over the hills and far away

Still Tuesday 28 October 2015

and we are off on our travels across Austria from Vienna to Saltzburg, home of Mozart and the Sound of Music

by double decker train - and, naturally, heading for the top deck!

The lush Austrian countryside rolling alongside us and just for the record, this train had the poshest, cleanest train loos EVER and free wifi

We saw the sun setting over Linz and it's huge steel plant and in no time we arrive at Saltzburg Hautbahnhof

a lovely light bright station - all white like the snow!  Jess had something of a brainwave and we dumped our cases in the left luggage for the night had headed off with little more than our toothbrushes . . .

and soon we're at our destination - the very wonderful Die Romantik Pension Haslachmühle which used to be an old mill.

This has just got to be one of the best Bed and Breakfasts in the world, in a beautiful Alpine setting just on the edge of the city.  Everything was perfect and we all wished we'd had more than one night's stay - see my Tripadvisor review

and this was the view over night-time Saltzburg from the balcony of our room and there was snow on the peaks of the Alps to our left which you'll see in the daylight tomrrow.

The wonderful Caroline drove us down to this friendly little pizza cafe

and we enjoyed a moonlit walk back up the hill to work off the pizzas

Back in our cosy room, it was the complusive Bananagrams round the stove before bed

and tomorrow is another day - so tune in again for our adventures around Salzburg and our dramatic entrance into the city - just click here!

And if you missed the start of this holiday, then feel free to go to the beginning in Vienna by clicking here

parting of the ways

Reluctant departure from 6 Lagerstrasse by our 11am curfew

and off we head into the sunshine for our final explore of Vienna - Stadt Park first as ever

and a group hug with the help of a passing stranger

Another Otto Wagner (I think?)

But finally to the inside of his masterpiece the Postsparkasse

We ventured inside the museum at the back which was fascinating and also gave us access to the amazing rooms behind.  The museum website is SO good, wealth of information on the museum, Otto Wagner and the building itself - explore the menu: Museum Postsparkasse

Wow, wouldn't have missed that for anything and so glad we went back when it was open.

Now back onto the streets to make the most of our last few Vienna hours

Interesting buildings at every turn

And a return to the Adolf Loos Looshaus.  Now a bank, we were allowed in on the ground floor but no photos.  It was amazing inside with dark shiny wood and mirrors a bit like the American Bar, giving an illusion of more space than there was.  It had been a gentlemen's outfitter store originally and the old glass and wood display cases were still there. Incredible!

But by now it was definitely time to eat again . . . and the 130 year old institution that is Cafe Central beckoned, with its cosy alcoves, vaulted ceiling and cakes galore.
We started with the menu of the day - to have something sensible, then quickly progressed to CAKES.
I will leave you to the pictures which I just managed to snap before the cakes themselves were snapped up!

and as this is Vienna - I have to end on cake!

but all is not over - while two of us peel off and head for London, the other three carry on adventuring and catch the train to Saltzburg and Zurich - click here to read on!

But if you missed the start of this holiday, then feel free to go to the beginning by clicking here

let us eat cake

Monday 26 October - Vienna

Another sunny Autumn day and, after our hearty bowls of porridge in the apartment (which was by the way SO stunning we could have lived there forever - see pics here) we strode out under blue skies - some of us without our coats!

The first place we come to is Stadt Park,which is so lovely

always busy with locals dashing hither and thither

and it's incredible gilt statue of Johann Strauss

so at this point it can only be another waltz to dance us around Vienna on this fine day

and of course a sneaky melange too

Lovely flower stalls at the edge of all the parks

and more of the fab diversity traffic lights, photographed risking life and limb just before they changed to red!

 Our first stop was Otto Wagner's masterpiece - the Post Office Bank Postsparkasse

such a work of art

but despite approaching it from every one of it's wonderful angles, it was indisputably closed for the day!  

A frantic google search revealed that it was Austria National Day and a national bank holiday!!  But don't despair!  The famous five achieve their quest to see inside Postsparkasse in another episode tomorrow  . .

So it was a case of finding out what was open and we decided to explore the central Ringstrasse area.  First stop was the cathedral and the amazing tour to the rooftops. Loved the tiles

and the city view across to the giant ferris wheel at Prater

Next we visited another church - Peterskirke where I just loved the sleigh ride style pews - just looks like everyone's off on a big dipper ride at the Prater!  Hold tight!

We kept passing this horse but never got to see who it was by!

But soon enough it was time to eat (again)!  And this time at Demel's  - THE cake house in Vienna

and this was pure heaven - several floors of refined eating and cakes cakes cakes - starting with the fabled sacher torte - and Demel has serious history with this speciality, claiming it as their own - read here and also discover the battle still rages today.

And here's a selection to start tempting you . . .

fabulous decor

and a bit of menu surfing

This was my favourite - the amazing Kaiserschmarrn mit zwetschkenröster - served warm (taking 20 minutes to make) - bits of broken up pancake with plum compote - really the loveliest pudding EVER.  Anyone out there got an authentic recipe PLEASE pop it into the comments box

(as you can see I didn't even have the time to focus the camera - so busy scoffing)!!

and back down in the shop, some of the cakes on sale

Full to busting, we needed to walk that lot off so we enjoyed the grand buildings and bustling streets - and our first stop was another Adolf Loos building - the famous Looshaus - now a bank.  BUT - sadly closed as it was a public holiday!  So this will also have to be a return tomorrow morning . . .

statues larger than life abounded

and we managed a glimpse of the pristine stables of the Spanish Riding School of Vienna with a peep at one of the magnificent Lipizzaner horses peeking out over his stall.  You can see a video about them here

next a dash round the Royal Opera House

and a nod to Mozart

before our visit to the brilliant Leopold Museum which has a huge collection of Gustav Klimt and other artists of the Secession.  There were some beautifully crafted posters.

imagine - a real original postcard from Klimt!

The highlight for me though was the Egon Schiele

By now it was dark and we walked past the magnificent Rathaus

for a quick top up of coffee at the grand Landtmann cafe

and phoned ahead to book our evening meal - but en route to that, we had some fun lurking in doorways - wonder if you can guess why this particular doorway

YES - The Third Man was filmed on this very street!  The Third Woman had to do for now though . . .

exciting stuff!

Great article here on the unveiling of Rachel Whiteread's Holocaust Memorial in Vienna in 2010 in Judanplatz.  I remember this vividly in the press and was so glad to see it at last. Very moving.

and our restaurant for the night, Brezl Gwölb, was very close by.

and what an amazing little place. Intimate, friendly, great beer and warm homemade pretzels to start - SO good.

and here we all are - once again eaten too much but who cares!!

So it was back to our apartment at the end of our last night in Vienna (boo hoo).

Our Tuesday morning in Vienna and our trip to Saltzburg are coming up soon (with MORE CAKES) just click here

But if you missed the start of this holiday, then feel free to go to the beginning by clicking here