Ljubljana, Klagenfurt Christmas Market

How disappointed we were when we discovered that the market in Klagenfurt was even tackier than the one in Ljubljana –  it was full of cheap trash and repetitive rubbish that none of us had a mind to purchase.  And there wasn’t a great deal of seasonal good cheer on offer either.

I am sure that the market would be more lively and vibrant at night but in the middle of a cold and overcast day it was just dull and lifeless and minding every stall was someone who looked as though they wished that they were somewhere else.

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Liechtenstein, Austria and Germany

We stopped the car in Vaduz and walked aimlessly along the main road, looked at a church and tried to convince ourselves it was interesting, and then the new Parliament building that was being constructed and then we left.   We crossed back into Switzerland and progressed towards Austria, which we entered through a busy border control crossing but were not asked to produce our passports this time.

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Germany, Friedrichshafen and Lake Constance

“Germany? You’re going on holiday to Germany? But why?”  I am willing to bet that this question/response never arises if you tell people you are travelling to Italy or France. Probably not Japan or Russia for that matter.  No, there’s something about travelling to Germany that requires an explanation.  Or should that be, there’s something about British people that requires an explanation if you are travelling to Germany and although I encountered this reaction before going to Friedrichshafen I didn’t really feel that I really needed to explain myself.

The time was right to visit Germany at last or maybe it was just simple opportunism.

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Mozart’s Starling

These days it  is totally illegal to keep wild birds as pets as this is in contravention of the Protection of Birds Act of 1954 and what’s more, under the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act, there is a potential fine of up to £5,000, and or six months imprisonment.

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Salzburg – Hohensalzburg Fortress and Mirabell Gardens

Just as the previous morning the day started with a lot of cloud but it was already clearing nicely as we walked down Linzer Gasse stopping only to visit a graveyard to see the tomb of Mozart’s wife, Constantia, and by the time we crossed the river and entered the old town the sun was shining and the temperature was rising nicely.   We planned first to visit the Hohensalzburg fortress so we purchased tickets for the ride to the top on the funicular railway and took the quick journey up to the castle courtyard.

From this elevated position there were some expansive views from the battlements. To the south and west were lush green valleys and high mountains decorated with farmhouses and huts, and to the north and east was the city spread out like a ribbon of pastel colours all along the river valley in both directions.

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Salzburg – Mozart and Julie Andrews

It was still early when we arrived in Salzburg and the thin cloud was still clearing but by the time we were through arrivals and passport control and waiting for a trolley bus into the city the sun was beginning to burn through.

The bus arrived and the journey took about twenty minutes but this was not my best day with transport and I made a mistake and made us all get off of the bus about five stops too soon and that meant a walk of about a kilometre to find the Hotel Mozart.  It turned out that the people of Salzburg are not too imaginative and almost everything is named after the famous composer.

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Liechtenstein, a European Micro State

Liechtenstein is the fourth smallest independent European state after the Vatican City, Monaco and San Marino.  It is predominantly Germanic but the only German speaking state that does not have a national border with Germany itself.  When the Holy Roman Empire was abolished by Napoleon in 1806 all of Europe seemed to forget about this tiny insignificant Principality and the royal family were able to keep their heads down and have continued to exist as an independent state ever since and as such it is the only state in Europe that can claim direct continuity with the thousand year old Holy Roman Empire of Charlemagne.

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Berchtesgaden, Germany

 

Berchtesgaden is a municipality in the German Bavarian Alps and is  located north of the Nationalpark Berchtesgaden in the south district of Berchtesgadener Land in Bavaria, which is near the border with Austria. Although it is only thirty kilometres south of Salzburg the route is not particularly direct as the line runs first west and then south so that it can follow the river valley to the Berchtesgaden railway terminus.  What is fascinating about Berchtesgaden is that it has a very close association with the history of Nazi Germany and that is why I was interested in visiting the town.

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Vienna and a Celebration

The city was in very good condition compared with others we have visited and this is due to the fact that it wasn’t destroyed during the Second-World-War and fell quite quickly in the Russian Vienna offensive of 1945 and secondly because after the war the Russians were prevented from adding Austria to the Soviet Bloc and therefore it never suffered the indignity of years of communist neglect.

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Vienna, A Greek Restaurant and Complimentary Red Wine

As with most big cities the approach to Vienna by train was not the most attractive entrance and we passed low-grade housing and light industrial units before we arrived at the Südbahnhof station.  We feared that there might be a frontier post to negotiate but there was no sign of officialdom and we alighted the train and left the station without incident, stopping just briefly on the way out to purchase a map of the city.  Once we had found our bearings we set off on a direct route for the city centre along a street with impressive buildings mostly occupied by foreign embassies and business headquarters.

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