Salzburg Card Expedition - cable car, cathedral and cruise

There is a great sight seeing card for tourists called the ‘Salzburg Card’ it is an all in one pass that looks and feels like a bank card that gives you access to to many of the top attractions under a 24 hour proviso time limit, 48 hour or 72 hours. You can purchase this on line or from the tourist information centres and the Hotels also have them available which is where we got ours, (just down the road from our apartment called Hotel Hofwirt) for 31 Euro each for Ben and I and 15 Euro each for the kids. The card also includes unlimited bus travel too which is great. There is over 20 attractions that you can choose from and today we choose the Untesberg cable car, Helbrunn Palace, the Salzburg Cathedral, the Dom Quartier museum and a cruise along the river.

Starting out at 9am we jumped on the 25 bus right outside our apartment and it went direct to Untesberg which was the last stop. Immediately when we hopped off we noticed the dense fog and the view of the mountains as well as the forest.

We only needed to wait 10 minutes until the next cable car was available and there was only a handful of other people who were joining us. The ride was very smooth and the views were beautiful but the higher we got the more fog and clouds so we couldn’t see the ‘spectacular views’ we had researched. It didn’t bother me though as the cable car ride itself was great and as our vision wasn’t clear we couldn’t tell where the top of the mountain was and just when we thought we were at the top the cable car kept going over another ledge and up the mountain. Once at the top it was a complete drop in temperature, almost like snow conditions and that combined with the rain and the fog made the kids not want to leave the base.

Ben and I wanted to explore so off we went and found a cute eatery chalet and there were also some walking trails to take. Not wanting to leave the kids for long we found a short 10 minute walk and then headed back. There are 3 other walking trails I would like to do at another time.

We then rode the car back down to the bottom and our bus was waiting there for us ready to hop on.

Back on the bus we headed to the Hellbrunn Palace, and this was like dragging the kids in slow motion all the while complaining that they wanted to go back. There was so much to see here but we negotiated we would do only one thing and so we went to look at the Trick Fountains. It was pouring by this time and the water features combined with the rain combined with the audio hand held devices was a lot of fun. The fountains are actually designed to trick and soak visitors and there are hidden jets and water cannons and spouts that burst out when you least expect it and soak you through. Jessy actually got hit twice by a surprise fountain while watching the wooden figures of the mechanical theatre. The conductor came up and high fived her when she was drenched but she was not impressed.

I enjoyed looking at the water features and the sculptures and the fountains all with a story behind them.

As much as I would have loved to explore the palace as there was so much to see you could spend an entire day here - especially to see the state rooms, but the constant pleeing to leave on repeat with I’m bored as the beat box backing track convinced me they had both had enough so onto the bus we went back to Aldstadt.

Daniel couldn’t run back to the apartment fast enough and as soon as he was off the bus he shot off! Jessy decided to stay with us and we went and explored the Salzburg Cathedral which of course was breathtaking. It amazes me how many organs they have inside there and the sheer size of them and how they managed to paint all the beautiful murals on the roof as well as all the baroque frescos and the moldings of the angels and cherubs.

We then went up to the Dom Quartier museum and marvelled at the remarkable tapestries dating back to the 17th century all woven from wool and silk. They are monumental in size of 6 metres and have a beautiful story conveyed in the tapestry. I also loved the gold chalet cups and the intricate sculptures made out of marble on display too.

Next we grabbed a Krapfen pretzel to share (as they are huge) and it tasted like a filled doughnut but fresher and denser and better than any pretzel I ever had and we also tried some ice cream on the way to the ferry (Jessy loved her snickers flavour and Ben and I enjoyed our karamell-crumble with a K).

The Ferry ride was the last of our expeditions and we were lulled into a sense of rest and sleep. Ben and I were trying so hard to keep our eyes open and take in the beautiful scenery but it was all so so rhythmic and relaxing I could have dropped to the floor, slid under the chairs and had a little nap. The captain was very entertaining explaining all the sites we went past in both German and English as we moved up the river.

Back at the apartment we quickly got changed and being a Saturday night the kids were bursting to go out to dinner, that is one thing that they absolutely love doing and I had already been looking around for somewhere traditional we could try and thought the Augustiner Braustubl Mulln at Lindhofstraße 7, 5020 Salzburg, (https://www.augustinerbier.at) looked great. It had the sweetest beer garden with little tables all arranged together under the trees and inside was self service so the kids could see what they could order from the stalls (rather than trying to decipher from a menu in German). Well when we got there it was very hustle and bustle with lots of people outside sitting at the tables and then up the stairs we went to the food hall which was set up with several stalls of all types of food including crispy roast pork and schnitzel to cheesy spätzle, sauerkraut, pretzels, and an array of salads, breads, dumplings and so much more. Ben and I were in heaven and selected from all the little stores and then found a shared table in the main hall and tried all the food, with each mouthful being more tasty than the last. However I think this was a little too overwhelming for the kids as Daniel refused to eat anything and Jessy tried the pork and crackle but didn’t like anything else.

I’m not sure if it was the activity of the hall or the new food that stunned the kids into shut down mode as the hall where you sit to eat was full of people on long wooden tables and was very loud and unlike anything they had ever experienced before all drinking from huge steins and just enjoying themselves. It felt a bit like a party, a family gathering and a boys night out all wrapped into one.

The kids are quite used to their familiar food, so they’ve found Austrian food a bit outside their normal zone , but not to worry we have found a store called the “World Store” and will need to make a visit to see if they have any of their creature comforts to cook up for dinner.

After eating we grabbed some apfel strudel and cream pastries for desert and got on the number 4 bus back to our apartment and went to bed.