This is written exactly as it was in my diary during the trip. Hence, some bits are shorthand. It's late, there's a lot to type, and I can't be bothered to edit myself ;)
Firstly, a little about our arrival yesterday; the flight was awful - turbulent, I was sat next to a smelly man, and we were both very tired. At least it got in ten minutes early at 5pm (6pm in Austria), so one hour 40 mins in total - not bad.
We got a bus from tiny Salzburg airport into the main bus station in the city, from here, another bus into St Gilgen. We faffed a bit here as all timetables were in German, we were tired, and had monstrously oversized, cumbersome, horrendous rucksacks on our backs, which, in case you hadn't guessed, I am never using again. It did force me to pack less (only 11kg - a record for me) but was still hugely more difficult and awkward to lug around than wheeling a suitcase behind me.
Anyway, Andy slipped into a foul mood in Salzburg because 'people were looking at us', I'm not surprised, we looked like two lost transformers. It didn't bother me, I just smiled back. To top it off, our bus driver was really grumpy, so it was a quiet and sullen 50 minute trip to St Gilgen. Thankfully, as we left what appeared to be a rather grubby, run-down Salzburg behind us (we hoped to discover nicer parts!) we emerged into the lush green mountainous Salzkammergut. Turning the corner into St Gilgen, I was thankful that it hadn't yet turned dark, because the view was beautiful. Low hanging clouds floated halfway down the tree-covered snow-capped mountains, which surrounded a dark green, rippling lake, Lake Wolfgang,
Due to the time we arrived, approx 7.20pm Austrian time, everything was quiet, closed up and still in the town. It was also raining. As we searched for our hotel lugging 11kg up a steep incline in the drizzle, I could tell the view hadn't been enough to dispel Andy's perturbed mindset. It was odd - like a ghost town, with images of Christ on the cross outside most of the builldings (Austria is fervently Catholic). The next day, we would mock this fact by repeatedly chanting 'The Greater Good' (Hot Fuzz reference), but at the time, it just added to our sense of unease.
We found Landhaus Schossleitner at the top of the hill and walked into the open front door. Oddly, no-one was around; we could hear a woman with a screaming child somewhere in the building, but when we said 'hello' no-one answered. I walked through the dimly lit seemingly empty house, past lots of religious memorabilia such as cross-stitched bible quotes in German, it was quite spooky! Eventually, I went back to the front door and rang the bell - what we should have done in the first place! The lady and now quiet child on her hip emerged from a nearby door. She is called Sonya, speaks good English and is very friendly and welcoming. She showed us to our room, number 1 directly at the top of the staircase; a simple, cosy, homely and spotlessly clean space with rustic furniture. She then told us that breakfast is served from 7.30am until whenever we like (yay!) and left us to it. We have a balcony attached to our room with stunning views across the lake and a small cable TV. We walked into the centre of St Gilgen in the rain seeking food and ate at a lovely restaurant called Gasthof zur post - I even managed to successfully ask for a table in German! The food was lovely, but the walk back up the steep hill was a challenge. The bed is extremely comfy; needless to say - we slept well!
We had a much-needed lie in this morning and didn't go down for breakfast until 10am. Sonya had set out a lovely table for us, with orange juice, tea, coffee, cheeses, meats and fresh bread. It was all very yummy. Andy made me chuckle as he couldn't figure out how to open the coffee pot, so he opened the lid fully whilst tipping it, as you do, and it went everywhere! The clumsy Brits had arrived.
We walked into St Gilgen; there was a little more hustle and bustle today. Our walk carried on along the lake, where we took some lovely photos. The weather was still overcast but the rain had thankfully stopped. We could hear the Sunday church session in full swing, with choral voices carrying out onto the main street. Also, as this is a small religious village, everywhere was closed! We found one small cafe where we ordered tea, coffee and an Apple Strudel with whipped cream - it was lovely, as was the bartender, who spoke good English and taught me how to ask for the bill in German. We left a good tip and said we'd be back.
We took a boat trip to St Wolfgang across the lake - expensive but stunning. The sun peeped out a few times. St Wolfgang itself was much more lively than St Gilgen, and everything was open! We browsed the shops, sat on a bench and admired the view and stopped at a cafe for more tea and a pizza!
It was around dinner time when we got back so we went back to the hotel, chilled for a while (I wrote this) and then went back into town to hunt for (yet more) food. We ate at Gasthof zur post again, as most other places were closed. Heard some posh English school-kids hanging around the near empty streets; Andy said there is a well-to-do private school in St GIlgen. I had Wiener Schnitzel (pork), my second traditional dish of the day. It happened to taste just like a turkey dinosaur! Andy had Austrian boiled beef - their version of a roast, with a huge dollop of horseradish, some sort of bright green parsley sauce, pots and veg. My pud was a hot chocolate with cream (or 'schlag' as they call it - to our amusement), unfortunately the cream was off, and, in my typical Brit fashion, I didn't say anything, but instead scooped it off and drank the sickly sweet chocolate. My tummy did not thank me for it!
Had a lovely first day. Got to know the area and really settled in. Saw some beautiful sights.
Monday 19th May - Salzburg
Same breakfast this morning - they don't seem to eat much fruit here. It's like having lunch for your breakfast! Beautiful bread though. We've established that bread and pastries are Austria's specialty - they have some amazing bakeries.
We took a bus to Salzburg, about a 45 minute journey. Got off at Mirabellplatz and walked all around the old town. Saw another padlock bridge, the only other i've seen since Paris. Cobbled streets filled with cafes, bakeries and cute shops - very charming. There were a few large squares with statues and fountains and the fortress loomed overhead. We didn't go up to it for budget reasons - and it looked to be an empty ruin anyway. We had the most amazing ice cream on a balcony terrace overlooking one of the squares and did some people watching. I practised more German; many people don't bother. We haven't yet come across many Brits here.
After our lovely ice cream we meandered through a few more side streets and sat on a bench in another square soaking up the sun and atmosphere. There were a few market stalls beneath umbrellas and some buskers, one particularly good one with a violin played near two guys playing with a huge life-size chess board on the ground. It looked as though it took all their might to lug each piece into position.
We bought some rolls from a local Spar and crossed the bridge again. Ate our lunch by the river in the sunshine; both got a little burnt today. I had a nap after getting the bus back to the hotel and reading a little of my book (The Girl at the Lion D'or).
St Gilgen seems to have come to life during the week. Although it's still quiet, many more shops and restaurants have opened up. We ate at Hotel Kendler this evening. Not as posh as zur post but the food was still tasty. They did serve the pork pink though which we weren't sure about! Had another traditional food - Kaiserschmarrn - huge pieces of torn up thick pancake covered in icing sugar with a plum compote. We realised when it arrived that it was meant as a sharing dish, but still managed to polish it off in addition to Andy's strudel - it was lovely!
Spent the rest of the evening playing cards and drinking Egger beer (well - Andy was!).
Tuesday 20th May - Bad Ischl and Hallstatt
Wow. What a stunning day. Firstly, not a cloud in the bright blue sky this morning. Secondly, words are not adequate to describe the beauty of the landscape we saw today (although pics help a little!). Unfortunately, the travelling is taking its toll on our rapidly increasing budget, but the experiences are worth it so far.
We took a bus this morning to Bad Ischl, a beautiful little spa town over a river. Took some lovely photos there whilst waiting for our train to Hallstatt. We boarded the train at 12.20pm. I said to Andy, it's funny that this whole trip started with me looking at a picture of Hallstatt and saying 'I have to go there', and there we were! You can reach Hallstatt by bus from Salzburg, but we're so pleased we went in our way; the train meandered around the lake edge and, as the shrubbery parted, revealed the stunning approach. Hallstatt is nestled in the midst of the mountains, with a glistening lake spread out before it. After the train, we got the ferry across to the village. It was baking hot at this point. The views were really breathtaking, photos just don't do it justice. I can honestly say, with the potential exception of the Hall of the Gods (Lake Maligne) in Jasper, BC, Canada, it is the most beautiful place I have been in my life so far. We wandered through the cobbled streets, stopped at a cafe by the lake for banana splits, looked at the beautiful gift shops, marvelled at the views and took lots of photos.
At 4pmish, we took the ferry back, then the train, and finally dozed on the bus to St Gilgen. We went back, freshened up, and walked into town for some lasagne/calzone at one of the lakeside cafes. Although much of the town is still closed until the busy season hits in a few weeks, a bar had opened by the lake this evening. We didn't stay there tonight as we're rapidly running out of money, but vowed to tomorrow night. I think Andy is disappointed at at how quiet the place is in the evenings, but it doesn't bother me. I like the peace. It's what we came here for, as well as the scenery, and we wouldn't have been able to afford to stay in such a stunning place in the height of summer. Less tourists is a plus for me! Still, we had a lovely evening playing cards on the balcony, and will make more of a night of it tomorrow. As long as we don't die in the cable car!
Wednesday 21st May - Mount Zwolferhorn
The hunt for breakfast, or 'fruhstuck', took us all over the centre of the village and by the lake-front, walking through spookily empty streets for at least the twentieth time so far this week. Thankfully, on our way back from the lake we stumbled upon a beautiful little confectioners that, randomly, also served breakfast. We sat beneath the sun cover and, with a little help from Google translate, managed to order some food. Menus here rarely provide English translations. I established that 'ruhrei' was scrambled eggs and so ordered this with 'toast', which turned out to be a cheese toastie! Andy had ham and eggs, randomly on the menu as 'ham and eggs', also accompanied by a cheese toastie. At least they included ketchup. It was nice to have something other than bread rolls, salami and cheese!
After breakfast we ambled along to the gondola (or cable car) station and paid 44 euros (!) to ride up to the top of Zwolferhorn mountain,which turned out to be a lot higher than we expected at 1522 metres! Although i can't say i fully relaxed and enjoyed the rickety and scarily high ride up, the views at the top were breathtaking! On one side, you could see St Gilgen all the way along Lake Wolfgang to Strobl. The blue lakes looked like puddles and the villages clusters of monopoly houses. We could only just make out the cable car station we came from when we started the climb. It was another baking hot day, so the views were clear.
On the other side, which you could see from a large wooden viewing deck, the full majesty of the alps was on display. Snow covered mountains lined the horizon, with their tree covered cousins closer to us. The largest we could see, according to the information board, was Mt Dachstein at 2700 metres. We took lots of pics and sat on a bench here, absorbing, for quite a while. Then we walked along the summit to the highest point, where a huge wooden cross stood. After a little while, we sauntered down to Franzl's Hutte, and ate, for the third day in a row, ice cream with cream for lunch! We sat here for a while in the shade, admiring the view and comparing this holiday with others we've been on. We agreed that the beauty of the landscape is second to none, but i think Andy is a little uncomfortable with the German language. I have been doing all of the speaking, and, as i have said previously, it's a shame we won't see St Gilgen in full swing at the height of its busy period. Otherwise, the place is perfect in so many ways. As i'm writing this, on our balcony, Andy is having an afternoon nap, there is a slight afternoon breeze, but the air is mild and it's still sunny. Sonya, our host, is playing with her young son in the parking area at the front of the building. He's very cute when he's not screaming. Anyway... I digress. We spent hours on the viewing deck at the top of the mountain, and finally made the wobbly trip down to the lakeside.
I have said repeatedly during this trip that i want to swim in the lake, but on reflection, that was rather silly. We sat on some decking and dipped our feet in - it was freezing! Of course, there is still snow on the mountains, what did i expect! We sat for a while in the sunshine watching the swans and electric hire boats, then made our way back to base, and here we are!
It has been a lovely chilled day after two rather hectic ones. More updates later.
Ate at a restaurant right on the lake. Beautiful view. Food was average. We're not that stunned by it so far. I had a camomile tea after my dinner (was surprised to see that on the menu!) and then we sat out at the funky bar, had some drinks and played cards all evening. First time i've had vodka in god knows how long! I love that they don't bother to measure it either! It's funny, the music they play is often British, although we have heard the Austrian Eurovision winner Conchita a couple of times. They have a lot more exposure to English here than we do to any other language at home. We're both going to have legs like Arnie by the time the week is through from this bloody hill!
Thursday 22nd May - Berchtesgaden, Germany. Nazi documentation centre and Eagle's Nest.
Another scorcher, unfortunately most of which was spent in sweaty buses! The experience in the middle was worth it though. Our route was as follows: Bus from St Gilgen to Mirabellplatz, Salzburg; bus from here to Berchtesgaden in Germany; bus from Berchtesgaden to Obersalzburg. All in all, with some waiting around in between journeys, this took just over three hours. We arrived in Obersalzburg at lunchtime. This, it turned out, was Hitler's base during the time in which he built his regime. He lived and 'worked' here during the majority of his political 'career'. In what used to be his guesthouse, there is now a nazi documentation centre, full of fascinating memorabilia from the nazi regime. We had an English audio guide and spent several hours here.
At one point, three soldiers walked in. Andy and I looked at eachother questioningly! It transpired that they were Dutch - Andy explained that the Dutch and Germans have a huge rivalry, often played out during football matches between Germany and Holland, in which the Dutch fans turn up wearing army helmets. So they probably wore their uniform to the centre to make some sort of point. They did keep looking at everyone as if to demand acknowledgement.
We realised at about 2.15pm that we should catch the shuttle bus to the Eagle's Nest - another 16 Euros each, we haemorrhaged money today. The bus ride up and around the mountain was so scary! I buried my head in Andy's shoulder. On one side of the bus was the face of the mountain, on the other a sheer drop, with only a foot high crumbled stone 'barrier' to 'stop' us from falling. The view, or the bit that i fleetingly saw before ramming my eyes shut, was admittedly incredible. There were a few hairpin turns that literally made my heart skip a beat! The driver wasn't taking his time, and the sheer drop and distant mountains filled all the bus windows. The mist was quite heavy in the distance today, obscuring some of the highest peaks and farthest points, but it was certainly the highest point we had reached during the holiday so far, at 1822 metres. The bus finally pulled into the carpark at the top, with almost 360 degree views of the alps in the distance. I couldn't go within 2 metres of the fence, but Andy went right to the edge to take photos.
To get up to the eagle's nest itself, we walked through a freezing cold tunnel carved into the mountain and took the original brass elevator (into which we were crammed with about 20 other people) up through the mountain to the building at almost its summit. Odd to think this was the elevator that Hitler would have taken during his 16 visits here. It was built as a 50th birthday present for him in 1937-38, and used for state visits - hilarious given that he was reportedly afraid of heights!
When we emerged from the elevator it was onto a walkway round to a cafe at the front of the building - now a restaurant. It took me a while to get somewhat comfortable with the height. At first i was backing up to each wall and holding on for dear life! Amazingly, we were so high that there was snow everywhere! Maxi dress and sandals not the best choice of attire then. We climbed the steps and rocks up to the highest point where the obligatory cross stood. We took lots of amazing pics and then walked back down to get an ice cream from the small hut outside of the cafe seating area. We were on a serious budget at this point. When looking at the ice creams, a man with his back to us let out a huge fart and looked around as though it wasn't him. Andy and i had to look away and pretend that we hadn't heard, until I walked away and said 'I can't believe that just happened', Andy said 'me neither' and we both burst out laughing. So, German people fart too.
We had a brief look inside the building, which looked quite plain actually, aside from a large fireplace, apparently a gift from Mussolini, which had been chipped away at by allied forces looking for a memento. We weren't permitted to see all of the rooms as we weren't booked onto the horrendously overpriced official tour. After a couple of hours we took the lift back down, walked back through the freezing tunnel, and took the scary bus journey down the mountain. Cue lots of buses back to base, with a brief stop for pastries at the backerei in Berchtesgaden. We arrived back at St Gilgen just after 7pm, thoroughly knackered and covered in sweat. We freshened up back at the hotel and ate at the fish restaurant by the lake. Unfortunately, whilst trying to interpret the menu to find some sort of burger-stodge type meal, we managed to order ham and bread, which ended up being a big pile of sandwich meat, with one dry piece of bread each, and horrid sauerkraut! Needless to say, Andy was not amused. When we tried to top this up with frankfurters we were told the kitchen had closed! So we nipped across to Papa Geno's for tea and cake. Then back for another game of crazy eights at the hotel, which took us to 2-2: championship final tomorrow night.
Friday 23rd May - St Gilgen
What a lovely relaxing day. Got up at 9.45amish, had a long, satisfying and filling brekkie - we filled in Sonya's guestbook too. They had to pop out to the doctor's this morning as their little boy isn't very well :( After breakfast we sauntered down to St Gilgen to browse the few shops - we bought some Austrian chocolates to take home for people and a string of red hearts that chime to hang by our fireplace. We stopped off at Cafe Mannerl, attracted by a huge piece of apple meringue in the window, which we shared a piece of with tea and beer. Then we sat by the lake and fed the fish and birds for a while - or watched a German guy do so and nicked his leftover bread when he'd gone.
Mild temperature today, very cloudy but still warm when the breeze drops. We walked along the front and discovered a new steak/italian restaurant to try this evening, then went back to our funky bar and had drinks and frankfurters. We spent a while here, playing the 'guess who i am' game, and had a happy afternoon, with a brief interruption by some awful and gregarious Americans who wanted the whole room to know that they were there and they were American, like anyone cared. The relief when they left was palpable. I know it's not a nationality thing. There are plenty of Brits abroad that i find just as obnoxious and distasteful, and there would be plenty of Americans who would have cringed at the behaviour of their fellow countrymen. But they weren't a great advert.
Anyway, after our food and drinks we headed back to the room, sat on the balcony and played cards. We packed a little, ready for tomorrow, and counted how few euros we had left, despite drawing out an extra 180 yesterday - this was not the cheap hol we had anticipated - mostly due to food and bus tickets!
Speaking of food, we just got back from having our final meal at the new place we spotted earlier today, bizarrely called 'M-Place'. We loved it immediately, funky purple neon lighting and plush cubed seating arranged in private candlelit booths. It had a contemporary feel and played great music - Arctic Monkeys, Mumford and Sons etc. The food also seemed amazing, easily the best we've had all week. I say 'seemed', because it looked great and tasted great (i had verdura pizza with Mediterranean veg, Andy had steak with grilled veg - then we shared pancakes with ice cream and chocolate sauce) however, unfortunately, as soon as i ate the dessert my tummy started cramping, and on the walk home Andy started getting cramps too! If it wasn't so coincidental, i would say it was the result of a week's worth of oily and salty food, but we think it was the pancakes. I won't go into detail.
Andy won the crazy eights Austria title; he kept trying to say it was the world title, but i reminded him that it was only the Austrian leg of our world tour - i won the Dartmouth leg last year.
Early start today after a rubbish night's sleep for both of us. Our room was boiling and the dodgy food on our unsettled tums didn't help. I had vivid dream after vivid dream, everything from plane crashes, nuclear explosions and witches, to Andy cheating on me with my friend Sue. I woke up screaming about the latter and he told me to shut up. I think these things must be a sign of the impending doom my subconscious is preparing for on my return home. One failed exam, another to sit, going back to a frustrated sedentary lifestyle at work. Not that i couldn't do anything about these things of course. It's funny, Andy has moaned today that his body is fed up of our holiday diet; his skin is oily and spotty, his tummy hurts etc. But, despite my restless night and tum issue yesterday, i feel so much healthier here! I always do on holiday. How he feels is how i feel at home. Here, the fresh, toxin-free water, clean air, plenty of exercise and sunshine, have left my skin blemish free and my body in a much better condition than it was a week ago. I'm relaxed and happy, which helps. It reinforces in me the desire to change something in my life, to achieve a lifestyle that really makes me happy, in whatever form that may take. However, i also, within reason, need to fight against my natural, maternally-inherited instinct to to run from anything i'm not 100% comfortable with. Burying my head in the sand would be too easy and too tempting a state to remain in. On the other hand, i need to live a life i'm fully happy in, you only get one. Andy makes me happy, but i spend most of my week away from him in an environment i don't love, that's what i need to fix.
I'm sat writing this on a bench at the lakefront in St Gilgen. After a yummy breakfast this morning, we settled up with Sonya and she let us leave our bags in the room until we need to catch our bus to the airport at 1.05pm. It's baking hot again today. Andy is watching the ducks, which he loves. We've established that he likes things that waddle. I hope that doesn't include me. The setting here is stunning. Photos never fully capture the experience of being in a place. The smells, breeze, vastness, sense of depth...
A ferry is bringing people in from St Wolfgang, a man is cleaning one of the five red electroboats for hire along the jetty. The tall masts of small, private boats sat off the bank sway back and forth in the breeze. White clouds with a hint of rain in their bellies lay across the tips of the mountains. The lake is still but constantly rippling with specks of light, reflecting the looming shadows of the mountains like an abstract painting in mottled, dull shades of green. Birds chirp in the trees behind us, ducks and swans squawk harshly to their mates. People mill back and forth around us; snatches of German, dog collars tinkling. The odd car wooshes past on the road behind us, momentarily obscuring the rustle of tree leaves...
Best i can do i'm afraid.
Andy has gone off to get some water now. The little black moorhen creature with the white beak has come swimming past me. I made friends with him/her yesterday, with the help of some bread. I like him/her because he/she swims about alone, and only comes when the squabbling, domineering ducks have gone.
Andy is looking at Twitter now. I've had my phone switched off all week, save a couople of brief photo-taking moments. I really feel as though i've had some osrt of detox. Like an oppressive weight has been lifted. Regardless, i know i'll be uploading pictures and comments as soon as i get home. Perhaps just some curbing is necessary!
Andy has now read this and would like to point out that he had a great time and very much enjoyed our holiday. I seem to have only mentioned the points at which he was moaning about something or other hehe!
On the bus on the way to Salzburg we were joined by lots of teenagers, who clearly make a weekend trip to the city each week to escape rural boredom. I realised I haven't bitten my lip once during this holiday. They look the healthiest they've been for a while. We've heard it's been raining back in the UK - at least my plants have been getting some water!
Just at teeny Salzburg airport now with a cuppa and yummy baguette. It's 3.45pm, our plane leaves at 5.40pm and we haven't been able to check in our bags, but i am happy and overwhelmingly contented.
