Graz museum day

I visit the Kunsthaus Graz (Graz modern museum) because I love some weird art. The main exhibit is a series of artwork from artists from the former Yugoslavia – a region I visited earlier. I see the artwork from the artist that does the running through Zagreb nude (I love you Zagreb) and I see some interesting penis related artwork (Gelatin by Golem is one example, photos of naked guys in nature backdrops is another). The art explores many different ideas and pushes boundaries. One movie shows hostile architecture in the ways cities develop spaces that seem to prevent sitting. In the movie people sit in these hostile spaces and later show their bare bottom with the associated indentations. In addition the museum has a great view of the city.

I also walk through the art space called Murinsel, an island in the Mur river that hosts a cafe and an art space. They play movies and have live music perform there.

I also walk along the water.

I notice a long path up the hill to a park with scenic views but it is not in the plans today. Instead I happen upon a tunnel next door that was built as a war shelter. It leads up to a lower part of the park. I use this time opportunity to grab lunch. Sushi is on the menu today. There is a photographer taking photos of all the menu items for I am assuming website photos and such. They offer the few of us dining all the plates when they are done with the photos. Unfortunately this happens after I’ve already stuffed myself. I could have walked out with a much cheaper meal if I would have just been slower to order.

After lunch I walk by an interesting double staircase.

I walk by the mausoleum dedicated to Emperor Ferdinand II next door. It looks impressive but I decide to wait til later to go inside which proves to be a bad decision because I never catch the opening times again during my visit to the city.

It is three o’clock so I am in time to see the historic Glockenspiel dance. In this clock there are two dancers, a woman and man, who dance to the different chimes.

Earlier when I was rushing to the clock I noticed a weird white building in the distance. This building seemingly made of white cubes is called Argos designed by Zaha Hadid.

Tonight I have dinner reservations to try the famous Graz fried chicken (Backhendl, or Styria Fried chicken). It is quite good and pairs nicely with their salad that contains pumpkin seed oil (yum) and the famous Styria beans the size of a thumb.

When I finish dinner it is raining so I run back to my hotel for the evening. Little do I know that this rain will cool things off nicely. While most of Europe has a heat wave I am feeling quite nice the next couple days.

Next location- Graz, Austria

I am going to be honest when I put Graz, Austria on the itinerary I knew very little about the city. I had it on a list of places to visit in Austria for a ten day itinerary and it somehow made the cut even though Hallstat and Innsbruck did not. At first I am a little disappointed that I didn’t pick a mountain surrounded town but after spending time here I am glad I added to the itinerary.

Train ride here from Salzburg is absolutely beautiful. I see beautiful Bavarian mountains with clouds above them covering the peaks along with wooden houses and cute towns. It is easy to get from the train station to my hotel. Graz has got to be the public transportation model for many cities. There are trams going everywhere, running frequently. I am impressed.

I get lucky once again that my room is ready when I arrive. This time I am in a single (twin) with a view of nothing but it is clean and I have AC. Plus I have breakfast included again, even if its more of the same. At least I don’t have to be going out tracking down coffee and croissants every morning ( can I just say how much I miss a home cooked breakfast!).

My first plan is to book dinner at a recommended restaurant nearby called Landhauskeller. Before my reservation I tour the courtyard of the Grazer Landhaus, an old renaissance palace. The food isn’t terrible at Landhauskeller but I am not impressed until I get to the dessert – a pumpkin oil vanilla ice cream and candied pumpkin seeds on pancakes. It is the delicious combination I didn’t know I wanted.

So far I’m impressed with this city. Tomorrow I’ll check out a modern art museum.

Salzburg

In the morning I do a walking tour of the city. First I splurge for brunch on the roof of my hotel.

Walking tour

I run off after the tour to see a concert in the nearby church. At some point tears come to my eyes. It is magical listening to a performance in this cathedral.

After the concert I try to eat a street dog but I don’t love it and throw half of it out.

That’s ok because I want to try a very large egg white dessert called Salzburger Nockerl: a dessert with egg whites, flour and sugar. It is interesting to try but not sure I would order it again.

I shop and buy the Mozart chocolates I’ve been wanting to try as well as some cheese.

Finally the last day in Salzburg I head up to the fortress. I walk by that quiet beautiful cemetery on the way to the funicular. I am glad I take the funicular because the walk is long and hot, all uphill.

I tour the fortress and surrounding grounds. As far as fortresses go it is average but what is impressive is the views it has over the city.

Marionette museum

I almost missed the state rooms and the magical theater. They are both very impressive.

Even though my admission ticket includes a return ticket on the funicular I am going to walk to the bottom because the goal is to walk down to the Augustiner brewery and have lunch. However for some reason I cannot find the path that leads straight to the brewery as suggested by others the other day. Instead I walk down through the old city, following along the cliff side. I see people making the difficult trek up by foot. The pathway is long and steep and it is very hot. When I reach the bottom I see the funicular line is quite long. I see now how walking uphill could be seen as a good alternative to the funicular line but definitely not on a hot day like today. I hope no one dehydrates on the way up. I pat myself on the back for my early morning start.

I walk towards the brewery and though I finally see another side of town I realize the brewery does not open for at least another 2.5 hours. I am hot and the hanger is about to set in. I settle for a beer and pizza across the street. Once again the food is impossibly salty. I’ve been eating out quite a bit so I should be used to the highly salted food but I guess I am not. Do other people not notice it? I could come back later to the brewery but I know me, once I head back to the other side of town I am not coming back, especially on this hot day. I walk back along the water and take it easy the rest of the day. Tomorrow I move on to Graz.

Sound of Music Tour

This morning I have my sound of music tour. It is exactly as you imagine – A bus load of singing crazies stopping to see some of the filming locations. The tour gives a real good background of the real life Von Trapp family and tells you how their story differs from the movie. We also learn about details of the filming. It’s kitschy but if you have any sort of affection for the movie it’s worth it. I didn’t belt the songs at the top of my lungs like most of the other passengers but I did enjoy participating in the sing-a-long a bit.

Stop 1: Schloss Leopoldskron

We stop first at the location of the VonTrapp place of residence. You see the lake that some of the scenes are shot. The building is now a luxury hotel.

Stop 2: Hellbrunn Palace, Gazebo and road nearby

We view the tree-lined road where the kids are climbing the trees.

We walk to where the gazebo used by Rolf and Liesel exists outside the Schloss Hellbrunn. Hellburn looks like a nice place to visit if I have time to return.

Drive by: Nonnberg Abbey

We drive by Nonnberg Abbey, the abbey used to film all the scenes with the nuns in the abbey. We don’t stop here because the abbey is not accessible to the public.

Stop 3: View of region

We stop at one of the areas featured in the opening scene of the film.

Stop 4: Mondsee

We stop in the town of Mondsee, the location of the church where Maria and the Baron get married. We have some free time here so I pick up a snack.

Stop 5: Mirabell garden

We have a final stop at Mirabell palace and garden where the kids and Maria sing and dance.

It is a quick stop but I end up visiting this again a couple days later.

Other thing along the way

After the tour I return back to my hotel to unwind for a few minutes. I still think my hotel is so beautiful.

I try some schnitzel and walk around town for the rest of the evening. It looks like they are starting to set up for the upcoming music festival.

Tomorrow I have a walking tour and a concert I want to attend mid-day.

Arrived in Salzburg

After a couple hour bus ride I am in Austria. I arrive first in Salzburg, the former roman settlement run by an archdiocese. It flourished in salt mining riches and at some point was part of Bavaria. Eventually Salzburg was annexed into Austria where it remains today.

Salzburg is also the birthplace of Mozart and where he spent his early years before he wandered off to Vienna to make money.

But what many from the USA know this city for is from a little musical called Sound of Music that was filmed here. The musical was a childhood staple and is the focus of a tour I attend (more on that later).

I am a week too early for the Salzburg music festival which is disappointing or fortunate depending on the way you look at it. I think it would be neat to attend some performances but the crowds would get on my nerves.

I book a boutique hotel from my credit card points and I have been having good luck when I do that lately. I am staying at a really nice hotel on the river in a room overlooking the river and fortress.

I make dinner plans at a trendy restaurant that just happens to be the oldest restaurant in Europe called St. Peter Stiftskulinarium. But before that I explore the area a little and pop in some churches.

Stiftskirche St. Peter (St Peter’s Abbey)

I am dinning outside today but apparently there are historic rooms you can dine in. I could not figure out how to get reservations specifically in those rooms. Dining outdoors is nice but it could be any trendy restaurant in any city. The steak I ordered is slightly overlooked. I am so used to restaurants undercooking my steak I wasn’t expecting this one. I guess order steaks rare if you dine here. The menu has many other interesting dishes as well but I have my heart set on some red meat for some reason. I guess its been a while since I’ve had a steak.

After dinner it is still early so I walk around town and end up in the cemetary of St Peters church. It is quiet and calm due to the tour groups gone for the day and it is probably one of the most beautiful, but small, cemeteries I have ever seen.