Tuesday July 6, 2010

Oh my gosh! What a day! First, we started with breakfast. This hotel DEFINES the words "breakfast included"! We ate cereal and yogurt and pastries and fruit and bread and meats and cheeses and coffee and juices and raw cucumbers! We also packed little sandwiches, for our trip to Salzburg, Austria. It was a two hour drive and very difficult to find parking. We finally parked, quite a distance away from the center of the city and walked.




OK, I know road signs are not exciting. But I'm sure not used to
seeing cities like Verona, Innsbruck and Salzburg on the road
signs I see!




This was really our only day of "bad" weather and it wasn't like an
Ohio rainy day...week...month, well, those of you from Ohio understand!



We were gaining elevation and it was becoming more overcast. I'm
like my mom though, I love the mountains!




What a setting these folks have to live in!





Remember folks, we are in the foothills of the Alps. That's a
freakin' foothill!





A tunnel leading into Salzburg, Austria

The city has an Italian flavor to the architecture. It also has a huge castle, on the highest hill in the center of town. This castle is how I remembered where we parked. Third tower from left and straight to the van! We did a basic walk of the historic area. Very beautiful city, with several large, open squares...the kind you see in pictures of Europe. There were plenty of open air cafes and umbrella tables on the squares, as well as along the streets. We went to the birthplace of Mozart. Didn't go through the museum, due to time. We did sit at an outdoor cafe and have espresso and hot chocolates. It was cool today, so we had jackets on. It also rained on and off. The Alps are a spectacular backdrop to Salzburg! Matthias and Doro wanted us to go and have one of the special desserts Salzburg is known for. It is similar to crumbled funnel cakes and cooked/stewed plums (served cold), with powdered sugar. We also had a type of thin pancake. It was rolled, with apricot jelly inside and powdered sugar over it. The cafe Americano was really good. There were artists outside, either performing or producing their art. One such artist was creating a portrait of a dog, whose owner was sitting and holding the dog. The 3-D effects of the portrait were amazing!



Skinny streets...speaking of skinny, hi Julie!




This was an old church along the street we snuck a peak at.



We talk about "century homes" here and think they are old!





This castle makes an awesome landmark in Salzburg. You
can see it from anywhere and they have to have the best
view of all from up there!





They do live shows out here on this stage.





The fountain was shut down, but what an ornate work.





A statue of Mozart, in his home town.





Another skinny street and Doro wondering
what's taking us so long.




The wires overhead are fuel for the city bus line.





You don't have to speak the language to know this
is Mozart's home.





First time I had ever seen these entertainers. They look
like real statues...and then...they move!



The traffic in this city would preclude me from ever moving here. Alps or not, they are lunatics!

I called my sister, Sheryl, and sang "The hills are alive", while staring at the Alps. She said she was very jealous and had just been on a live web cam of Salzburg.

I took allot of photos, on the way into and out of the city, of the mountains. They are very large and are truly just the foothills of the chain!

Matthias grandmother talked about Konigssee Lake. She always had tears in her eyes about it. So, he asked if we would like to go. Of course we jumped at the chance to go further into the Alps! When we arrived, it was pretty empty and cooler yet. The mountains were enormous and breath-taking! It is definitely a tourist trap. However, Julie found a bikini for Rachel and Doro found one for Tessa. The four parents went on a ten minute hike, to a lookout point, over the lake. It reminds me of the pictures of the lake in Banf, British Columbia. We took pictures and hiked back.



Boat houses are across this little inlet. We walked up the hillside
behind them to get a view of the full lake.





Heading up the hillside on our hike; looking back at where we had been.




I would have loved to have seen this in full sunshine!




Same view as above, just zoomed in on the church that sits at
the other end of the lake on a peninsula.





The church is at the bottom right of this picture.



Knowing we had a couple of hours ahead of us and it being almost 7 p.m., we decided to stop at a restaurant along the road back to the audubon. The food was, once again, fabulous, but all starches! The views out the window are the showcase of this place!




The restaurant we ate at.





Brandon, trying his hand at ordering in German.




For dinner, Matthias had meat, with meat and a side of meat!



It was a long, quiet drive back to the hotel. During our drive, the Netherlands defeated Uruguay, in the World Cup. Tomorrow night will be Spain -vs- Germany. What a great day!

The kids are getting along wonderfully. Josh and Brandon have so many tastes in common. Rachel absolutely loves being around Tessa. Doro and Julie are really talking allot. (Big surprise! Julie talking allot. Who would of thought!) This is a great trip. Our family bonds have strengthened. Yesterday, Matthias mentioned coming to the U.S. next year. Possibly going to Delaware shore and flying through D.C. The will also be coming to Ohio, after the beach, so we have the opportunity to have them stay with us.