Salzburg

Hoping to leave for Salzburg by 8:00 am, we quickly packed and swept out the caravan.  We made it out by 8:30 - pretty good for eight people and all their stuff.

Salzburg turned out to be my favorite city so far.  With my sister's mad driving skills we made it through narrow winding streets in a "mini" van that's not so mini and managed to park in a spot that I'm pretty sure was designed for a car half our size.  (I have to say my sister is amazing!)  We found a parking spot pretty quickly, and managed to hop in behind a tour group headed in what we hoped was the right direction for Mozart's house, but not before Andrew met a new friend.

Just past our parking spot alongside the river, a bridge crossed the river.  On the bridge a gold man stood poised on a golden pedestal.  Andrew went running up to the man and touched his sleeve, thinking he was a statue.  After poking him a second time, the man smiled, looked down, and stretched out his hand.  Andrew flew back in terror for a moment, then with a puzzled expression on his face inched back to the man.  The rest of us were laughing our heads off.  Ryan (Amy's husband) happily went back and paid the man for showing Andrew that maybe he shouldn't just run off and touch things.  It was not a lesson well learned.

The tour we hooked up with took us right around the corner to Mozart's house and from there we made our way through the city.  Here are some of the sights we saw:

They are pretty serious about their recycling around here.

Mozart's House

This scene was in the Do Re Mi scene of the Sound of Music.  Just behind  and to the left is where the Von Trapp family sang in the Salzburg festival.

Fortress overlooking Salzburg

We spent the final part of our Salzburg trip desperately seeking ice cream (a reward for the children walking their little legs off) and taking a bus out to Hellbrunn Palace.  It was the perfect way to end the day.  Hellbrunn Palace was a surrounded by fountains, pools, gardens, and statues.  The great thing was many of the grottos, statues and paths had hidden sprinklers that the guide kept squirting everyone with.  Following is one of our favorite moments.  Only Katie, Mason and Ryan were brave enough to try it.

We ended up getting an ice cream bar while at Hellbrunn, and it was no nestle ice cream bar.  YUM!  Our drive back to the Switzerland house was about four hours and McDonald's was again the restaurant of choice.

Next we explored a chocolate factory and visited the library of St. Gallen.