Deadly serious

I never worked out the name of this park that sits on the cliff that runs alongside the the city centre, but it proved to be a little longer than I'd hoped with some slightly winding paths through the woods. But we found our way eventually and got some great views of the city below. 

Out of the museum, and into the park that takes us to the fortress, is this art installation. A cylindrical space with a hole at the top showing the rich blue sky. Inside was simple and very bright. A space that seems to represent Salzburg, and Austria generally, quite well. A great place to meditate I would think. 

Alongside one side of the city centre is a cliff edge on top of which is a hill and path that leads to the city's fortress. We take a lift up the hill located inside the museum of modern art. At the top we get some refreshments at the cafe while Zuzana visits the museum's main exhibit on the 50th anniversary of the moon landings, one of her favourite subjects, which is a great find. But our trips around Europe often include these surprises. Sadly no photos were allowed in the exhibition. 

I had made a very simple itinerary for the day picking out the key landmarks in this stunning city and the first was difficult to miss, the Mirabell Gardens surrounding the early 17th century Mirabell Palace. We didn't go inside the building but took the opportunity to rest our feet inside the park among many other tourists just enjoying the lush floral displays. There was no better place to enjoy a break. 

Our hotel was on the edge of Salzburg but the city is not big. At first I planned to get a taxi into the centre, given we had free parking at the hotel, but then we figured it was only a mile or so to walk in. It's possible such a walk was not the wisest choice given the amount of walking we've done, not to mention the insane driving schedule. But it was a pleasant walk, the weather was our friend, and the journey could not have been easier as the hotel was literally next door to this river that had a path all the way to the city centre. 

We wake up in our simple modern hotel on the edge of Salzburg. There's a few of these hotels around, built like huge warehouses without any character and yet designed to provide a clean quality stay. It's certainly not a hostel but it sort of has that feel. For me the most important factors are it's clean, comfortable and has a huge breakfast, and this hotel does not fail. We complete our usual routine of feasting on breakfast and lunch in one. 

It's yet another evening drive and we arrive on the outskirts of Salzburg in the dark with our hotel just off the motorway and seemingly the middle of nowhere. But it was a good deal and practical for driving. Since it was late we were fortunate with a 24-hour automated check in which even scanned our passports. Room was large and clean and we were off to bed quickly.

We take the bus back to towards our car and on route find a nearby street with some restaurants recommended by Google. Unfortunately we had difficulty deciding so travelled up and down on the bus before eventually settling on a more affordable Japanese noodle bar with nice outdoor seating. We each had a soup and appreciated the weight off our feet. 

Down from the mountain we were well behind schedule. I thought the trip up would be quick and we'd have most of the day in town but it's already 4pm so we only really have enough time for a short walk around the tourist centre and then catch the sun on these iconic colorful houses that make up many of the postcards. We also find a view back up the mountain to where the cable car had gone. Its difficult to judge what the town offered as the mountain eclipsed everything else and eventually the sun too as it came time to find some food and move on to our next hotel. But what an amazing day, all quite unexpected.