Austria

I made 2 stops in Austria - in Salzburg (near the German border), and in Vienna.

Salzburg was a lot of fun. It's divided by the Salzach river, into the Old Town & New Town. Overlooking the Old Town (and dominating the entire city landscape) is the Hohensalzburg Fortress, which is high atop a hill.

I decided to rent a bike for the day, which was a great decision. It was great to bike along the river, and stop whenever I wanted to take a look at something. I was also able to get from my hostel to the Old City & around very quickly. Bike rental is definitely the way to go!

I spent the first day going around the city & seeing the sights. (BTW - I bought a Salzburg card, which gets you into lots of sights for free. It's kind of expensive, but worth it if you go to a number of sights, which I did). I went to Mozart's birthplace, and the home where he lived a little later in life. I also went up to the fortress, which was really cool (it has never been taken by force, and when you're up at the top, you can see why).

Later in the afternoon, I went to a piano & violen concert at Schloss Mirabell (which, incidentally, has an awesome garden with statues & a great view of the fortress). It was cool to hear music by Mozart in his home town.

Wandering around in the evening, I was reminded how small the world is. As I was walking up to a restaurant to eat, I thought I saw a familiar face. I did a double-take, and there was Tim - an American that I had met while living in Singapore!

The next day, I took a bus back into Germany, to the town of Berchtesgaden. I went to see the Eagle's Nest, which was Hitler's mountain retreat & where he planned a last stand (this place was in the one episode of Band of Brothers that I saw).

There were 3 things to see there. The first was the Nazi Documentation center (which was destroyed & rebuilt into a museum). They showed how Hitler was first presented to the German people (Eerie to see the propaganda, presenting him in such a positive light). They also showed how the 3rd Reich operated, the propaganda against Jews & other minorities, and how the Nazis committed their atrocities. Finally they showed how WWII progressed, and how Nazi Germany fell to the Allies.

The 2nd sight to see was the underground bunkers that the Nazis built. They were much bigger & more high-tech than I had imagined. They had air-locks, fuel storage facilities, power & life support faciliities, etc... And, the tunnels were not small - they were easily big enough to drive vehicles through.

Finally, it was off to the Eagle's Nest - the mountain retreat. I only had an hour up there (it closes earlier than I had expected), but an hour was enough. It has been converted to a mountain-top restaurant now (definitely better as a restaurant with a view than a Nazi hideout). The view was fantastic - you could see all the way to Salzburg!

Speaking of Salzburg... the hostel that I stayed (YoHo) at there wasn't the best. The internet access sucked (everyone had trouble getting online, except either very early or very late - and when you did get online, it was very slow or it dropped you). There was also a bar in the hostel, which was very smokey & the smell drifted up into the halls. The rooms weren't too bad, but it was pretty hot - which made it tough to sleep. It wasn't a disaster, but it could have been better.

My next stop was Vienna. While I'm on the topic of hostels, I'll preface my Vienna experience with a story from my hostel (Westend Hostel). The hostel was pretty nice - modern, and they served breakfast. But, I found out the true meaning of noisy roommate. One guy in our room snored so loud - it kept everyone up both nights. I couldn't believe that anyone could snore that loud. I put earplugs in, and it still woke me up - although not as much.

So, most of my time in Vienna was cloaked in a veil of exhaustion. Coffee & redbull were definitely my friends. But, I also wonder if I am getting a little fatigued on traveling - we'll see after I have a good night's sleep - I've booked a single room in Prague.

Anyhow - Vienna was a nice city, although I think I need to come back again to do it justice. I visited Stephansplatz, the giant church in the center of town, and a number of other churches. I visited 2 small museums, and spent quite a bit of time out in parks - sitting in the grass & relaxing.

The highlite of my Vienna experience was going to see Mozart's Requiem performed by an orchestra & choir at Karlzplatz church. It was great to see that performed in such a magestic setting.

So, now I'm off to Prague, with high expectations. Everyone says Prague is a great city, and I'm looking forward to it. I'm also looking forward to getting a little more sleep. :-)