On to Salzburg

A wonderful concert last night followed by Sachertorte (thank you Vicki & George for that strong recommendation!) and Prosecco. A great way to leave Vienna. The photo is of the inside of the concert hall (you may have seen it already if you've been there yourself or watched "Live from Vienna" on New Year's).

And in case you're wondering, no one got very dressed up. They really do cater to tourists who come in casual attire even though the music is first class.

Today it was on to Salzburg. One thing almost everyone we know who has visited Salzburg has recommended doing is taking a salt mine tour. So, since it was a rainy day, we decided to take a slight detour and visit Hallstatt. This beautiful little village is a UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Site and the home of the world's oldest salt mine. It's 7,000 years old and salt is still mined there. The mine is waaaaaay up above the village. However, the locals were nice enough to build a funicular so us out-of-shape folks could partake of the tour. The first photo shows the funicular in the background with John & Judy trying to convince themselves this was really something they needed to do. Cousin John & I are here to tell you they made it by standing backwards to the view with their eyes closed.

The mine tour folks very kindly installed bathrooms for "those in need" at the top of the funicular. From there you take a glass elevator (that's the black shaft to the left of John's shoulder in the next photo). You get off the elevator and walk across the bridge either to the restaurant you see or to the trail that

Cousin John & Judy are on. It's about a 15 minute uphill walk to the mine entrance. Was it worth it? We all agreed, YES! Do it if you get the chance. (Perhaps Syracuse, also a salt city, should consider a tour of its own.) 

Did John & Judy make it down? Yes although when John saw from above the bridge he'd walked over when he got off the elevator I thought he'd faint. Only the alternative of walking down in the rain convinced him to go back the way we'd come.

Did Yvonne's luggage arrive? Yes. She & Garry left Vienna today as well. They took the train and met us at our hotel here in Salzburg.

Were the ponies in the carousel pictured yesterday real? You bet they are. Plus they looked as happy, healthy and well cared for as the kids did.