billbauer

We set out this morning to meet our local Salzburg guide, Heidi, to tour Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's birthplace at Pass Hagenauer Haus in old town Salzburg.  Notice the bright sunshine! Pictures are not allowed in most of the house but I was able to get a couple of "allowed shots" in the entry hallway.  The first is of the kitchen of the landlord's quarters on the second floor. The second is a hook on the ceiling of the second floor hallway from which buckets of sand hung for firefighting purposes. Wolfgang lived in the rented quarters on the third floor. Starbucks doesn't work too well in Austria because the kaffee haus tradition is well established and many people spend a couple of hours in a kaffee haus rather than just grabbing a cup to go.  However, they do have a cute little sign.  No, I didn't go in ... this time. We are able to visit the very famous Kaffee Furst in old town where I have hot chocolate (again!) and a cake, chocolat...

This morning we are led on a walking field trip through the city center of Salzburg, home of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.  We begin at Schloss Mirabel, a palace once the site of some of the filming of the Sound of Music  and now a city administrative center. This is the center staircase where every new groom passes after being civilly married, a requirement in Austria in addition to any religious marriage ceremony. The gardens of Schloss Mirabel included in the Sound of Music .  The pansies bloom every day, even in winter, although right now they are hibernating due to the overnight frost. Our tour guide, David, pretending to have angel wings. The old town, Altstadt, has strict limits on the signage of commercial establishments.  Here is the Salzburg version of the ubiquitous McDonalds sign.  Notice the small "M" inside the wreath. After passing through the benedictine monastery we visit the large St. Peter's cathedral. After the guid...

Today we say goodbye to Vienna.  We pack our bags and leave them in the hotel lobby at the prescribed time and have breakfast in the hotel.  Everything is loaded by the appointed time and we make one last "guided drive" through the heart of Vienna and take the A1 toward Linz. I know.  Exciting. We do get one of our special Road Scholar treats this morning.  We stop at the St. Florian Abbey near Linz, to this day still an Augustine monastery, renowned for its Baroque architecture and its close association with composer Anton Bruckner. We get a special, private concert from the amazing Bruckner church organ.  We not only hear the organ, we can feel it. We have lunch in the restaurant in the Abbey where the Austrian tradition of napkin folding is upheld. Unfortunately, they have adopted American-sized portions of veggie lasagne.  I had no chance to even put a dent in this. Beverly in Abbey courtyard. After emerging from ...