I have a friend going to Austria, so I wanted to post some pix to show her what to look forward to.  It’s been 10 years since we went to Austria, as hard as that is for me to believe.  It was a memorable trip with lots of great adventures we remember fondly.   These photos, while not of the caliber I have grown toward, will give her an idea of a variety of different areas.

We went to a place called Barnbach with this controversial and eclectic church that was very photographic and interesting.  I remember the bakery across the street and the lovely pastry and friendly staff.  Funny the things you remember.

 

We drove way up in the mountains to Glossglockner to see where the famous Edelweiss flower grows.

 

We traveled to Werfen, outside of Salzburg, to do the ice caves (Eiseinenwelt) and had the most amazing meal at Restaurant Obauer…. truly memorable.

Salzburg itself was worth doing.  We loved the egg shop, Easter in Salzburg, where they had countless fragile painted and decorated hollowed egg shells.  Very cool.

Being the salt fiend I am, we did Saltwerks in Bad Duurnberg, where we get dressed up in white suits to float in a boat through the old salt caves.  Very interesting and informative.

Vienna was wonderful for it’s eclectic and wonderful coffee shops with Sacher torte and other extravagant and decadent cakes (loved the 7-layer esterhazy torte and nusstorte).   We loved the wurstie stands, and had some of the best hotdogs we have ever had.

We visited the Karlskirche church which was fascinating as they used their remodel and scaffolding as an opportunity to gain funds for the refurbishment.  So for a small fee we went up the scaffolding and got a very close view of the painting in the ceiling… awesome opportunity.

We loved the Prater ferris wheel, built in 1847, made of all wood and still operating after all these years (and wars).  We actually took a ride in it, my very first ferris wheel ride.

Stephansdom is the main cathedral and square in Vienna along the cobble stone streets.  Worth doing is the Mozarthaus, or Mozart museum made from Mozart old flat he lived in for a couple years when in Vienna.

The catacombs inside the Stephansdom cathedral and a must-do… fascinating tour.

 

I think we were in Austria for 3 weeks.  We ate well, drank well, and ran our feet off.  We rented a car and took in as many cities and culture as we could.  I remember it being an educational and delicious trip.  Have fun!  Thanks for the opportunity to re-visit.