Our day in Salzburg can aptly be summed up in a song set to the tune of "Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music:
All one way streets that we couldn't drive down
Raining so much that we started to drown
No where to park, we were getting quite sad
These are some reasons why Salzburg was bad
No shops were open, they'd shut for the day
It wasn't the weekend, this wasn't ok
This public holiday made us so mad
These are some reasons why Salzburg was bad
Only Mozart, only Von Trapps
Nothing else to do
We wandered around, we were really quite bored
We're staying one night, not two.
And that was pretty much our day. We faffed about in Salzburg as long as we could bear and then hit the road in the late afternoon. We had no idea where we would spend the night but decided we would head to the large city of Linz and find a caravan park on the outskirts of the city. We planned to follow the same camping signs directing us to places as we had found in Salzburg.
Unfortunately these signs proved non-existent. Not to mention that the kilometres and kilometers of roads into Linz are lined with HUGE non-stop shopping precincts. Before we knew it we were in the city. And it was dark. We made our way back to the motorway and settled for a large service station and rest stop to spend a safe but noisy night in.
We awoke to see the true horror and majesty of Linz. Shops as far as the eye could see. And not small shops- giant Bunnings sized shops. I guess all of Austria comes here to shop- it is conveniently located on the A1 motorway almost exactly halfway between Vienna and Salzburg.
We continued on our merry way arriving in Vienna in time for lunch. Our resting spot for the next five nights was a wonderful campsite called Wien West. We had a quiet day updating the blog and doing some washing.
On Friday we headed into the city for a day in Vienna. It was another dull and dreary day, something we're getting used to, and there weren't many people about. We spent the day tram hopping which provided the best way to see the city. Vienna is full of charm and character, attributed mainly to the dozens of large ornate buildings such as the parliament, town hall and museums that can be found in the city centre.
We headed then to the Prater, a large park on the outskirts of the city centre on the banks of the Danube. Arms linked, we enjoyed a lovely stroll through the autumn leaves, reliving a scene from Amadeus where Mozart and Constanza do just that. We stumbled upon a surprisingly large amusement park nestled amongst the trees. The majority of rides were closed but some, including a horse carousel that has real horses pulling it, were open to meet the needs of the few who passed this way. We had a go on a ride that took us 117m into the air and spun us around at not too fast a pace. From here we could see the city, the sheer size of the Prater and the amusement park and just how low the thick white fog was sitting over the city. From our high viewing point we could see rainy weather setting in so headed back to the cosy warmth of out little home.
On Saturday Matt wasn't feeling 100% so we spent a day at home chillaxing. We figured it's better to do this than push on and be even worse for wear. It's probably the reason why neither of us has been sick yet.
It is hard to escape Vienna's musical culture so on Sunday we immersed ourselves in it. The day began with a tasty brunch at Mozart Cafe, an inviting place with wooden and mirrored paneled walls and extravagant chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and then strolled past the impressive Vienna State Opera House.
Next on the list was a visit to Haus der Musik, a cutting edge sound and music museum. The first half of the visit focused on the science of sound and, through a number of interactive displays and activities, we learnt all about the magical workings of the ear and got to play around with sound illusions. The second half of the museum was a wonderful exhibit on six of Vienna's most well known musicians - Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss, Schubert and Mahler. The museum was very well done and we both really enjoyed ourselves.
Our day ended with a trip to the Volksoper (People's Opera) for a 4:30 showing of Bizet's well known Carmen. Yes, we saw a French Opera, set in Spain, translated into German in an Austrian theatre. It was my first ever opera experience and I was very excited. As recommended, we read up on the plot which thankfully was fairly easy to follow.
Overall it was a great production and we had good seats from which to see and hear. All the leads were fantastic and acted much more than I was expecting from an opera. I had a wonderful time and was surprised at how many songs I recognised. Songs such as 'Habanera' and 'Toreador' which I knew the tune of in detail but had no idea where it was from. Unfortunately the curriculum of Matt's Motorhome School hadn't cover operas so my education was severely lacking in this department.
I was also surprised at the number of children in the audience and impressed by their ability to sit through 4 acts of opera and not even fidget or get distracted. There were 3 kids in the row in front of us and they sat with their eyes fixed on the stage for the whole 3 hours.
After the show we made our way home, happy about the great day we had had and feeling like we had done Vienna justice.
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