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| Old Town -- Innsbruck |
We spent the last full weekend of Mom and Jim's visit getting a taste of western Austria's most popular tourist destinations: Innsbruck and Salzburg. The drive from Au wasn't so bad -- just a couple of hours, mostly on the highway. (Ho hum, I will certainly miss our little town's proximity to such beautiful cities within and outside of Switzerland...)
Staying only one full day in each city, we forwent any sort of tourist itinerary and wandered around aimlessly instead. It was wonderful. I truly felt like I was on vacation. Stopping every couple of hours at an outdoor café for a coffee, Apfelstrüdel, or a beer, we focused on soaking in our surroundings and enjoying lovely conversations. However, the one tourist attraction we didn't want to miss out on was the Hohensalzburg Fortress. A quick funicular ride (or a steep hike -- no thanks) takes you to this step back in time. There are a couple of museums inside as well as a short walking tour of the state rooms. More time spent relaxing, this time in the fortress courtyards, and then it was back down to the city of Salzburg.
All in all, though we experienced only a sampling of what these two cities have to offer, we had a wonderful trip filled with quality family time, exploring new places together.
Innsbruck: One of the most noteworthy features of this small city is its setting, surrounded by the Alps.
Salzburg: This city has a fantastic old town. Lots of museums and shops built up against or into the rock.
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| View from the fortress |
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| Fortress |
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| Old Town Salzburg below and the fortress up on the hill |
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| Mirabell Gardens in the foreground with the fortress in the background |
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| Isaiah, Mom, and Jim in the Mirabell Gardens |
Finally, for your entertainment -- a little "Do, re, mi"
Warning: I know I'm a terrible singer. Unfortunately, for those around me, I love to sing and I love the
Sound of Music, so there you go. This is the exact spot in the Mirabell Gardens where Maria sang with the children and then jumped up and down the steps. This was a little tricky for me to execute for a couple of reasons: 1. I'm still nursing a bad ankle, so I had to jump around in bulky hiking boots (I know, not very fashionable, but I need my ankle to heal if I am ever going to wear heels again!) 2. I didn't spend hours rehearsing this scene, knowing the measurements of each step. I had to look before leaping, lest I sprain my ankle again. OK -- please feel free to laugh with me...
:) You're funny. I was hoping for the whole song!
ReplyDeleteAnd bore you all to death -- Never!
ReplyDeleteLoving this post...planning on traveling there this fall!!! Totally plan on doing the Sound of Music tour!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Ashleigh! I went on the Sound of Music tour when I was in Salzburg 3 years ago. In fact, that was the only thing I did because I only had half a day there. It was so much fun!
ReplyDeleteI would recommend you do some research because not all the tours are the same. I don't remember the name of mine, but I was a tiny bit disappointed because it was only a bus tour, so we didn't do any walking around in the parts of the city where the movie was filmed...
muy bonito!
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