27-29th April 2011
Vienna was a beautiful city, one of the best we visited. We could have definetly given it more time than a day. But cities are not so much to our taste and hence we did not allow much time. Little did we know about Vienna, until we reached there. The first thing that impressed us was the Vienna woods. A vast protected green belt that cools and keeps the city fresh.
Vienna has a lot of history, that we hardly know about. A walk around the city will make it obvious.
We started with the Karlskirche, the Church of St. Charles Borromeo. In front of the church was a park with a very vibrant bed of tulips.
Walking past the Oper (opera), we reached Stephansplatz. The cathedral standing proud in the heart of the city, probably the highlight of the city.
Our bad luck with buildings is worth a mention here. Every city we have been to, the important buildings have been covered with some form of construction acitivity such as scaffolding or a crane in the way. I suppose it is the time of the year for maintenance but our bad luck at this point seems to continue everywhere. As a result we had to pass on photo opportunities with these buildings.
Next, we walk to Heldenplatz, the Imperial Palace.
On the way to Heldenplatz, we passed an interesting fountain. We had to take a picture here.
Some more walking around and we passed by the Burg Theater.
Right opposite to the Burg theater is the Rathausplatz, the city hall. More scaffolding.
Walking next to the Parliament and some more impressive buildings that were museums and theaters, we reached Theresienplatz. I could not resist sitting on this baby elephant here.
The last stop was Schloss Schonbrunn. A very majestic palace with a garden to rave about. We were quite impressed here.
The highlight of Vienna for us was no palace or garden. But it was the warm hospitality extended by Anna and Franz, the same Austrians we met in Athens.
They were kind enough to invite us home for dinner the previous night. There we enjoyed traditional Viennese Schnitzel for dinner and later spoilt by a desert called Palatschinke along with a very enjoyable conversation and more guidance on Vienna. As mentioned previously, it was them who recommended to visit Hallstatt and Saint Wolfgang. They certainly made our visit to Austria, a better experience.
Many thanks Anna and Franz!
______________________________________________________________________________
From Vienna we drove to Salzburg, a city on the border with Germany with a very pleasant landscape all around the city. Salzburg was home to Mozart and the movie "The Sound of Music" was picturised here. Narrow streets with slow moving traffic and one ways did not impress us on entry. After spending nearly an hour to locate an information centre, we finally gave up and headed to our hotel. We stayed outside the city in a small town which was actually in Germany. The nature here was just outstanding.
The next morning we drove to Hohen Salzburg, the fort of the old city of Salzburg.
Quite good views of the city from up there.
A puppet museum in this fort was worth a visit.
After the fort our experience with Salzburg, was not getting any better. We were slapped with a 100 Euro fine for driving into a restricted area, thanks to the GPS!
Not wanting to spend any more time in Salzburg we drove to Berchtesgaden, a town in Germany just on the border. A very very beautiful place, highly recommended for the nature lover.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Hallstatt and Wolfgangsee, Austria
26 April 2011
Driving around the Austrian Alps was a wonderful experience. The air was very refreshing and the ever changing dramatic landscapes did not let our attention divert. The loud streams of water that we crossed as often as every 2-3 minutes flowed into vast lakes amid tall mountains. On the banks of such lakes layed tiny villages with natural beauty that can never be experienced in words. One such village was Hallstatt on lake Hallstattersee. This place was recommended by Anna & Franz, Austrians we met in Athens last week.
Our hotel was in a village called Obertraun, on the same lake but on the other side overlooking Hallstat. The picture below was the view from our hotel room. If you zoom in, Hallstat is in the centre of the picture.
Hallstat is an old town with some history. The first salt mine in Europe was located here. Supposedly salt was more expensive than gold in those days.
A pretty town with lots of narrow path ways, views from every corner and fresh water streams flowing like drainage. If we could, we would love to rename this village as "Heavenstatt". Anyways, we still called it so!!
A visit to the village church revealed a very intersting story. Since the village cemetery was very small, until the 1890's, the graves were dug out 15 years after burial. The bones were then treated stored in the church to save space for burial. Often, the skulls were painted for display of affection by family.
Another such village was Saint Wolfgang on lake Wolfgangsee. This village had more history. There was a church that dated back a few hundred years. Sorry, but we did not have time for history and so we just enjoyed the natual beauty of the town and moved on.
Driving around the Austrian Alps was a wonderful experience. The air was very refreshing and the ever changing dramatic landscapes did not let our attention divert. The loud streams of water that we crossed as often as every 2-3 minutes flowed into vast lakes amid tall mountains. On the banks of such lakes layed tiny villages with natural beauty that can never be experienced in words. One such village was Hallstatt on lake Hallstattersee. This place was recommended by Anna & Franz, Austrians we met in Athens last week.
Our hotel was in a village called Obertraun, on the same lake but on the other side overlooking Hallstat. The picture below was the view from our hotel room. If you zoom in, Hallstat is in the centre of the picture.
Hallstat is an old town with some history. The first salt mine in Europe was located here. Supposedly salt was more expensive than gold in those days.
A pretty town with lots of narrow path ways, views from every corner and fresh water streams flowing like drainage. If we could, we would love to rename this village as "Heavenstatt". Anyways, we still called it so!!
A visit to the village church revealed a very intersting story. Since the village cemetery was very small, until the 1890's, the graves were dug out 15 years after burial. The bones were then treated stored in the church to save space for burial. Often, the skulls were painted for display of affection by family.
Another such village was Saint Wolfgang on lake Wolfgangsee. This village had more history. There was a church that dated back a few hundred years. Sorry, but we did not have time for history and so we just enjoyed the natual beauty of the town and moved on.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Bavaria, Germany
24th - 25th April 2011
(Click on pictures for larger images)
From Munchen, we hired a BMW Z4 Cabrio for the next 5 days. This was the start of a very exciting part of our vacation as we always wanted to drive the Alps in a convertible.
Driving out of Munchen, we clocked 200 kmph on the Autobahn, this was a first in our lives.
The German Alps are beautiful. The lush green mountains with valleys filled with vast beds of yellow flowers are a treat to your eyes. These beautiful flower beds are nothing but weeds! Ramya says, "Even the weeds are so cute here!"
You can drive around all day here. You come across villages every now and then that have more organised flower beds on foot paths filled with tulips of unimaginable colour combinations. A church in every village adds a bit of character to the landscape. You can click a photo in any direction anywhere.
Neuschwanstein Castle (Schloss Neuschwanstein) was next on our list.
This castle was the inspiration for the legendary Disneyland Castle.
This is one of King Ludwig II's many castles, who really knew where and how to build castles. The views from the castle are just breath-taking.
Interestingly, this castle was never completed. There are many sections in the castle that are still unfinished and may never be.
From the castle, we took a hike down the hill by the stream that flows down from the mountains. This was one of the best things we have done in a while now.
The water here was so cold that our toes were numb just after 10 seconds in it. The water was so fresh and tasty though.
More driving around the beautiful landscape. We just could not get enough of it.
We stayed over night in a town called Oberammergau. We drove around neighbouring towns of Plansee and Reutte. No photos can explain the beauty around here. It just has to be experienced.
Next one was Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany at 2970 meters above sea level.
The clouds were not at their best behaviour but we managed to get some amazing views.
...and that peak right behind us is the highest point in Germany. So I suppose that chapel is the highest in Germany as well. The temperature was -2 deg C and we were not feeling cold. Call it excitement or something else, but we were enjoying every bit of it.
(Click on pictures for larger images)
From Munchen, we hired a BMW Z4 Cabrio for the next 5 days. This was the start of a very exciting part of our vacation as we always wanted to drive the Alps in a convertible.
Driving out of Munchen, we clocked 200 kmph on the Autobahn, this was a first in our lives.
The German Alps are beautiful. The lush green mountains with valleys filled with vast beds of yellow flowers are a treat to your eyes. These beautiful flower beds are nothing but weeds! Ramya says, "Even the weeds are so cute here!"
You can drive around all day here. You come across villages every now and then that have more organised flower beds on foot paths filled with tulips of unimaginable colour combinations. A church in every village adds a bit of character to the landscape. You can click a photo in any direction anywhere.
Neuschwanstein Castle (Schloss Neuschwanstein) was next on our list.
This castle was the inspiration for the legendary Disneyland Castle.
This is one of King Ludwig II's many castles, who really knew where and how to build castles. The views from the castle are just breath-taking.
Interestingly, this castle was never completed. There are many sections in the castle that are still unfinished and may never be.
From the castle, we took a hike down the hill by the stream that flows down from the mountains. This was one of the best things we have done in a while now.
The water here was so cold that our toes were numb just after 10 seconds in it. The water was so fresh and tasty though.
More driving around the beautiful landscape. We just could not get enough of it.
We stayed over night in a town called Oberammergau. We drove around neighbouring towns of Plansee and Reutte. No photos can explain the beauty around here. It just has to be experienced.
Next one was Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany at 2970 meters above sea level.
The clouds were not at their best behaviour but we managed to get some amazing views.
...and that peak right behind us is the highest point in Germany. So I suppose that chapel is the highest in Germany as well. The temperature was -2 deg C and we were not feeling cold. Call it excitement or something else, but we were enjoying every bit of it.
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