us all up.

    I took a photo of another funny sign which had all the things to see if you went diving in the particular part of Attersee we were at... which included what looked to be a car door, a tyre or wheel, and an oven. The best diving location!    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeViaggiatore
    They have made the most of the limited real estate on the "flat" bitAttack swanWaterfall in the middle of the villageThe most gorgeous cemetery ever (with good views)View from the cemeteryThe non-white swans

    Halstatt

    10 ottobre 2017, Austria ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C

    The rain disappeared today, so we drove for an hour alongside a couple of the lakes to visit the beautiful lakeside village of Halstatt.

    Very picturesque to say the least. The water is crystal clear up close and I assume only looks black from the shores because it is so deep - we could see that it dropped away quickly. There were a large number of swans in the village vicinity and obviously accustomed to being fed because they got quite nasty if you go up close and didn't have any food for them.

    We also walked through the cemetery of the church on the hill, and it has to be the most beautiful cemetery ever! The plots were tiny, each one was well cared for, covered in flowers or ornamental shrubs and unique - gorgeous.    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeViaggiatore
    View from our front verandah over Mondsee Lake, Austria
    Making himself right at homeView from our front verandah over Mondsee Lake, AustriaView from our front verandah over Mondsee Lake, AustriaView from our front verandah over Mondsee Lake, AustriaFelix has all but moved in...8 degrees outside the enclosure, 22 degrees in the waterNice and humidGarfield seeking out some attention from FinnA trampoline with million dollar views

    AirBnB at Mondsee

    10 ottobre 2017, Austria ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    The kids decided it was time for a swim - just the ticket when it is cold outside hey? Took me a longgggg time to get in the water, but it was quite pleasant once you were in. The coverage is good for maintaining warmth, but a shame because it was an infinity pool so I imagine the view from the pool in summer when the cover is off is quite spectacular.

    Kate and I wandered over to the barn at 5pm to watch the cows being milked, visit the goats and pony and watch the calf drinking from the specially modified milking pail which had a teat attached. It was adorable.

    Felix and Garfield the cats have become a permanent fixture in our house it would seem. They are the most dog-like cats I have ever come across (although admittedly my cat experience is limited to Rubix for the last 2 years).    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeViaggiatore

    Mondsee - wet day no play

    9 ottobre 2017, Austria ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

    It was raining and cold today, so we had a bit of an indoor day at home. We did head off to the supermarket to stock up on dinner supplies, tried very hard to find a cafe which was open for lunch (admittedly it was 2pm, but it was a Monday and Google Maps said places were open every day!). In the end, we failed trying to find a local business and finally had to resort to eating at Maccas.

    That said, it was the nicest McDonald's hamburger we have ever had, so wasn't all bad.

    The church which featured the wedding of Maria and Captain von Trapp in the Sound of Music is in Mondsee, and we did drive right past it, but none of my family were overly keen to visit it with me. Sigh...    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeViaggiatore
    No views for us today
    Testing Austrian apple strudel so I can get apple dessert cooking tipsCome on Craigy, please pat me...Felix getting in on the act

    Eisriesenwelt Ice Caves

    8 ottobre 2017, Austria ⋅ 🌧 6 °C

    Time to leave Salzburg today, which meant we were homeless until we could check in at our next place after 3pm. It was also raining, so an indoor activity was required. What better activity than to visit the world's largest ice cave?

    The slight flaw in the plan was that after driving to the parking lot of the ice cave and buying a ticket, there was a 20 minute uphill walk to the cable car. After going up the cable car (very steep!) there was another 20 minute uphill walk. Both walks were in wafty rain with clouds coming and going and remnant of overnight snow on the ground.

    The ice cave tour was incredible. Lasted about 70 minutes and during that time we walked up another 700 stairs, the guide saying by the time we finished we had walked the equivalent of a 40 storey skyscraper today. The temperature in the caves is a consistent zero degrees all year around, so we were suffering from cold noses and lack of feeling in our toes by the time we got down to the warmth of the restaurant.

    It was quite incredible seeing the speed with which the clouds were wafting up and down the mountains.

    We relocated to an AirBnB overlooking Lake Mondsee. The apartment is on an organic farm, so we have arranged for a litre of milk direct from the cows to be delivered at breakfast tomorrow! There are a number of cats living here, and within minutes of arriving one of them had made itself at home on Kate, then walked into the bedroom and taken up residence.

    Both then followed us down to the games room. Kate has named them Felix and Garfield. Felix kept jumping up on pool table and rolling around right where you wanted to play your shot. I suspect they are used to lots of guests giving them lots of attention.

    The other interesting thing about today is that it is Sunday... in Austria... which is like Sunday in Queensland in the early 1980s. Nothing is open! Luckily we were able to cobble together some sort of unleavened bread thing + a sausage and some cheese for dinner which we had in our grocery supplies.    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeViaggiatore
    Hellbrunn Schloss
    Kate and a Unicorn - she was happyVery old globe - Australia is a big blobIn the gardensThe only seat not getting a squirt up the whatsit belongs to the host!Inside one of the many grottosHusband wasn't impressed

    Trick Fountains

    7 ottobre 2017, Austria ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    Heading back into Salzburg from the snow adventure, we stopped at Hellbrunn Palace to visit the Trick Fountains. The summer residence for the archbishop/prince of Salzburg, Markus Sittikus, he created a garden full of water features to take guests by surprise.

    It started raining as we walked through the gardens, and it was already cold... but that didn't stop the tour guide turning on the hidden water features to wet us even more. Everything was powered by water, and still works today, which is a pretty amazing feat.

    Late addition: I found out that part of the Sound of Music was filmed in these gardens!    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeViaggiatore
    Starting the ascent into the clouds
    A smattering of snowThick cloud now...It's about now we all started exclaiming it was snowing outsideSnow - yayyySausage and noodle soupGoulash soupSausage and noodle soupCheese dumpling in beef broth

    Snow!

    7 ottobre 2017, Austria ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    It was cold this morning, still a bit drizzly, but you only get one chance, so we set off to catch a couple of buses to get to the cable car which takes you up to the 1853m summit of Mt Untersberg. This is part of the mountain range which borders with Germany, so you have views of both Austria and Germany from the top.

    Given it was rainy, we could see that the top of the mountain was in cloud, so in some ways I thought all we would get to do really is take a cable car into the clouds, have a hot drink and come back down again.

    Whilst waiting for the cable car we saw a sign advising it was -1ºC at the summit! Just a wee bit chilly...

    The cable car was over 3km in length and was a great trip up the mountain - about 10 minutes or so. Just as we arrived it started to snow! Only tiny little bits of snow, but snow none the less. We walked out on to the terrace, lasted less than a minute because it was so cold, in cloud and very windy.

    What we did stumble on to out on the terrace though was a lot of Austrian military, new and old, in the middle of some sort of ceremony. When I asked it was a WWII commemoration for fallen soldiers. Very elaborate military uniforms, including swords, fancy axes, feathers on hats, capes, men with curled handlebar moustaches... Of course, in WWII the Austrian Army was fighting for the Nazis so hardly an Ally, but they saw sense by the end (it was a good excuse to go and read a bit of Austrian military history whilst having a hot drink - not wine!).

    Finn declared it the best thing we have done on the holiday so far and was begging to go back out into the snow (quite possibly because Kate had thrown a snowball at him and he needed retribution?). Anyway, as we were eating lunch, over the space of about 45 seconds, the cloud completely cleared away to reveal blue skies and views over Austria and (we presume) Germany - we couldn't stay outside to work out where the boundaries occurred - it was too cold.

    There were lots of Austrian older generation soldiers stomping around in the snow, so managed to sneak a photo of one who was in his cape, amazing hat with feather etc. Also a frau in a dirndl... and I reckon she must have had very cold ankles!

    We had soup for lunch - husband never willingly eats soup. Photo worthy event.    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeViaggiatore
    So much promise when it is cold and wet...
    And then your taste buds are assaulted!And subsequent sips don't grow on you...

    Hot wine

    6 ottobre 2017, Austria ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

    This is what happens if you decide to drink the hot wine!

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  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeViaggiatore
    Mirabell Gardens - Do Re Mi
    Views from the fortress on the hillThe lame marionette museumOriginal Roman walls within the fortress recently found by archeologistsThe best wursts

    Salzburg

    6 ottobre 2017, Austria ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    A bit of a novelty this morning... We are staying in a newish compact hotel room with no self-catering facilities or fridge etc, which makes breakfast a bit more of an ordeal in some ways. The hotel offers a buffet continental breakfast for a reasonable rate, and only €3.50 for the kids, so we ate a pretty good breakfast. Whilst doing this, Craig noticed that someone was buying a "Salzburg Card" and on investigation we found that it included free entrance into everything Salzburg + bus/tram trips included, so armed with a new card each, off we went to discover Salzburg!

    First stop was the Mirabell Gardens, followed by a trip through the residence of the Mozart family. Keyboards were certainly a lot more compact back then. Afterwards we walked through the "old town" streets which were full of beautiful arcades and elaborately decorated street lights and shop signs. There were a number of shops selling beautifully tailored dirndls, although I didn't see anyone in the streets wearing then, so not sure who their target market was - they were retailing for between €600 and €1,000, so wouldn't really be considered a mass tourism item.

    We then caught a very speedy funicular up to the "big white fortress on the hill" Festung Hohensalzburg - a panorama of Salzburg, a number of museums including one which just warmed the sarcasm of my husband's tongue - a very lame marionette museum, although it would be more aptly promoted as "someone's poorly maintained collection of marionette dolls put together in a bit of a lame way". It was a bit chilly by the time we got back down from the fortress, and we passed a person selling hot wine and hot cider. Craig bought some hot red wine - we have been meaning to make mulled wine for the last few winters and not gotten around to it - if it tastes like this, I don't think we will bother. It was impossible to not pull a face when drinking it as it tastes like you are being poisoned with every sip!

    Lunch was some street food - the highly anticipated eating of "wursts" - the best sausages on buns ever eaten!

    The weather was trying hard to be annoying today - very cold and spitting intermittently with rain. Luckily any full scale rain managed to stay away. We did a cruise on the extremely swift flowing water of the Salzach River. Afterwards we went up to the Museum of Modern Art (it is situated at the top of an escarpment). Given we knew there were not that many restaurants around where we are staying, we decided to have dinner in the city before heading home. Found a fascinating restaurant which had about 7 or 8 different "rooms" which were all styled/themed - from very modern, to a biergarten, to traditional. We decided to go traditional as the waitress was wearing a dirndl. I ordered spitezl, Craig had another wurst washed down with 1/2 litre of Austrian bier. Gigantic meals - will need to eat less tomorrow!    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeViaggiatore

    Heidi Land

    5 ottobre 2017, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    We could have taken a more direct route between Venice and Salzburg, but were more than happy to add an hour and half driving time to the journey today so we could visit Bressanone Brixen for lunch - we otherwise know it as HEIDI LAND.

    Our lovely friend Heidi was lured from this gorgeous part of the world by the love of our other fabulous friend David. I can see why they keep coming back to visit (family still being here aside) - it is so incredibly gorgeous.

    We had lunch here, looked in the duomo (a passing tourist went out of her way to tell us it was a must). We came across a number of "Profanter" shops - we decided they are rellies, or the name Profanter is like Smith in our part of the world?    Leggi altro

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  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeViaggiatore
    Castle-looking things all over the place
    Smog in VeniceEthereal light envelops the AutogrillDriving through the DolomitesApplesI was singing a lot of songs from The Sound of Music today!Entering into Heidi LandBeer in stein whilst waiting for schnitzel on plate1The world's largest scrambled eggs meal (ordered from the "snack" part of the menu!)

    Three countries - one day

    5 ottobre 2017, Italia ⋅ 🌫 13 °C

    We set off from Venice this morning by 9am amidst heavy fog (to be more accurate, it was smog - pollution was evident throughout Tuscany all the way up to Venice). By the time we started to gather altitude through the Dolomites though, it had cleared to a brilliant blue sky, with the drive only enhanced by beautiful alpine scenery, vibrant green grass and beautiful houses. It was amazing how quickly the architecture style changed compared to the rest of Italy.

    We took the long way to Salzburg as we wanted to stop in at Bressanone/Brixen for lunch (see next post), so ended up driving through Italy, Austria, Germany and Austria again on our way to Salzburg today. Can't do that in Australia!

    The arrival at our hotel in Salzburg went smoothly - dinner was in an inn down the road, and of course we really had no choice but to eat a Wiener Schnitzel! Finn was not hungry so ordered scrambled eggs - it was enormous!    Leggi altro

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