Salzburg to Hallstatt to Dorfgastein

pictures at kateskraftykorner.blogspot.com

This week has been full of travel. We had the week off of classes and were able to travel around Austria as a group. Thus we went from Studying Abroad to Vacationing Abroad. On Friday we took the train to Salzburg where we stayed at the Gastof Turnerwirt. This hotel was situated just outside the main city with easy public transport in and out. Once we checked in we took a 3 hour guided tour of the city as a group where we saw many of the sites from the Sound of Music. We also saw a restraint that opened 1200 years ago in the year 803. St. Peters Restaurant is right next to the church and opened to serve meals to travelers in that time, our tour guide made sure we knew that over time the menu has of course changed and so have the cooks. After the tour and some dinner we headed down to the river and did another river cruise. The countryside is so green out here. Every hill is covered with long green grass. On the river we got to see the city and place to visit on our stay. A few of us headed to Mozart’s Birth-House after the tour. It is crazy how much the worship Mozart in this country. They have chocolate in the shape of his head, he is on the back of the Austrian Euro and everywhere you look there is some sort of Mozart item.

On Saturday we went up to the fortress that overlooks the city. Because the city was built in the Medieval Period there are only three roads between the river and the fortress. Everything else is built for walking pedestrians. The buildings are super rectangular because owners were only taxed on the side that touched the street. At the top of the hill is the Festung Hohensalzburg (which literally means high Salzburg fortress). Once we got to the top of one of the towers we were able to see a 360 degree view of the city and countryside. It was amazing; I would not mine living here forever. After the fortress we went to the Schloss Hellbrunn (Hellbrunn Palace) which was built for the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg as a day residence in the summer. The main attractions here are the trick fountain conceived by Markus Sittikus. Hidden around the grounds are fountains that can be turned on at any time. For example the Prince had a table in which all of his friends sit around and drink on a hot summer day. Little known to them is the fact that a fountain shouts up out of the middle of every seat except for the Prince’s. Unfortunately I volunteered to sit at the table before I knew what was happening I got a lot of water up the backside of my pants.

Sunday morning we attended Mass in the Salzburg cathedral. It was the start of the Salzburg Festival so all of the music was a tribute to Mozart. Only one of the five organs in the Cathedral was used for the mass. That’s right there are five organs that are still in use today in the cathedral. Although mass was in German it was very entertaining to look around at all the art work and sculpture work all over the walls. I am amazed and the talent and skill the people have in those days to produce such grand pieces. Later that evening we went to dinner with the group to a typical Austrian Restaurant. Katelyn and I ordered the family meal (which we now believe was meant for a family of 5). Needless to say we ate all of the traditional Austrian dishes in one sitting—Schnitzel, Pork, Goulash, Mashed Potatoes, Bread Dumplings, Apple Strudel and Chocolate Cake. And yes we finished it all.

Monday morning we packed up and took a bus to a small lake town in the Alps called Hallstatt. This is a small village nested between a Glacier Lake and the side of a mountain. Inside the mountain is the oldest salt mine in the world. All the economy here is based on tourism and the salt mine. Monday was full of souvenir shopping at all of the little shops along the only street in town. Tuesday we were able to take a tour of the Salt Mine. We wore these special red suits that were reinforced on the back side with leather. This reinforcement came in handy when we went down the wooden slides within the mine. In order to get from one level to the next we slide down. One of the slides was 209 feet long and Katelyn and I reached a speed of 27.4 kilometers per hour. We were told that mining in this area has going on at the same time the Egyptians were building the pyramids. After the salt mine we went and saw the “Bone-House”. There was not enough space in the cemetery to continue to bury people so the church would pull the bodies out ten years after the burial and clean the bones and paint the skulls. The bones were then stacked in a room with the skulls displayed above. The day ended with the traditional Polar Bear Plunge. Around 10 pm we ran from our hotel to a park along the lake and jumped off the diving board into the freezing glacier water. Even our program director participated.

After all that fun in Hallstatt it was time to hit the road again and head the Ski Resort town of Dorfgastein. The town has a population of a couple hundred and is very popular in the Ski Season. Being summer and all there are not very many tourists or travelers around, just the locals. Here we have had a lot of down time. It is really nice. We can just chill and enjoy the beauty of the green mountains surrounding us. Thursday morning we hiked up to the Strohlehen Alm where they make cheese. They started from scratch and showed us how they go from start to finish with a block of cheese. On Friday we walked up to another Alm where they make bread. We were able to make our own sourdough loaf of bread. I shaped mine like a “Y” to rival Daniels, the lone Utah student with the group, “U” shaped dough. Both alms provided exquisite views of the Alps and the green Austrian country side. Later today we are going to take the train “home” to Vienna where we have only a week and a half left in this wonderful adventure.