Austria
We left our brief visit to Germany behind and headed for the alps, Innsbruck. The scenery of this town is worth the visit alone. It is surrounded by mountains which were snow covered and there was a light snow falling for the whole time we were there, none of it was sticking to the ground fortunately though.
Moody, the sky, not the girl
Innsbruck
We did a whole bunch of sightseeing and the usual stuff, climbing up a tower in the centre of town which used to be used to spot fires, visited the city museum, visited Schloss Ambras which has an interesting Curiosities collection(stuffed crocodiles, stuffed sharks, and lots of paintings of people covered with hair, dwarfs and giants etc. etc.). We also went to the ski jump at Bergisel were some young french kids were training so we were able to watch them jumping, it was very impressive and I think you'd need to be brave to do it the first time. Surprisingly, they were jumping on artificial grass, which is how they train all year until the snow comes and covers it in a 30cm layer.
The ski jump
Later on we took the train to Salzburg. In the morning we took off for some sightseeing in light snow. We walked up to the castle, Hohensalzburg Fortress, above the town which gives a good 360 degree panoramic view. We continued walking along the hills above the town before heading back into town for lunch and a visit to the Katacombs. Happily, we managed to avoid all showings of 'The Sound of Music' at the hostel, and didn't even spot any fans around the city. Lucky escape...! It was late afternoon by this time so we went back to the hostel for the happy hour and bumped into a couple from Perth who we'd seen in Innsbruck. It turns out they were taking almost the same route as us between Munich and Krakau, but a day or so behind. We had a few beers and traded stories etc.
A castle on a hill above a town
Maitai river
In the morning Rach woke up with a cold and a fever before we packed up and headed for Vienna. We were going to do some sightseeing and stuff in the afternoon but decided to take a break and rest up instead.
In the morning we went out to Schloss Schönbrunn which is a palace built by the Hapsburgs to rival Versailles. We took a tour around the state rooms and then walked around the gardens. In the afternoon we went back into town and visited the Central Cafe which is a well know coffee shop for some coffee/tea and cakes.
Beaming with enthusiasm over the prospect of more old stuff in rooms
These stick people are everywhere, somebody should tell them they're walking on a footpath not the North Face of the Eiger
A thing you can climb up but not a thing where you can get a cup of tea from the cafe.
Afterwards we took a few wrong turns on the local transport but managed to finally get to the MAK which is a contemporary art gallery/design thing. It's quite a weird museum/gallery and it has lots of exhibits of things which aren't contemporary at all. We did enjoy it though even though Kerry got told off for trying to take photos.
More photos: Innsbruck :: Salzburg :: Vienna
Next up: Bratislava.
Moody, the sky, not the girl
Innsbruck
We did a whole bunch of sightseeing and the usual stuff, climbing up a tower in the centre of town which used to be used to spot fires, visited the city museum, visited Schloss Ambras which has an interesting Curiosities collection(stuffed crocodiles, stuffed sharks, and lots of paintings of people covered with hair, dwarfs and giants etc. etc.). We also went to the ski jump at Bergisel were some young french kids were training so we were able to watch them jumping, it was very impressive and I think you'd need to be brave to do it the first time. Surprisingly, they were jumping on artificial grass, which is how they train all year until the snow comes and covers it in a 30cm layer.
The ski jump
Later on we took the train to Salzburg. In the morning we took off for some sightseeing in light snow. We walked up to the castle, Hohensalzburg Fortress, above the town which gives a good 360 degree panoramic view. We continued walking along the hills above the town before heading back into town for lunch and a visit to the Katacombs. Happily, we managed to avoid all showings of 'The Sound of Music' at the hostel, and didn't even spot any fans around the city. Lucky escape...! It was late afternoon by this time so we went back to the hostel for the happy hour and bumped into a couple from Perth who we'd seen in Innsbruck. It turns out they were taking almost the same route as us between Munich and Krakau, but a day or so behind. We had a few beers and traded stories etc.
Maitai river
In the morning Rach woke up with a cold and a fever before we packed up and headed for Vienna. We were going to do some sightseeing and stuff in the afternoon but decided to take a break and rest up instead.
In the morning we went out to Schloss Schönbrunn which is a palace built by the Hapsburgs to rival Versailles. We took a tour around the state rooms and then walked around the gardens. In the afternoon we went back into town and visited the Central Cafe which is a well know coffee shop for some coffee/tea and cakes.
Beaming with enthusiasm over the prospect of more old stuff in rooms
These stick people are everywhere, somebody should tell them they're walking on a footpath not the North Face of the Eiger
A thing you can climb up but not a thing where you can get a cup of tea from the cafe.
Afterwards we took a few wrong turns on the local transport but managed to finally get to the MAK which is a contemporary art gallery/design thing. It's quite a weird museum/gallery and it has lots of exhibits of things which aren't contemporary at all. We did enjoy it though even though Kerry got told off for trying to take photos.
More photos: Innsbruck :: Salzburg :: Vienna
Next up: Bratislava.
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