DomQuartier Museum and Hohensalzburg Fortress What a thrill! After all these years in Austria, I was finally going to visit Salzburg. First stop for me had to be Getreidegasse. I couldn’t wait to see the famous wrought iron signs hanging out over the shop and restaurant doors. And yes, it’s true – even McDonald’s has one. But what I hadn’t expected was to see a SPAR supermarket in the ground floor of the house where Mozart was born. And now…
A Visit to Hellbrunn Castle, Salzburg Now this is what I call height of decadence. A splendid, elegant castle that was built and used purely for entertainment. Nobody ever spent a single night here! Hellbrunn Castle, the 17th century playground of Prince-Archbishop Markus Sittikus, is unlike any castle I’ve ever visited. And I’ve clocked up quite a few castles at this stage of my travels, believe me. Not only does the castle boast numerous elaborately decorated reception rooms, it’s chock…
St. Florian Monastery, Kremsmünster Abbey I’ve visited my fair share of Austrian monasteries at this stage. Although they can appear to be quite similar, I’ve realised that each one is unique in its own way. So I was curious what would await us when the Oldies popped by St. Florian Monastery. Sure enough, the stunning baroque architecture, grand staircases, opulent state rooms, magnificent basilica and beautiful grounds were what I’d come to expect. But after the Oldies overdosed on the…
At Mauthausen Memorial, as in Auschwitz-Birkenau, I was left speechless but the installations of the concentration camp itself… the words and facial expressions of survivors… and the memorials to those who were murdered here… speak for themselves.
Schlierbach Abbey, Upper Austria I’ve visited quite a few abbeys on our travels, but of course, each one is different and Schlierbach Abbey was no exception. On the tour, the Oldies appeared to be most taken by the small but beautiful library. Small, apparently, because a couple of centuries before it became a monastery, Schlierbach Abbey had been a convent. It seemed to be the attitude of the time that women didn’t need as much learning as men. Hah! Try…