Salzburg Holiday

The Magic Fountain:
 While planning for Salzburg, Hellbrunn castle was not in our list of attractions. We were off to some mountain peak when a fellow passenger recommended Helbrunn castle and its magic fountains which fell on the same bus route of 25. The big bonus about Helbrunn was that Salzburg card was accepted so no entrance fee.

We had no expectation from the place. We looked forward to seeing some musical or magical fountain as we entered the huge gardens. What we got instead was a guided tour to this Palace built by Archbishop, Markus Sittikus in 17th century. Archbishop either had a great sense of humor or was totally eccentric. For example you get an idea of the 'games' he used to play on his guests at the famous dining table that is the first stop on the tour - apparently a very good dinner would be put on as well as wine. As one would complain of heat after some wine, the archbishop would then activate a water conduit that sprays water into the seat of the guests to wake them up ! One seat lacks such a conduit: that of the Archbishop. He would be the only one dry. Each room had hundreds of hidden spouts .There's a fascinating mechanical, water-operated and music playing theatre

showing various professions at work, and at the end a grotto and a crown being pushed up and down by a jet of water, symbolizing the rise and fall of power. There are trick / hidden fountains where you least expect it- for example from under the floor; unexpectedly from the pavement, door jambs, walls, sculptures and even the horns of a deer ! Everything was controlled by water pressure including the theatre as there was no electricity. As far as we were concerned, the water on us was most welcome on a hot day. For the kids- according to them this was the best place they had ever visited.
  The Famous Tours
Salzburg is famous for Sound of music, lakes, mountains, concerts, food and Mozart. The tour company we selected for the day tours was called ‘Panorama’ and the pick up point was near our hotel. It appeared to be a fairly popular with tourists as all their buses were quite occupied. The sound of Music tour is a nice tour with breathtaking views of the landscape where the film was shot. Original Sound of Music soundtrack accompanies you to this tour. The English-speaking guide not only shows you the highlights of the film 'Sound of Music' but also the historical and architectural landmarks in the city, as well as a part of the picturesque lake district. The tour takes you to all the places filmed in the famous movie and concludes at the Wedding Church – ‘Mondsee Cathedral’ where the film wedding between Julie Andrews as Maria and Christopher Plummer as the Baron took place. We took a Lakes and mountains tour which was a picturesque journey into the Lake Region and St. Wolfgang, passing by Fuschl, St. Gilgen and Mondsee. The lakes look fresh and we did a nice boat ride with chilled beer and some packed sushi we had carried. Looking around from the boat all you see are the picture post card views. You want to absorb as much as you can.

 At St Wolfgang and Mondsee there were many nice hotels around the lakes . Being just an hour away from Salzburg, these hotels would be nice to stay for us city dwellers for whom this kind of freshness and the natural beauty is a luxury which one must utilize to the hilt when given a chance. Another good trip is to the Ice Caves. This needs warm clothing and one has to be prepared to walk a lot. The tour meanders south along the picturesque Salzach Valley towards the idyllic village of Werfen, taking in historic monuments, sheer mountain passes and the most imposing castle in middle Europe, the Hohenwerfen Fortress. You can either stay at the fort - where the Hollywood movie 'Where Eagles Dare' was shot - or continue on to the Ice Caves. After a wonderful walk and ride with the cable car, you will enter this natural wonder with a guide, who will explain the labyrinths of large caverns, mysterious ice figures and give many added tales of adventure. It is pretty chilly in there in spite of the warm clothing’s. We gave Mozart a miss but did go up to the Fort in the town on cog wheel train which climbs up the mountain almost vertically. The town has a river in the middle which reminds one of Innsbruck and the shopping district is next to the river. The shopping district has all big names and restaurants are a plenty. The problem was : the shops shut at around 7 PM and we don’t eat before 9. What to do for these 2 hours ? solution : Kunal and I carried our tipple in the bag pack – sat under one of the statues near the river and enjoyed our drink while watching people loiter around the city of Salzburg. We stayed at Crowne Plaza-The Pitter. Though this was not near the market or the river, it was 10 to 15 minute pleasant walk till there. The hotel had nice rooms and a health club & spa with a tiny pool. By tiny I mean actually tiny.
Is Salzburg different ?
Salzburg carries the hangover of 'sound of music.' Our guide said that the residents don't know what this fuss is all about as many have not seen this American film. While in the city you find Mozart everywhere. So you can buy a lot of Mozart related mementos. People travelling to Austria for leisure  most definitely travel to Salzburg unless they are just spending a couple of days at Vienna in route to some other place. It is a hot destination and more so amongst Indians now who are one of the most active travellers now.
My assessment is that Salzburg would be just another city if the 'tours' mentioned above are not taken. The city itself doesn't have too much to offer other than a fort, a river, many cafes and a lot of concerts.Shoppers like walking in the narrow streets where all the top names have their stores. The cobbled streets give the place a nice feel.
There is a lot to do if you like driving and are comfortable with the 'right hand drive.' Driving up to a glacier while stopping on the way for a feel for country side makes it a very worthwhile trip.
There would be a thousand picnic spots with great infrastructure in a radius of 10-15 km. There would be around 30-40 peaks accessible by cable cars around Salzburg. To enjoy Salzburg , one has to move out of the confines of the city. Guided tours are good upto a point. Unguided trips are even more fun.
The panoramic views , pristine lakes and the adventurous hikes can make it very interesting for everyone. The pre-condition being that  people should be willing to be a bit adventurous. We were told that lake waters were fit for drinking. Given a chance, we would rather swim in them.

  Food for us Indians
 While I was happy eating hot dogs and spicy bratwurst, the kids occasionally demanded Chinese & Indian food. During the day they were content gobbling down ice creams. We did see quite a few Indian restaurants in most of the places we went to. We also met quite a few Indians in Austria. Surprisingly many were from the background I wouldn’t have thought would travel unless in a group tour. A small group of around 2 families we came across during our train journey from Innsbruck told us that they had not pre-booked anywhere. They had Euro Rail passes and had been traveling from France to Switzerland to Germany to Austria. The hotels were booked a day before they reached the town or at the town itself. Their business was retail of automotive parts from Patel Nagar. Both the families were strict vegetarians so they had a comprehensive list of Indian restaurants of all the towns/cities they had planned to visit. Otherwise they downloaded the list from internet. The men said that as the evenings were dull in Europe, they had, besides Indian restaurants one more criterion before deciding on a city of next visit: The city must have a casino!!