Salzburg, Austria: Veggie Pizza

So.

Our dinner on day two in Salzburg.

We had a very busy day, full once again of walking here, there and everywhere to see all that we could see. That evening, we were looking for a place to eat.

When we visited London, I made reservations and/or arrangements for dinner for every night that we would be there because it is such a large place and I wanted to know where we had to be each night so that we would actually manage to get there. In Salzburg, I made no such plans. This was in part because the area was so much smaller and also because I thought we would decide once we got there.

In a way, that was a mistake. In another, it was great as we found some really good food by just choosing a place based on the menu outside. Unfortunately, the December holiday we choose to travel on was one that much of Europe also chose...and quite a few came with us. By our second night, restaurants were filling up and we weren't having a lot of luck for eating, especially over in the old town.

We walked all OVER that area and found no place that had room. We went across the river to the Linzergasse area (major shopping and newer) to look around. There were sausage stands/restaurants everywhere we looked, but of COURSE Rocket Man won't eat THAT.

Duh.

So we became more and more hungry and more and more tired which made for a more and more irritable version of us. Since Rocket Man refused any place with sausages or the like, I chose a stand that sold these:


Mmm - Can you smell it? I got to watch the man make it from the street. We managed to communicate about what I wanted on it and how spicy he should make it.


Man, oh man did it smell good and taste good. All in all, it hit the spot.


While I suggested to Rocket Man that he get one as well, just without the mayo-looking sauce (which is actually YOGURT, which he LIKES), he refused. Instead he took a look at the menu, which was very limited, and chose a vegetable pizza.

Okay.

That sounds normal enough.

The man running the stand (hole in the wall) informed us that he had to make it fresh. Fresh! It will take a few minutes because he must get the fresh vegetables and make the pizza for us!

So, we are waiting.

Then he insists that we come inside to wait. He feels bad that we are waiting for his Fresh! Vegetable Pizza and that we are standing outside in the cold while we do so. And by insist, he really insists that we come inside. I really think it would have offended him if we had stayed outside.

We go in, and the hole in the wall place has a couple of tables and a few locals who obviously spend a lot of time in this place. They are smoking like ca-razy, so we are really excited about how our clothes and winter coats are going to smell once we leave.

We wait a while, with old scruffy men looking at us like we are a little off our rockers, and finally the Fresh! Vegetable Pizza is ready.

We pay, thank the man and then hike back over to our hotel to eat our dinners. As you can see from the photos above, mine was fabulous and delicious. It was huge and I couldn't even eat it all.

Rocket Man's pizza, on the other hand...well:


Oh, yeah. Your eyes do not deceive you. Those are green beans, corn and carrots on that Fresh! Vegetable Pizza. Basically, it looked like he took a bag of frozen veggies (and we all know how yummy those taste) and put it on there with some sauce and cheese.

Oh, and the sauce was very reminiscent of Spaghettio's...he didn't even finish one slice.

Yum.

Let's just say that Rocket Man learned his lesson about that.

And now we all know why those scruffy old men were looking at us like we were ca-razy.

'Cause seriously - who gets a vegetable pizza at a Döner Kebab stand?!?

Salzburg, Austria: Around Town

Each morning, Rocket Man and I would eat breakfast in our hotel (a decent included breakfast is usually one thing we look for) and then head off into town towards our first destination. Depending on where we crossed the river, we could see a variety of buildings and views. The first post on Austria showed you what it looked like if we took the bridge across to the old town further away from our hotel. This first photo shows what we saw when we crossed over very close to our hotel and then took a river-walk to the old town:


The buildings above are built halfway into the rock. I imagine that they have excellent temperatures inside. In Spain, people choose to live in cave houses because they provide warmer temps in the winter and much cooler ones in the summer.

On our second day, after we visited the gardens at Schloss Mirabel and the Baroque Museum nearby, we took some time to go here:


This building is where Mozart and his family lived. It is not where he was born (you can visit there as well; it is in the old town), but it is where he spent more time. There was a good presentation of family portraits, musical instruments, and general information about the Mozart family. Since most people only hear/know about Amadeus, it is a good way to learn about more members of the very musical family.


There are a variety of ways to get around Salzburg. One of the easiest is to walk. The city does experience something called string rain, which is rain that falls not in drops, but in never ending strings of water. We experienced quite a bit of it our last day there, and were very happy that there is an excellent trolley-bus system that runs on the cables pictured above.

One rather fun thing about being in Europe during the holiday season is the chance to see how other cultures celebrate; there are many different traditions and it is interesting to compare them to our own. I am sure you know that there are different versions of Father Christmas everywhere and that they travel in different ways and have different clothing.


An Austiran/German holiday tradition that we were able to witness was that of the Perchten and Krampus runs. On December 5th and 6th, these creatures roam through the streets. The Perchten come to scare evil from your home; the Krampus are there to scold the naughty.

The Krampus have horns, wear bells at their waists and are rather loud and scary looking. You can see the face of one here. They go through the city on the 5th of December looking for those who have been bad. Some even have baskets they wear on their backs: "The better to take you away in, my naughty child!" Kris Kringle walks through with them carrying a book that has all of the names of the good and bad for the year. The above photo was the best I could get as they were moving quickly through the streets.


Throughout Spain, cities and towns normally have a tile mosaic representation of themselves. Many of them are small, but some are quite large. This mosaic of Salzburg was inside the entry to the Mönchsberg lift. This is an elevator that takes people from the ground up to the top of the mountain and to the Museum der Moderne. As it reminded me so much of Spain, I had to take a photo.


We were immediately greeted by this fantastic view of Hohensalzburg Fortress overlooking the old town. As it was towards the end of the day, the light was fading fast. We ran into a couple of other tourists up there and we took each other's photos.


We did not go into the museum, but we did take a look at a couple of the exhibits that were outside. Then we investigated a few of the paths that lead away from the city. Only a couple of minutes in, and you'd never know that you are so very close to Salzburg:


In addition to the city and all that it has to offer, the environs of Salzburg are certainly worth seeing. We would spend our last morning in Salzburg doing just that.

But first, I simply MUST tell you about our dinner experience...

12 of 12 November

Guga, Papa Jim and Grandma are visiting this week. What this means for all of you is that I actually have something worth photographing for this month's 12 of 12. Thanks to Chad for the idea; be sure to check out other participant's contributions.

We traveled up towards Brenham today, so all photos were taken in Washington County, Texas. We visited the Antique Rose Emporium, then went into town and ate lunch at Must Be Heaven. After that we went to see miniature horses at St. Clare Monastery's ranch. We couldn't leave the area without checking out the Bluebell Creamery. Finally we returned home, had dinner and Little Miss had a bath before bed. That was our day; hope you enjoy the photographs!

11:04 am; Bird


11:10 am; Wind Chimes


11:22 am; Hug Part One


11:22 am; Hug Part Two


11:34 am; Family Portrait


11:51 am; Meow


1:03 pm; Hats


1:42 pm; Horse


1:43 pm; Eleven


2:15 pm; Hat


2:32 pm; Ice Cream


6:45 pm; "Mooooooo"

Thanks and have a happy Friday!

Salzburg, Austria: St. Peter's Cemetery

As my closest friends can tell you, I love cemeteries. I cannot really explain why; I can tell you that it is not an obsession with death or the dead. Something about them is completely fascinating, calming and beautiful to me. I especially enjoy those that have markers that are old and weathered. That would be because I like old stuff. Yup, old stuff is the best.

Many people recognize Saint Peter's Cemetery because a scene in The Sound of Music took place there. That is to say that they created a set that looked like this cemetery for the movie. Most recognizable are the vaults that run along the walls. They belong to families who pay to basically rent them.


In fact, all of the plots in the cemetery are rented. As long as you or a descendant of yours pays the fee, the plot is yours. Once no one can or does pay for the spot, your remains are dug up, moved somewhere else, and your resting place is put on the market. Although this sounds very strange, especially to most Americans, it is fairly common practice, especially in places where space is limited.


There are a wide variety of markers in the cemetery. Some, like the one above, appear hand painted; quite a few of them were very worn from the weather. Others are made of marble and carved with names and figures that range from patriotic to grotesque. Others still are statuesque. Some plots are surrounded by stones, some by wrought iron gates, and others had no official border markings at all.


All of the graves within the cemetery are very well tended. The families of those buried there obviously take pride in caring for their loved ones' resting places. We saw lots of candles and even some flowers. The whole cemetery was crammed full of beautiful things; it was tough to decide where to look or which part was our favorite.

Saint Peter's is located right along the Mönchsberg which means that when they needed a catacombs, a natural solution was provided. The rock was cut to allow for a place to keep the remains of those whose time in the ground had run out. From below a window and door in some rather worn brick are all that is visible of the old catacombs.


Entry to the catacombs is partly hidden. Behind the vaults that run along the mountain is a tunnel that climbs up into the rock. The short skinny tunnel leads up to a room that at one time held the bones that had been disinterred.



These days all that awaits visitors are a couple of altars, murals and the barred off door and windows leading to a dangerous drop off of the cliff. The climb wasn't too long or difficult and the area was mildly interesting; I am guessing that is why the cost is one euro (if you don't have the Salzburg Card).


On the way up to the main catacomb room, there is a landing. There are also some windows along the way that provide views of the cemetery and Romanesque Chapel of the Holy Cross.


While we could not enter the chapel, we could visit Saint Peter's Church. This was probably the most beautiful interior we saw while in Salzburg. Photos were not allowed, but if you'd like to catch a glimpse, go here. It is done in the Baroque style and is breathtaking. The interior decorations of silvery blues and greens as well as the cream/white surrounding the paintings makes the church feel very lofty and light. This contrast with the exterior and one's general feelings after touring the cemetery combine to provide for an almost shocked feeling when you enter. It is quite literally like a breath of fresh air.

Salzburg, Austria: Schloss Mirabell

Our second day in Salzburg began at Schloss Mirabell. This palace was built for the mistress of one of the Prince Archbishops (who was also the mother of his children). It is most famous for its gardens. We were there one of the first weeks in December, and even then things were very pretty. I can only imagine what it must look like in the spring when everything is growing and blooming.


The gardens are done in the baroque style and are open to the public. There are a variety of flower beds as well as statues and reflecting pools. There is an open air theater as well. When we were there, the flower beds were mostly empty although some had been filled with appropriate plants for the season:


One of the draws of the gardens is that some of The Sound of Music was filmed here. I am not sure on all of the specifics, but we were told that the Pegasus fountain was a scene in the movie. I have no idea if that is correct, but the fountain was pretty:


Just over a little bridge from the fountain was the dwarf garden. Some are said to be modeled, though in a caricature fashion, after servants who were living in the palace at the time. Others were recreations of peasants and farmers in the area.


Some of the statues appear as if they could be from other lands.


For the most part, each one has something it is holding that explains its job within the palace.


I got the distinct impression that this one was the food taster. You know, to be sure there wasn't any poison in the edibles? Then again, this could be someone's idea of a singing dwarf...


Once again, we had to go for a photo-op. This one was too cute not to smooch.


As this was either the only or one of only two women, Rocket Man chose her for his kiss.

In addition to the dwarf garden, the fountains, theater, reflecting pools and beautiful plants, there was also a maze section of the gardens. It was rather useless due to the time of year, but I got a couple of good photos out of it:


Who is that in there all fuzzy-like?


Why, it is Rocket Man, looking at me like I am crazy for taking longer than necessary in all of this cold weather!

From the gardens we visited the Baroque museum, which was very informative and then also Mozart's residence while in Salzburg. Both allowed no photos, so I don't have much to show you there. That afternoon however, we visited St. Peter's church and cemetery, which was very interesting indeed. So tomorrow, that is where we'll visit here! See you then.