Day 10, Part 2: Hohensalzburg Fortress, Etc.

Tuesday

That afternoon, we decided to tour the Festung Hohensalzburg (Salzburg Fortress), one of the largest medieval castles in Europe. There was a funicular (a type of cog railway) to the top of the hill, but we decided to walk it, since our feet had been given a nice 15 minute break a few minutes prior. There were nice views along the way. We reached the top of the hill and walked upward toward the fortress. From one of the parapets, we had nice views of the distant mountains and the outlying city. We basically spent our time meandering through the archways, rooms, courtyards, and cobblestone roads that wended through the ramparts. We visited a war museum (completely in german with no english translations), and a rather creepy marionette exhibit, in which I almost had to drag Jared away from the plexiglass-covered holes in the floor where hundreds of tourists had thrown their own local currency onto the floor below. We were on our way to see the high towers when security came and shooed us all out. Apparently the castle closed at 4 (or maybe 5; my memory is blurry) for private chamber concerts.

We hiked back down the hill with nice views of the old town to accompany the walk. We then got ourselves over to Mirabel Gardens and walked the grounds. We saw statues featured in the Sound of Music, including the dwarves and the Pegasus Statue. (I know you all are now going to break out your copy and fast-forward to the part where Maria and the children are gallavanting around Salzburg singing the solfege in perfectly spliced segments. Go ahead. I can wait.)

From here, we rode the bus back to Old Town and dined at Saran. From there, all I remember is falling into bed, exhausted. I can't remember if we saw anything else, to be honest. My feet probably wouldn't have allowed it.







The entrance to the fortress. They were doing construction. This came as a total surprise to us, as you can image. (Not.)






A view of the mountains and outlying Salzburg from the fortress. (Ooh, ooh, click on this one! I hope you have a nice wide monitor. Look at the pretty snow-covered mountains!)






One of the towers we climbed. (I need to learn to dial back the old polarizing filter.)






A view of Old Town from the parapet.






The Gatehouse.






Jared is standing on the parapet; I am standing at the top of the tower.






An interesting, ornate door in the fortress interior.






The Salzburg Cathedral on our way back down the path from the fortress. You can see some people playing chess (by the gold ball) in the Somethingorotherplatz.






The Pegasus statue at Mirabel gardens. "Do, a deer, a female deer; Re, a drop of golden sun..." At this point, I hope you can picture Julie Andrews holding the top of her head and hitting a gloriously high "Do". If not, forget I even said it, or, let alone, know about it.

Day 10, Part 1: Salzburg's Old Town

Monday

There are so many photographs I want to put up here that I’m going to divide day ten into two parts. (There’s probably not enough room on the server to store all the photographs I made in Salzburg, so I'll have to be choosy.)

We slept in a little bit. It was pouring rain in the morning, which we expected. Frau Balwein prepared a breakfast of cereal, milk, orange juice, coffee, hot tea, rolls, cheese, meats, soft-boiled eggs, yogurt, fruit, and lemon coffee cake. Quite a delicious feast! By the way, they know how to make coffee in Europe. And bread. And cheese. And...

It’s funny how photographs conspicuously change from horizontal to vertical when you enter the city. Everything seems to be soaring upward, especially all those churches, cathedrals, and monuments to every battle, poet, and saint under the sun.

After breakfast, we left in the rain for the bus stop, just around the corner from Frau Balwein’s. We arrived by bus at Salzburg’s Old Town, near Mozartplatz. Our guidebook included a “walking tour” of the old town, so we decided to do that. It was a pretty comprehensive tour of the city, and our feet paid for it.

We entered Mozartplatz and saw the statue of Mozart, then walked across the courtyard into Residenzplatz. Beautiful fountain and surrounding buildings. We decided to take a time out and tour the Salzburg Panorama. I think only Jared took pictures. There were paintings exhibited there of one man’s trip around the world painting what he saw. The main attraction was the panorama, which was a 360 degree view of Salzburg in 1829, displayed in a round room. It was incredible.

We then entered the Salzburg Cathedral which was transcendent. We walked down to the crypts to see the old foundations of the cathedral and tombs. Exiting the cathedral, we entered the courtyard, which was spectacular, very lofty and sheltered, filled with spring breezes. A man was playing impressive classical guitar to a group of would-be donors and the acoustics were absolutely incredible. The music echoed all around us.

We then entered Kapitelplatz and saw people playing on the giant chessboard, a frightening sculpture of a monk with no face (like the Ghost of Christmas Future), and, on the far side, the monument/fountain/horse bath built by Leopold. We walked through St. Peter’s Cemetery, saw the tombs that were the inspiration for those in the Sound of Music, saw the monks’ caves in the cliffs, and then left to tour St. Peter’s Church.

The church was beautiful, smaller than the cathedral, but full of roccoco frescoes and glorious architecture. Leaving the church, we entered the Toscanini Hof, and got to see the 1925 Festival Hall where the von Traps performed before they fled Austria. The hall was unfortunately closed, so we only got to see the outside.

We then came to Universitatsplatz which hosts the open-air produce market and all the sausage stands. After leaving the market, we walked down Getreidegasse, the street where Mozart’s birthplace is and where all the wrought-iron signs are.

This was the first half of our day. Needless to say my feet were screaming bloody murder. After lunch we made the (long) trek up the hill to the Hohensalzburg Fortress, which I’ll share with you tomorrow.






The side of the Salzburg Cathedral and the Hohensalzburg Fortress on the hill in the background. It seems you can see the fortress from everywhere.






Cathedral Platz and the Alte Residenz buildings.






One of the many paintings on the ceiling of the Salzburg Cathedral.






Inside the Salzburg Cathedral. One of the few shots that wasn't too blurry. Very dark in those old buildings, and setting up a tripod feels too irreverent.






I believe this is a courtyard behind St. Peter's Church.






Entering St. Peter's Cemetery.






Inside St. Peter's Cathedral.






A closer view of the front of St. Peter's.






Judengasse. We ate at the Saran cafe (marked by the orange sign) that night... the apple streudel was amazing...






(Limited) View from the hill above the Toscanini Hof. Jared and I were upset they were doing construction on the Salzburg Cathedral. Of course, they are always doing construction on a cathedral over there. In every town we visited we could be assured that somewhere a cathedral was undergoing construction.






Getreidegasse, famous for its wrought-iron signs.






The humble birthplace of Mozart, and the hajj of music pilgrims everywhere.

Day 9: Travel to Salzburg

Sunday

We rose early to leave Gimmewald for, well, who knows? We had planned to stop in Hall near Innsbruck, Austria for the night, but then we thought, why not go all the way to Salzburg and get the traveling over? We put on our backpacks, bought our lift and bus tickets to Lauterbrunnen, took a walk down main street to an overlook to enjoy one last view, and then headed back to the lift. We made our final journey down the Lauterbrunnen valley and boarded a train for Austria.

To be honest, my memory is a blur concerning this day. I know we stopped somewhere to change trains once or twice (and to buy coffee!) but it was a very long day.

At one of the train stations we stopped for dinner at an outdoor café, where I had spaetzle. I can’t remember which city this was. Everyone was smoking, but that’s half of Europe. We made some phone calls and procured a “zimmer” outside of Salzburg on Moostrasse. A zimmer is basically a room in someone’s house, although this place was detached and had several rooms and a breakfast room.

And before continuing, I must say that making phone calls in Europe using a calling card is NOT as easy as the guidebooks say. Either that or I'm retarded. Dial this prefix but only if you're here, and dial an extra digit if you're here, and don't forget this area code, but only if you're over there. Is that a dial tone? A busy signal? Did I dial the number incorrectly? What does it all mean?! Frustrating.

We arrived at the Salzburg train station after dark, hailed a cab, and tried to give the cabbie directions to Frau Balwein’s house using his broken English and my broken German. It must’ve worked. We arrived in the rain around 10:30. Frau Balwein took us up to our room and it was great. The best we’d seen so far and the cheapest. Strangely, the place had somewhat of a Santa Fe style to it. In addition, she had breakfast for us every morning, included in the fee.



This is one of the very few photos I took this day. A castle in Austria perched high up the side of a mountain. I took this from the train.






Some serious language barriers over there. It took about 30 seconds for me to pronounce that first word.






I don't know what this means, but suddenly I want to bank here.

Day 8: The Schilthorn and Piz Gloria

Saturday

When I got up Saturday morning, it was a bit of a downer knowing this would be our last full day in Switzerland. I could’ve stayed at Gimmewald for the whole vacation actually, but we still had a lot planned.

Perhaps you’ve heard of the Schilthorn, or the Piz Gloria. It was featured in an old James Bond movie (before my time) and somebody or other blew it up. Well, in the movie, that is.

The Piz Gloria is the revolving building/restaurant at the top of the mountain. There is an observatory at the top that lets you see a vast, 360 degree view of the Alps. To get there, we rode a gondola from Murren to the top. The weather was absolutely perfect and what an incredible view! I took a bunch of photos, but most of them will look the same to everyone else but me, so I’m just sharing a few. Lucky for me, I got to see the Gspaltenhorn and its basin from above. What a beautiful peak. Plus, the Eiger was right out there in front, which was cool.

That afternoon, we roamed Murren a bit, bought some souvenirs in Gimmewald at the smallest gift shop you’ve ever seen (where, incidentally, the shop owner who spoke very good English decided to engage us in a political dialogue about who should and should not be the United States’ next president), enjoyed the clear Swiss air and sunshine, and had our last dinner at the good ol’ Stagerstubli. It was nice enough we sat outside!

To be honest, I was downhearted to be leaving in the morning. From the country to the city. We should’ve done this trip in reverse. What were we thinking? As if to soften the blow, the alps gave us a beautiful show of alpenglow. (Is that cheesy poetry or what?)






The Eiger viewed from the Schilthorn.






The Gspaltenhorn massif. Our hike the previous day took us waaaaaay down into the basin below the horn, which you can barely see (if at all).






The Gspaltenhorn. I mean... is this not an amazing peak?





Going...






Going...






...Gone...

Day 7: Hike to Kilchbalm

Friday

The couple from New Zealand left this morning and Jared and I got up early to see them off. We then had breakfast and planned a hike for the day. There was still a lot of weather swirling about the peaks.

We decided on a trail leading from Gimmewald to a glacial basin below the Gspaltenhorn called Kilchbalm. I can’t tell you how many waterfalls we saw, tumbling down cliffs all around us. There was still so much snow up there, we needed snowshoes. I dragged my gators all the way from the U.S.A., and forgot to put them in my pack before we left for the hike, so both Jared and I were postholing most of the way and getting wet. We came upon an alp house in a little meadow. We saw some delicate wildflowers. We hit several avalanche chutes that had spilled snow and ice onto the trail and we had to maneuver through those. The trail followed a creek, so, along with the waterfalls, there was the constant sound of water.

The hike was certainly worth it. The Gspaltenhorn massif was breathtaking, albeit elusive, and the thunder of avalanches was frequent. I wish my pictures had come out better, but the atmosphere was so thick. I could’ve spent hours in the basin, relaxing, gazing at the peaks, but the clouds were rolling in thicker and it was cold. We headed back. On the way, we could see Gimmewald from high on the trail.

We arrived back at the village and changed into drier clothes and then walked the half hour to Murren to buy supplies for cooking dinner. The evening cleared up and it was a beautiful walk.

There’s something about a hike that gets you intimate with your surroundings in a hurry. It’s not like taking a train or bus through the mountains, or viewing them from afar; you are up close and personal, smelling the earth and tasting the sky (thanks Maggie). We had a relaxing evening at a place that now felt like “home”.



The view from our window that morning. It was still pretty cloudy.






This is looking back down the road toward Gimmewald as we were preparing to leave the pavement and hit the trail.






A typical sign showing the hours and minutes required to walk to various locations. The way to Kilchbalm was supposed to be an hour, but I'm sure that didn't account for the feet of snow we had to battle through.






A wildflower along the trail.






A view of the Gspaltenhorn from a distance. Our trail is on the right, under the melting snow.






The Gspaltenhorn as we drew closer.






Jared on a ridge overlooking part of the massif. We could see better than the camera. Unfortunately, the clouds at the top were too bright and they block the tremendous view.






The cwm at the end of the trail. Again, the peaks (especially the Gspaltenhorn) didn't make an appearance for the camera, so you'll have to take my word for it... they were the most dramatic peaks I'd ever seen.






Looking closely, you'll see Gimmewald in the distance as we make our way back to the village. I believe that is the Monch in the background, and, yes, more waterfalls on the left.






Just one of the many small avalanches raining down from the Gspaltenhorn.






Here's another shot of Gimmewald, resting there quietly on the hillside in the shadow of the Monch.

Day 6: Jungfraujoch

Thursday

Esther prepared breakfast for us. Through the windows beside the table we could see that the clouds were breaking and the tops of the peaks were beginning to appear. They were magnificent. In Gimmewald, perched on the cliffs, one feels as though he is in a castle in the air hovering above the valley in the midst of the mountains.

We and our new comrades decided it would be the perfect chance to take the Jungfraujoch (yoong-frau-yohchh), a cog railroad that burrows through the bowels of the infamous Eiger to a high saddle between it and the Jungfrau. This was the one mountain I had been waiting to see for many years.

I am not a climber, but I do read a bit of climbing literature, probably vicariously experiencing what I could never attempt to do in real life. Several years ago I read Jon Krakauer’s essay, “Eiger Dreams”, where he recounts his failed attempt to climb the peak. Forgive me (Mr. Krakauer and readers alike), but I must share a few quotes. Although I didn’t have them in front of me, their memory lingered in my mind as we rode to the top.

“The dust jackets of books with titles such as Eiger: Wall of Death, remind us that the Nordwand [the north face of the Eiger] ‘has defeated hundreds and killed forty-four… Those who fell were found—sometimes years later—dessicated and dismembered…’”

“The names of the landmarks on the face—the Hinterstoisser Traverse, the Ice Hose, the Death Bivouac, the White Spider—are household words among both active and armchair alpinists from Tokyo to Buenos Aires; the very mention of these places is enough to make any climber’s hands turn clammy.”

“The rockfall and avalances that rain continuously down the Nordwand are legendary. So is the heavy weather: Even when the skies over the rest of Europe are cloudless, violent storms brew over the Eiger, like those dark clouds that hover eternally above Transylvanian castles in vampire movies.”

The ride up was amazing, the weather beautiful, the views absolutely unparalleled. Soon, however, we indeed experienced the “heavy weather”. The train stopped at an intermediary station so that the passengers could disembark and look through a series of enormous windows to see the views from the Nordwand of the Eiger. The clouds and snow were so thick, we only caught passing glimpses of the terrible, frightening beauty of it. There is quite a complex of buildings at the top, one of them being the Sphynx Observatory, a platform where one can look out at the vista. Unfortunately, it was snowing and so foggy, we only managed to see bits and pieces at a time.

After several hours, we decided to head back. The four of us rode back together as well, but got disconnected somewhere around Wengen or Kleine Scheidegg. Jared and I arrived in Lauterbrunnen and ate dinner at the Hotel Oberland, where we had delicious roestli and raclette. Strangely enough, our traveling companions were eating at another table and came over to say hello. After dinner, the four of us tried to catch the bus to Stechelberg to take the lift to Gimmewald. Unfortunately, we missed the last one of the night. After some debate, we decided to split taxi fare and try to catch the next lift in 15 minutes. Miraculously we made it (although the fare was 30 franks!) and, after arriving in Gimmewald, settled into our rooms for a warmer, drier, reflective evening.




From halfway down the lift from Grutschalp to Lauterbrunnen. That morning, we walked to Murren from Gimmelwald, took a 15 minute train to Grutschalp, then took this lift to Lauterbrunnen, where we boarded another train for Kleine Scheidegg and the cog railroad. Sounds like it took longer than it actually did.






Some of the mountains above Lauterbrunnen as the sky began to clear.






The clouds cleared enough to see some of the beautiful peaks up the Lauterbrunnen Valley. You can almost see Stechelberg in the distance. Gimmewald is up the valley and high on the cliff to the right, but it can't be seen in this photo.






The Eiger/Jungfrau massif just before boarding the cog railroad from Kleine Sheidegg.






At the intermediary station on the cog railroad. The windows overlooked the view from the Nordwand and here is one of many crevasses. I just thought it was kind of pretty (in a frightening sort of way).






Another view through the glass near the observatory.






This is the Sphynx Observatory. Fog and snow prevented good views, but from time to time, things opened up a little...






The very thought of climbing this gives me vertigo. I freak out at Class 3 scrambling.






A view of the glacial valley (the longest glacier in Europe).






A rare clearing from the Sphynx Observatory






We went through an ice cave with sculptures, etc. Here is the initial hallway to the "gallery".






Jared and our new friends indulging me in a "jump shot" on the Sphynx Observatory. Esther lent Dylan the crazy sunglasses and he never heard the end of it.






The Hotel Oberland, back in Lauterbrunnen, where we had dinner that night.