Austria: Salzburg & Vienna (21 - 25 November)

On Friday (21/11) after a huge breakfast at our Cesky Krumlov hotel, our shuttle bus picks us up to take us to Linz in Austria, en route to Salzburg. It's a beautiful drive through the countryside of the Czech Republic, and as soon as we cross the Austrian border we find the fields covered with snow! The snow is falling heavily, and Mariska is particularly excited as she's never seen snow like this before. After taking the train from Linz we arrive in Salzburg at about 3pm, and catch a local bus to the old town, where the many church spires are flanked by the Salzach River on one side, and the imposing Festung Hohensalzburg fortress on the other. Directly below the hill on which the fortress sits is our accommodation, in a little guesthouse in a former Catholic college. After checking in we rug up and head out to explore Salzburg.
The Christmas markets in the town squares have just started, with stalls selling decorations and trinkets, mulled wine and pretzels, scarves and beanies, and Mozart chocolates. As we wander around with a hot chocolate after dinner it starts to snow heavily, making for a charming scene in the buzzing square.

On Saturday morning Mariska looks out the window and sees that everything is covered in snow! It's been snowing through the night, and there's a good cover around. We make our way across the river to the usually green Mirabell Gardens to enjoy the scene and throw snowballs.
We then get tickets for a tourist hop-on, hop-off bus, which shows us around the town, and in the afternoon we look around Hellbrunn Palace in the snow, and then visit the fortress Festung Hohensalzburg. The visit to the fortress includes a magnificent view of the snow-covered scenery around Salzburg. After dinner at Café Mozart we once again enjoy the magical atmosphere of the Christmas markets.

The next day (Sunday 23/11) we farewell Salzburg and catch the train to Vienna. The scenery is beautiful, as the countryside is covered in snow. Our hotel in Vienna doesn't have our reservation, but it's low season so there's no problem. After settling in we wander into the heart of Vienna's Aldstadt (old town), to Stephansplatz, the square dominated by the magnificent gothic Stephansdom (St Stephan's Cathedral).
We later embark on an epic walking tour of the city in search of a highly recommended schnitzel restaurant, only to find its doors closed as it's a Sunday! No matter; we keep walking and enjoy the elegant and grandiose buildings of Vienna at night, and eventually get a kebab from one of many stands at the city's tram stops. We then had time to visit the lively Christmas markets in the park in front of the aptly named 'Rathaus' (council hall).

On Monday morning we catch the underground train to Schönbrunn Palace, the striking summer residence of successive Habsburg monarchs. After a tour of the decadent interior we wander the snow-covered gardens, watch ducks slipping on frozen ponds, and take in the view of the palace and the city from the Gloriette monument at the top of a hill.

Back in town we explore music, hearing and Vienna's rich music history at the innovative and interactive Haus de Musik museum. After dinner we head out to see a concert at the Musikverein, Vienna's premier concert hall, and we manage to secure last-minute tickets in the stalls for €12 (usually about €50)! The performance is the Sinfonia Varsovia string orchestra from Poland with a trumpet soloist, and it is an enchanting evening in the stunning Golden Hall of the Musikverein. The program includes Mozart, Telemann, Neruda and Elgar, and Vivaldi's Concerto for trumpet is a highlight. To top it off, as an encore the orchestra and trumpeter perform a moving rendition of Ombra Mai Fu, better known as the Largo from Handel's Xerxes, and as the processional from our wedding! How will we top that for our anniversary?!

The next day we head straight to the Hofburg (the Imperial Palace) and take in the morning rehearsals of the talented white Lipizzan stallions at the Spanish Riding School, in the magnificent Winter Riding Hall dating to 1730. Following a look around the palace, we take the train to the Prater park for a trip on the famous ferris wheel built in 1897.
In the evening we're up for more Vienna culture, and we make our way to the Volksoper where we get standing room tickets for a performance of Bizet's Carmen for only €2 each. The fee for the cloakroom was more than the cost of a ticket!

Our highly cultured (and cheap) experience of Vienna comes to an end on Wednesday 26 November, when we catch the early train to the airport for our flight to Paris. L'aventure nous attend!