Five countries, four days. Australia, Singapore, France, Germany and now, Austria.
There are no kangaroos in Austria, or at least that’s what the t-shirts say. They say “g’day” differently too. Apparently they also have culture, whatever that is. Not a fan of Mozart or Rodgers and Hammerstein, so that’s not a big factor for me.
But yesterday felt like enough of Munich for now. We cast away for somewhere else to visit and, for various reasons that have nothing to do with music and more with time and distance, Salzburg makes the list. And it’s in a new country for Alex (B and I spent a night in Salzburg 22 years ago.
Breakfast is included in our stay. The typical continental European cold cuts, salad, fruits, yoghurt, cereals, breads and eggs. The jams and cheeses are so nice. Other Malaysians and Australians arrive at breakfast and we have a little chuckle at the accents. We leave the hotel feeling very full.
The S-Bahn takes us to Munich East station. The red diesel locomotives pulling the double decker services there look the same as in those Marklin model railway catalogues from when I was a young kid. Our regional service to Salzburg is a single level electric set. Unfortunately it’s quite full and we have to take aisle seats for much of the journey.
We pass through pretty little villages, each with onion domed church spires, rolling farmlands of bright green, forests a deep green pine and birch of golden leaf and white bark. Sawmills and dairies. Wooden hochsitz hunting hides appear between the trees.
On the right is the Seehamer See, a lake peeking between the trees. Later, on the left, the larger Chiemsee. It is only as we approach the border with Austria that the Alps appear as hazy shadows in the distance.
After all the murky grey light it is a delight to see the bright blue sky over Salzburg and even better to be out of the stuffy train.
Rather than ride the overhead wire powered trolley-buses (or in today’s parlance, trackless trams), we decide to walk from Salzburg’s modern station grounds towards the old town centre. My navigation is a little off and as I redirect us through a busy local market selling cheese, meats and pastries in the Mirabellplatz outside the St Andrea church. Distinctive European wasps buzz around inside a pastry display from which we buy a poppyseed scroll pastry and a cherry slice.
Opposite is a park with autumn leaves leading to the Mirabell Gardens, with their roses, statues and flowerbeds, walking paths filled with tourists taking photos.
The centre of Salzburg sits either side of the Salzach river, within a narrow valley overlooked by the massive Festung Hohensalzburg, or Salzburg Fortress. That is our ultimate destination for this visit.
First we cross a bridge festooned with locks. The river runs clear and there are boats docked on the other bank.
It is 0.50 Euros to use the bathroom facilities. Surprisingly, you can use either coins or a card to unlock the turnstile. Europe is big on tap and go payments, which means we can use the same muscle memory as in Australia.
The old town is very touristy, with the same old luxury and mid-luxury brands lining the main pedestrian street, though their shop signs are often more ornate than usual. Other shops are hidden away in side arcades, including a tiny stall called Balkan Grill Walter selling Bosna, a local hot dog with two sausages in a toasted bun containing onions and curry spices and, in our case, mustard. There is a long queue for it and we enjoy as well, though one between three is definitely enough for today.
Despite the commercialism and the tacky souvenir and Christmas shops with plastic ornaments, I still enjoy the old town. The buildings themselves retain enough grandeur and history to make it an experience.
We emerge near St Michael’s Church and through to the Kapitel Plaza, from where it is a short walk to the steep funicular up to the fortress.
The first thing we notice from the top is the view. The backdrop of mountains of all shapes, the distant range snowcapped, but preceded by bright green grasslands. Adding to the scene are the rendered white walls of the fortress.
We take the fascinating panorama tour of the Hohensalzburg, starting with the salt store. Salzburg once sat at the nexus of trade between the salt mines of Austria and the rest of Europe, making it rich and powerful. The fortress was ruled by Prince-Archbishops until 1803.
There a dungeon and astonishing views from the top of the Prison Tower, though watch out for getting dizzy on the winding staircase. We even see an aircraft turning across the mountains to land at Salzburg Airport.
Despite having visited the fortress in 2004, I don’t remember it being this amazing, especially the views. I am not regretting our return.
We briefly view the puppet exhibition and catch the funicular back down.
The brief is now to find a place to eat schnitzel. The Elephant Inn welcomes us in. The shrimp soup entree is packed full of salty prawn flavour, but one sight of the schnitzel mains makes us regret eating anything else.
They are huge and delicious, served with potatoes, cranberry sauce and a vegetable salad where leaves hide sauerkraut and carrot.
So much for dessert.
The day is waning. On the way back I am tempted to try the original sacher torte from the Hotel Sacher, but it is far too expensive. Instead, a nearby patisserie sells much cheaper options, though I find it dry when we eat it back at the hotel.
The train is packed and we are fortunate to get some fold down seats. There are gorgeous views of the mountain silhouettes against an orange dusk sky as we reach the Austrian border. There, a couple of police arrive to check some passports. I don’t know what is going on with these border checks, but the delays they cause are a pain. The police appear to be targeting certain ethnic individuals and never check our passports.
My reverie is interrupted by an academic (soon to be an ex-academic) in a very talkative mood. We chatted the entire journey back to Munich about her plans to make children’s videos about sign language to help her son with Down’s Syndrome learn, about AI, tech oligarchs and identity theft, Japan and Studio Ghibli. Meanwhile, opposite, were two actual Japanese tourists.
There is no need for any dinner after such a huge schnitzel late lunch, so we head back to the hotel and eat cake for dessert. Salzburg was definitely worth another visit and Alex has now added another country to hist list.