We left Cesky Krumlov and headed further south, across the Austrian border, into Salzburg. We arrived in the evening and headed toward the castle district. We passed Mirabell Park on our way. (These trees were incredible against the pink sky.)
And this is the view as we crossed the river into the old town.
We had an authentic Austrian dinner followed by this YUMMY dessert that was sort of like the meringue topping on a lemon-meringue pie (only it was warm and kind of melty). Mmmmmm
The next day, Sam, Cisco and I went off together to explore Salzburg. There was a gorgeous outdoor market...a few actually. We are so wishing they had one like this in Prague.
One of our first stops was at the Austrian hat shop. Looking good, huh?
We look like mobsters here... Looks like I'm reachin' in my pocket for my piece. :)
We walked through the main shopping street.
Then we came across this cool fountain. The spouts changed from time to time, so if you weren't paying attention, you could get soaked!
Then we walked through this lovely courtyard...
And just behind it you can see the funicular that goes up to the castle.
A little further was the entrance to a beautiful cemetery...St. Peter's Graveyard. In fact it was the cemetery used in part of the Sound of Music (but there will be more details on that in the next blog episode).
There were catacombs built into the mountain here. It is actually 3 small chapels that used to be used by monks.
This is on our way into the catacombs. It was quite a view.
After visiting the cemetery we stopped in at a couple of churches. Knock...knock...Is anybody home? Sam and Cisco posing at one of the church doors...Aren't they a cute sister and brother?
And here's the inside. Wow!
This is the Salzburg Dom (Cathedral).
After all that sight-seeing, we stopped for for a sausage & beer at this lovely market in the Domplatz (Cathedral Square). When in Austria...I think enjoying a sausage and beer is mandatory!
Then it was off to meet the family for the Sound of Music tour...see the next blog for details on that one. Here we are back at Mirabell Park on the way to meet the family. Cool tree, huh?
Awww...Sam caught a photo of us in a moment of passion :)
Here's one picture from our Sound of Music tour...the back side of the castle and then I'll skip to the evening.
Upon returning from the tour... We spent a bit more time wandering around the city. This is a theater where Mozart used to play often.
Then Sam, Cisco and I got a recommendation for an authentic Austrian Brew House so we headed that way. But first...a good photo opp. They look like they're headed for a Brew House :)
At the brew house, here's the guy who pours the beer, straight from these oak barrels. Not a great photo, but you get the idea.
And this is where you wash your mugs between drinks.
Nothing like a good pint of beer (or, even better...a liter!). That's a serious mug of beer!
Here's the night view of the castle on our way home. Excellent photo, Cisco!
The next morning we went to check out the castle. We took an elevator up to the Modern Art Museum... An uncanny resemblance, don't you think?
Then walked on a beautiful path through the forest toward the castle.
This was the view along the way.
Can you see me? I'm at the top of the path with my arms raised...getting ready to storm the castle. And that hill's a lot steeper than it looks!
And here I am rewarding myself with a cold beverage after making it up that big hill into the castle :)
Inside the castle there was a marionette museum. Here are Sam and Cisco giving puppetry a try.
I was busy in the gift shop trying on some gear. Do I look ready for battle or what?
Further inside the castle there were a couple other museums. Here's part of the weaponry museum. It was a pretty cool display! I think with all my gear on, I was ready for battle with these guys.
Next we went further into the private rooms of whoever was ruling at the time. They were beautiful.
And just in case you hadn't seen one before, here's the privy chamber (toilet). It looks like an outhouse except it's about 100 feet in the air off the side of the castle. Whoever was "taking care of business" would have their business just drop down the side of the castle and fall onto the rocks below...lovely.
The views from the castle were stunning. Here's one overlooking the city.
And here's one in the opposite direction. If you enlarge this you can get a better view of the beautiful snowy mountains in the distance.
We had just a short time before we had to catch our train back to Prague. We sat outside in the sun for a little bit in front of Mozart's birth house (it's the yellow building in the background).
Then we spent about 8 hours with at least 5 train connections trying to make our way back to Prague. Chalk it up to adventure...but we were all pretty tired and confused by the end.
But, hey, with all that time on the train, Cisco learned to clone himself :) Clever man!
Salzburg is a gorgeous city! Get there if you can :)
And this is the view as we crossed the river into the old town. 
We had an authentic Austrian dinner followed by this YUMMY dessert that was sort of like the meringue topping on a lemon-meringue pie (only it was warm and kind of melty). Mmmmmm
The next day, Sam, Cisco and I went off together to explore Salzburg. There was a gorgeous outdoor market...a few actually. We are so wishing they had one like this in Prague. 
One of our first stops was at the Austrian hat shop. Looking good, huh? 
We look like mobsters here... Looks like I'm reachin' in my pocket for my piece. :)
We walked through the main shopping street. 
Then we came across this cool fountain. The spouts changed from time to time, so if you weren't paying attention, you could get soaked!
Then we walked through this lovely courtyard...
And just behind it you can see the funicular that goes up to the castle.
A little further was the entrance to a beautiful cemetery...St. Peter's Graveyard. In fact it was the cemetery used in part of the Sound of Music (but there will be more details on that in the next blog episode). 
There were catacombs built into the mountain here. It is actually 3 small chapels that used to be used by monks.
This is on our way into the catacombs. It was quite a view. 
After visiting the cemetery we stopped in at a couple of churches. Knock...knock...Is anybody home? Sam and Cisco posing at one of the church doors...Aren't they a cute sister and brother?
And here's the inside. Wow! 
This is the Salzburg Dom (Cathedral).
After all that sight-seeing, we stopped for for a sausage & beer at this lovely market in the Domplatz (Cathedral Square). When in Austria...I think enjoying a sausage and beer is mandatory! 
Then it was off to meet the family for the Sound of Music tour...see the next blog for details on that one. Here we are back at Mirabell Park on the way to meet the family. Cool tree, huh?
Awww...Sam caught a photo of us in a moment of passion :) 
Here's one picture from our Sound of Music tour...the back side of the castle and then I'll skip to the evening. 
Upon returning from the tour... We spent a bit more time wandering around the city. This is a theater where Mozart used to play often.
Then Sam, Cisco and I got a recommendation for an authentic Austrian Brew House so we headed that way. But first...a good photo opp. They look like they're headed for a Brew House :) 
At the brew house, here's the guy who pours the beer, straight from these oak barrels. Not a great photo, but you get the idea. 
And this is where you wash your mugs between drinks. 
Nothing like a good pint of beer (or, even better...a liter!). That's a serious mug of beer!
Here's the night view of the castle on our way home. Excellent photo, Cisco!
The next morning we went to check out the castle. We took an elevator up to the Modern Art Museum... An uncanny resemblance, don't you think? 
Then walked on a beautiful path through the forest toward the castle. 
This was the view along the way.
Can you see me? I'm at the top of the path with my arms raised...getting ready to storm the castle. And that hill's a lot steeper than it looks!
And here I am rewarding myself with a cold beverage after making it up that big hill into the castle :) 
Inside the castle there was a marionette museum. Here are Sam and Cisco giving puppetry a try. 
I was busy in the gift shop trying on some gear. Do I look ready for battle or what? 
Further inside the castle there were a couple other museums. Here's part of the weaponry museum. It was a pretty cool display! I think with all my gear on, I was ready for battle with these guys. 
Next we went further into the private rooms of whoever was ruling at the time. They were beautiful. 
And just in case you hadn't seen one before, here's the privy chamber (toilet). It looks like an outhouse except it's about 100 feet in the air off the side of the castle. Whoever was "taking care of business" would have their business just drop down the side of the castle and fall onto the rocks below...lovely. 
The views from the castle were stunning. Here's one overlooking the city. 
And here's one in the opposite direction. If you enlarge this you can get a better view of the beautiful snowy mountains in the distance. 
We had just a short time before we had to catch our train back to Prague. We sat outside in the sun for a little bit in front of Mozart's birth house (it's the yellow building in the background). 
Then we spent about 8 hours with at least 5 train connections trying to make our way back to Prague. Chalk it up to adventure...but we were all pretty tired and confused by the end. 
But, hey, with all that time on the train, Cisco learned to clone himself :) Clever man!
Salzburg is a gorgeous city! Get there if you can :)
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