Once an Austrian went yodelling...Salzburg

Thursday 17th July Salzburg
Salzburg & Ireland are the two places I’d love to live in!!! *Sigh* Salzburg…how I love you! The hostel was around the corner from the famous Mirabell garden so the bag was abandoned for the old town. I appear to be forming a habit of heading for the towns highest points after check in? This path led through the vibrant gardens, across the river, through the old towns maze & up to the fort. It really impacted me how developed areas of Salzburg have become since my last stay.

Friday 16th
Today was a day trip across the border to the Eagle’s Nest & the Salt mines. The Eagel’s nest came first. The historical structure requires access via a tunnel & a copper lift to a access the mountain building. The building itself was not anything of great interest if it was not for its amazing view & historical significance… Hitler had used it approximately 14 times for meetings! The outside mountain access was a different story!!! A big part of me wanted to stay there & take on the trails. 

Note to self 
-add return trip to bucket list with appropriate foot ware.

The salt mind tour was underwhelming. Our guide only spoke in German so we relied on briefer information courtesy of our electronic gadget. The tour began with a train ride into the depths of the mountain for the beginning of the walk through. The tour did involve 2 miners slides that basically involved straddling two wooden beams down a deep incline. It was suggested we go down in groups. One brave guy allowed me to travel behind him. As I was required to hold onto his shoulders, I was amazed when he invited me to join him again for the second slide…I'm pretty certain I gripped him a little too hard & possibly dug my nails in? I’m not good with some heights if I don’t feel safe. 

The rest of the tour takes you through the timeline of the still functioning mine. The raft across the salt lake was extremely overrated. It was essentially a wooden barge that slowly moves across the smallish cave while the natural salt formations were illuminated (modern light show with zilch natural elements). The only interesting aspect was when you first entered the cave, I thought I was looking at rock flooring only to discover it was the roofs reflection when ripples form from our movement. It did feel like something out of Lord of the Rings. The guide had no personality towards the Aussies, but I wasn’t sure if it was just due to the cultural & language barriers. Once the tour was nearing the end, he suddenly became animated & charming as he took his hat off. Other people started taking out their purses & we quickly realised he was requesting a tip! this day tour combo was already steep. Suddenly he gave us he attention…I wonder why? Unless you are are interested in mining, mini train rides & slides, this tour is not worth the time.

Throughout the day, we stopped for breaks at the town below the Eagels nest. During the second stop I explored the businesses. I found a store selling local wooden carvings that appeared interesting. Last trip to Salzburg, I picked up a beautiful carving for mum during a day tour so I had to investigate. Well the guy seemed disgruntle that I had disturbed his book so no sale with me! Several shops later, I came across the perfect store. It has a rawness to their carving although this older gentlemen knew little english & I had little German…eventually the only way to indicate I wanted to buy was by pulling out the cash. After the sale, he walked me out of the store & held up a basket to select a wooden heart *swoon*  What a beautiful guesture! When you can feel the sincerity & pride, these are the moments I love when connecting with locals!

Our day was completed with an hour at the lake I had previously seen from the mountain. There are little pleasures in life that can compete with dipping your feet in pristine alpine water surrounded by the alps. Another highlight was seeing a fabulous transgender in the traditional dress. She rocked the attire!

Back at the hostel my exciting evening involved washing where I may have shot down a nice guy. For some reason I kept crossing paths with him on the stairwell as I raced up & down to check the washing. The forth or fifth time we awkwardly shared a laugh & I said “we both need to get out more”. Well lets just say this was a lost in translation moment as his english took it as we should go out! *awkward*  

Saturday 19th July
Today was a whirlwind. To fill in the morning I headed into town one last time. Turned out it was market day! Todays meals were sorted with fresh fruit & another stop at the monk’s bakery. I had managed to just squeeze in a tandem paraglide session with 2 Irish roommates for midmorning! What we didn’t know is that after the flight we would be dropped off at a bus stop to make our own way back!!! One slow bus & one short taxi trip later, I managed to just made it back to the hostel before the bus transfer to Munich arrived. If the bus hadn’t been delayed, I would have most likely missed it!

This round of paragliding was slightly queazier courtesy of the format. We parked at the landing field & were taxied up to the lookout car park. There, the one instructor took turns flying us down before he caught the taxi back up…hence why I almost missed my bus transfer. The remainder of us were left in the hot sun awaiting our turn…hence the nausea before I even took off but I still loved it!!! I just remembered to breath & turned down the spirals this time. This Mountain wasn’t as high as my other attempt but gave me a perspective of the city surrounded by nature. I’ve come to the conclusion, I’m happiest in the mountains! Fresh air, stunning landscapes, opportunities to challenge the mind & body. The mountains are my happy place!

From Munich I caught the Bahn to the Bravia town of Donauwörth. I don’t think it’s possible to ever tire of these amazing landscapes. Even the slight eyesore sections of solar panelling farms had sheep poking out from underneath. Wheat & corn appear to be the most common plantations in season in this area with the occasional red poppies poking out.