Belated trip stats

November 25th

Flights:

SFO to Toronto 2257 miles 4:46 hours

Toronto to Munich 4131 miles 8:19 hours

Steps: 4927 - all I can say is that I must have done a lot of walking around at the airports

November 26th

No flying or driving, just a little walk in the area around the hotel.

Steps 3,493

November 27th

Bus:  

Munich to Linderhoff 60.5 miles  1:15 hours

Linderhoff to Oberammergau 8.5 miles, :15 minutes

Oberammergau to Munich 55 miles 1:07 hours

Steps 11,879

November 28th

Bus:  Munich to Nuremberg  105 miles, 1:45 hours

Steps 6462

November 29th

Bus:  Nuremberg to Salzburg 196 miles, 2:55 hours

Steps:  10,775

November 30th

Bus:  Salzburg to Vienna 183 miles, 2:49 hours

Steps: 7,971

December 1st

Steps:  13,684 - spent the day walking to and from another Christmarket

December 2nd

Flights:

Vienna to Dulles 4457 miles, 10:25 hours

Dulles to SFO 2416 miles, 5:40 hours

Steps:  2,882

Totals

Flights:  13261 miles, 28.5 hours

Bus:  609 miles, 10 hours

Walking/Steps:  62,117

Tuesday- Vienna

It was nice to not have to rush out for a morning tour.  We had breakfast at 8 then at 10 we headed off with Dianne and Mike, a couple from our tour group and walked to MariaTheresaplatz where there was another Christmas market.   Mike was our navigator and had a pretty good idea of where we were going, just not how far it was.  We walked the Mariahilf Strasse which is the longest shopping street in the world???  Not sure that is correct but it is several miles of shop after shop.  

This is one of the more interesting modern buildings

Then, of course there are the statues and historical buildings

We even found a small Christmas market on the way.  Jackie and I finally got our Austrian pastry.

The market, when we got there, was very nice and we all found a little something to add to our bag of treasures.  We then walked back - to say that Jackie and I were tired is probably an understatement, but we made it back to the restaurant next to our hotel where we had goulash for lunch.  Not as good as what we had on our first trip two years ago, but still tasty.  When we got back to the hotel we did a google map of our walk, it was 3 miles round trip.  We were proud to have accomplished it, but tired.  We spent the afternoon relaxing and repacking.  

In the evening we went to a Wine House in the Vienna Woods.  There was food, wine (I had a taste and it was good, but just a taste was enough for me), veal snitzel, ham, pork and roasted potatoes.  They also served a nice cake and ice cream for dessert.  Entertainment was an engaging local man who sang and playing accordion.  He did a great job keeping us clapping, singing and there was even a little dancing.

We originally weren't planning to do this excursion, but we are glad we did.  It was nice to spend time with the wonderful folks we have had the chance to get to know on this trip, and a nice way to say farewell.

Monday - Vienna

Today we drove from Salzburg to Vienna.  It's about a 4 hour drive, but our tour manager, Julian managed to make it a fun trip.  I didn't sleep well the night before, so I definitely took a couple of cat naps.  Once again it was raining, so the bus photos weren't that great.

We arrived at the Christmas market and had a little over an hour to get lunch and wander about before our walking tour started.  Luckily we had about 45 minutes before the rain started.  

For lunch we had kaiserkainer sausages, essentially, it's a large hot dog with cheese in the middle.  They take uncut buns and put a hole in the middle, then add your condiment of choice and the sausage.  Great way to do it!

Not long after we got our lunch it started raining, and this was not the gentle drizzle from yesterday, no this was a downpour.  In Austria though, the tour must go on.  We walked from the Christmas Market to Albertini Hall, past government offices, museums, the home of the Lipzaner Stallions and beautiful buildings.  A couple of people from our group got drenched when we were walking on the sidewalk of a small street and a lovely driver seemed to aim directly for the biggest puddle on the street and even folks closest to the building got soaked.  Here are few rain filled photos

The prime ministers office

Dinner was at a local place close to the hotel.  Jackie got her veal schnitzel and I had sirloin steak with fried onions.  The server was very funny.  He spoke English, as many do here, but we couldn't figure out if he thought we were useless Americans or he thought we were funny.  He was always very serious when taking with us, but then he would have this little smirk on his face when he walked away. In the end we had a nice chat with him.  Another couple from our group joined us and he asked where we were from.  I told him California, Alabama and Iowa.  He seemed confused that we were from so many different places.  I explained that we were on the tour together.  Anyway, delicious. Food and good company.

Then we were off to the concert, selections from various Vienese composers with chamber orchestra, opera singers and dancers.  The principal violinist was playing on a Stradavarius from 1706, a much prized instrument in their collection, so that was exciting to see and hear.  The hall was small, but besitiful and the music and dancing were excellent.  I'm so glad we decided to do that!

Not much in the way of Internet access so I may not be able to most till I get to the airport.  

One more day left to wander the city.......

Sunday- Salzburg

Today started with an early wake up call,  6:15.  These early mornings are not my favorite part of the trip, but we are up and on our way by 8 each day which gives us more time to see and do things, so I shouldn't complain

We were on the road to Salzburg at 7:45. We arrived around noon after a fun filled ride including "guess the composer" and "two truths and a lie".  It definitely helped pass the time.  We also got to listen to music from the Sound of Music, to get us in the mood for seeing some of the sights that were included in the movie.

Here are a few photos from the drive.

Upon arrival in Salzburg we walked to the city center (where buses aren't allowed).  We started at the  by walking to the Mirabell Palace, the location for filming Do Re Mi

I loved the patterns that the flowers were planted in.

Then it was on to one of the houses Mozart lived in

Then in to town past the birthplace of Mozart which is now a museum.

We walked through quaint city streets and alley ways to our meet up spot

Once we were shown our meeting spot we had about two hours to explore on our own.  Jackie and I decided it would work best to get lunch so that we didn't have to worry about catching up with the group at 3.  We had lunch here, a place that was frequented by Mozart.  It was very much a coffee shop, with just a few light meal options, and fabulous desserts.

Then it was market time.  There were crowds, but not nearly as bad as yesterday.  On Sunday's most shops are closed, so it was just Christmas market shoppers.  The biggest issue was that it rained most of the time we were out walking, first doing our own shopping, then the walking tour of Salzburg - about 4.5 hours out in the chill, damp air.  But I'm not complaining....much.  Here are a few shots from the market and our walking tour.

This is the fortress overlooking the city

St. Peter's church - with the fortress above

The theater where the last concert the Von Trapps performed was held, still looking much the same.

Holiday lights

To sum up the day:  Beautiful city, learned some of the history of the city and Austrian Christmas traditions, got soaked by the rain (will my shoes ever dry out), nice dinner to end the day here at the hotel.  Time to settle in and get a good nights rest.  Tomorrow Vienna!!