Hidden Away Hallstatt

Hallstatt...absolutely beautiful. Brooke and I have watched the Rick Steves' episode on Hallstatt a few times. We fell in love with the town on the screen, but absolutely have deemed it our favorite stop thus far. It is small and quaint and looks exactly as you would imagine a Bavarian village. This was our first view of the town as we got of the train. We then awaited our ferry to take us to the town.

Here we are in the boat getting closer to the town. We knew as we got closer, that this kind of town is exactly what our trip was about...getting to experience cultures of the region.

When we first arrived, we strolled through  the town stopping often to gape at the view and admire the beautiful architecture. There are a few small shops throughout town. One of our favorite was a salt shop. They sold salt products for everything, from grilling salt to salt deodorant bars (which were big chunks of soap bar shaped salt). After walking through town we knew we had to get to the viewpoint above Hallstatt. This next picture shows it atop the mountain with a nice easy tram taking you to the top. 

However, if you know us and our budget, spending money to get to a lookout that can be hiked to is not an option. We decided to hike and this was the sign that greeted us at the start of our hike. So after completing this hike we can officially say we are experienced high Alpine hikers.

A view from the beginning of the hike that shows a view from the back of Hallstatt. There were quite a few churches amongst the small town, this one was amazing next to the lake.

As you hiked up the trail there were stations along the trail that talked about the history of salt mining. It was pretty impressive to read how hard the people have worked throughout the years to mine salt. Mining salt has been happening in the region for over 2000 years. They have even found tombs in the mines as well as miners killed but preserved by the salt. One of the stations talked about this waterfall. They at one point used the power of water to transport the salt.

Here we are at another station along the trail that shows an actual mine entry, of course we could not enter this one. There is a mine tour available at the top, but with our budget we decided to forgo the tour.

Finally the view point! A view from Hallstatt above!  

 

Or another view of the same lookout...yes, it is suspended over the town an it makes for one of the most wondrous views in the world, we are sure of it!

Right behind the lookout is a Bavarian restaurant. Being budget minded we decided we would eat our meal down in the town were we could find food cheaper. However, we could not pass up the opportunity to eat something in such a marvelous location. We went for dessert and got a local favorite... Apple Strudel with a warm vanilla sauce.

Here is a view from behind the restaurant. We just loved how the building stood atop such a beautiful area.

When we got back into town we had a few more stops. One of them being this building within one of the churches grounds. With the cemetery getting so full they began to stack bones within this building. The bones go back hundreds of years with the most recent skull being placed in 1995. The latest goal belonged to a resident who wished to have her skull placed there. They have a paper that shows which skull belongs to her, a gold tooth still remains within her skull.

Our final stop was food, typically our favorite stop, we talked with a local shop owner for tips. During our conversation she talked about living in Hallstatt and how she liked it. She mentioned how it is important to leave, she said often young people feel trapped. She also mentioned how her sister, who lives in Vienna, has to stay up to date with fashion and how men even know when women are in style or not. She then went on to say that know when in Hallstatt cared what you wore. After our conversation and receiving food tips, we decided on wiener   schnitzel! We loved it an decided that we must find a good recipe, it was a fried piece of pork that we coated with fresh lemon. It was juicy and Brooke and I ate the whole thing in about 30 seconds. Before coming here we did not know what schnitzel was, now we definitely know, and want more!

Our tips from this trip are to go to Hallstatt! That is the most important, if you venture to Europe find your way to Austria and get to Hallstatt. Also find time to talk to locals, the shop owner that suggested schnitzel was very fun and gave great information. We loved Austria the people are friendly and the scenery is unforgettable!

The Sounds of Salzburg

The hills are alive!! The lush, green, rolling landscape succeeded in being more beautiful than I even imagined. The adorable quaint towns dotted the countryside, making Harmon and I feel as though we had stepped back in time.  

And truly, upon taking a bus and train through the hills of Bavaria, I couldn't help but hear singing! Or was that noise coming from my mouth? I can't be sure, as I have been singing Rogers and Hammerstein nonstop since setting foot in Salzburg. Hopefully Harmon still enjoys walking the streets with me! :)

Salzburg Castle

I convinced Harmon (an easy task, as he is so wonderful) to do a self-guided tour of the film sites from The Sound of Music. 

We visited 4 main sites

I am 16 going on 17!! This beautiful gazebo has thankfully been preserved by fans...

Hanging in the Von Trapp's backyard... Or is it Leopoldskron palace?? 

Classic view of Salzburg--Maria is here with the kids singing in the movie.

Nunnery that Maria starts at in the movie. This is also the site of the actual Maria and Cptn Von Trapp's wedding.

Other areas of Salzburg were used as well, but these are definitely some great ones. Some scenes were filmed in the lake country around Salzburg. The captivating town of Hallstatt is part of this country.

Traveling Wisdom

Don't buy the €20 Sound of Music tour, find the places on your Salzburg map and buy the €3.30 bus pass and do your own tour...

Explore the lake country surrounding Salzburg, for that is where you hear the hills singing!

Buy crepes from the Scottish guy. The "volcano" will leave your sinuses nice and clear!

Schnitzel doesn't come with noodles, but with French fries... Sound of Music led me astray on that one. Schnitzel is delicious though, and is now one of my "favorite things"

Waterways of Venice

After visiting Cinque Terre we took a train to Florence, and from there we got to take a high speed train to Venice, the trains travel at over 120mph, some even up to 200mph. We enjoyed getting to Venice quickly, but the train was busy and we didn't even get to sit by each other, so this far we have not been too big of fans of the more expensive high speed trains.

Brooke found a last minute campsite for us online. She did a great job of tracking down an excellent deal! This small cabin cost about €23 and it was all ours. If only every city had such accommodations. The campsite was camping realto an we encourage anyone wanting to go to Venice to stay there. There is a bus stop right outside the campground and a great grocery store a few hundred yards away.

Our first look at the waterways if Venice. It is a beautiful city that causes one to think how the town was built on to, with streets seeming to pop up anywhere, and go everywhere. 

Another shot taken down a Venice waterway. It is a place that we love and we found lots to do as we wandered the streets.

Here are some of the famous Gondoliers of Venice. Brooke and I opted out of the ride as it cost around €100 euro. That is just about equal to two full days budgets, that would be gone in about 30 minutes. Still it was fun to see them and their expertise in controlling the small boats. I was very impressed with the way they were able to park them with ease in big rows of other gondolas.

Another "street" shot of Venice. Sorry there are a few of them, but hey it's Venice, it is what the town is known for.

This is the famous Realto foot bridge in Venice we walked across it, but found it hard to get a good picture. As a side not right at the edge this bridge was the Hard Rock Cafe Venice T-shirt shop. We didn't  buy one as that is really of no interest to us.

Here we are in the hustle and bustle of the town square. There were people everywhere, feeding pigeons, snapping pictures, and selling Venice souvenirs. It was fun to be amidst the vibrant square and feel the city's energy.

Brooke and I ended our stay in Venice (and Italy for that matter) by eating at one more authentic Italian Restaurant . I got a sausage and honey mushroom pizza coated with bubbly asiago cheese. It was by far our best Pizza of the trip. Brooke ordered the Chet's specialty: homemade "tortelloni" not tortellini. It was stuffed with spinach, asparagus, prosciutto and bacon, all coated with an amazing creamy homemade sauce. We voted and  the results showed this was our overall favorite meal in Italy. Italy was wondrous, the food was great, and we had more gelato in the past 10 days then we have had in our life previous! We will be back.

Cinque Terre, the not-so-unknown treasure

Following adventures in Tuscany and Umbria, we are on to Cinque Terre! Not without a quick stop in Pisa!!

Pisa is a lovely city! Well ok we don't actually know that, seeing as how we ran from the train station to the tower and back....

A road trip isn't complete without our new favorite foreign snack:

Red pepper lime chips. Heavenly chips.

Cinque Terre. Five cities built into cliffs and mountainsides of the Northern Italian coastline were really unknown to the greater world for hundreds of years, discovered and invaded within the last 30 years or so. There is a train that connects all 5 towns, with roads reaching the outskirts of some , but only coming into the center of one.

But it was so beautiful, with coastal paths between each cute city!!! Three paths were closed down, and Harmon and I added to our adventure by hiking one of them!! 

RIOMAGGIORE

Caught in a huuuuge thunder storm down at the sea. Of course we chose a poor moment to explore, and forgot our rain jackets that day! Cats, dogs, bears, whales, and megalodons came raining down on us. 

MANAROLA

Delicious lime granita found here... 

CORNIGLIA

Hiked into this town. Harmon and I agree that this is our favorite town environment. Quaint stores filled with local Italians. Small, narrow streets with flowers blooming all around. Terraced gardens and agricultural developments all surrounding the town. Also has delicious gelato that was Rick Steve's approved! We also tried pesto pizza here... Interesting.

VERNAZZA

Castle overlooking this city. Pirate bar. What more do you need?

MONTEROSSO

Beautiful, long beach with a great night life! Not that we really partake of such things.

Further stories include:

Harmon and I on our first night in Cinque Terre, spending time on the beach and wandering around the streets, cemetery, and castle ruins in Monterosso

Cinque Terre is famous for its pesto! So we decided to have it with basically every meal. Favorite: pesto bruschetta

We had pesto pasta twice!

Harmon got a friend at dinner. 

The Italian Hill Town Assisi!

With another day in Florence we decided to head out for a day trip to the nearby town Assisi. Assisi is a beautiful town set in a hillside, south of Tuscany. It is home to Saint Francis, and with that ornate churches are found in its vicinity. One of our personal favorite features was a castle nestled at the highest point in town. Below is a picture of one of the cathedrals, found outside and in, are many references to Saint Frances.

Getting to the town and seeing the castle for the first time. We had to walk a little ways to get there, but a bus does get you pretty close. 

We stop as often as possible at local grocery stores, and load up on a few things to carry us throughout the day. We  often will get chocolate or ice cream from the local region. One of our all time favorite food supplies is fruit! As you can see in this picture we decided to take a watermelon break half way up to the castle! We did have two of the cool spoon/fork/knife combo utensils, but Harmon broke one during this very Watermelon break,so now we share.

This is atop the castle, along the wall to the watch tower.  The castle is very well preserved and has a lot of rooms you can walk through as well as a very long, and narrow, spiral staircase. 

This is a picture taken from underneath the wall to te watch tower. You can walk through the wall to get to the watch tower. All along the walls are holes that are just wide enough to launch arrows from a crossbow at oncoming foes. The walkway was very narrow as we walked through the hallway, Harmon's shoulders would just barey miss the walls. We couldn't imagine what it must be like sprinting down the hallway while wearing full armor. 

Here is a view from te watch tower back towards the castle.

This is the opposite view from the watch tower away from the castle. The surrounding area is beautiful farms, rolling green hillsides and a beautiful small town with cobblestone streets and narrow walkways.

Here is the best view of all of Italy, that's because it is of my beautiful wife, of course. I could never ask for a better travel partner! I am so happy she is my wife and I love her so much. She keeps me smiling all the time!  I know it is hard not to just gander on the beauty of my wife, but this picture also shows the small  cute streets of Assisi. 

We loved Assisi and we even noticed a few small spaces for sale. Ahhh, if only it was easier to get to Italy. One thing we discovered on this trip was how much we liked having a central place to stay and taking day trips to other close by areas.

Tuscany's Siena

Watching movies like "Under the Tuscan Sun," "Gladiator," and hundreds of others made Tuscany a place I have been dreaming of for years. Breathtaking views of rolling hills covered in vineyards and quaint tile roofed villas... We had 2 days to explore this amazing countryside, and one day was spent in the historic old town of Siena, home of the Palio horse race. 

 First views of Siena from the ruins of an old stadium. 

Clock tower in "Il Campo," the main square in Siena. This is where the end of the Palio occurs, like the Champs Elysees of the Tour de France. The square reminded me of A Knight's Tale, with its unforgettable medieval style. I could almost see armor, smell the sweat, and hear the words, "It's called a laaaance. Helllooooo."

Siena's beautiful Duomo!

Siena's famous fruitcake, panforte. Nuts, honey, and candied fruit... Try it fresh on the street!

After returning from our Tuscan adventure, we decided to try a sit down Italian restaurant, something our budget allows only on special occasions.

Apertivo (appetizer) plate of salami, ham, cheese, honey, and don't forget chicken liver on toast!! Yum yum... Or not. But we  gave it a shot! After finding out we weren't too fond of liver, our waitress took our plate away and exclaimed, "You don't understand!!" No, I don't understand why you would ever think that some brown mushy chicken insides sounds good on perfectly good toast!

Aside from that dinner was delish. Harmon got gnocchi with saffron and I got some kind of very thick noodle (cini??) in some delicious tomato bacon sauce. Mmmmm!