Ladee's Travels

As we walked through the Old Town, we walked through small courtyards, each with their Christkindlmarkt (Christmas Market). Since it was Saturday, the regular market was in full force because people need to eat!  Fresh vegetables and other daily treats (cheeses, meats, chocolates).  The markets line the street. An interesting display of children's books. This is the original manufacturer of the Mozart Chocolates.  The guide told us that there is a difference between this hand made treat and others on the market. You can read all about the corporate battles here .  This is quite the story and while I have eaten these chocolates, I didn't know the story behind it and the differences between the different brands. The shop window displays a photograph that looks like "the original" chocolate makers. The following examples of Mozartkugel are from Wikipedia .  The name on the left is the company producing the candy.  There is quite a diff...

Getreidegasse (Grain Lane) is a busy pedestrian shopping street in the historic Aldstadt (old town) section of Salzburg.  It is known for the birthplace of Amadeus Wolfgang Mozart. The narrow street is characterized by the high town houses side by side with wrought iron guild signs.   Salzburg city administration works to keep the street's authentic character.  This is an interesting sign and it took a while for me to make out what it was. Here is a closer view. Do you know yet? Yes! Even the golden arches of McDonald's needs to keep with the street character. An umbrella shop. A fish market. The group gathered in this little courtyard.  No signs but I found this shop immediately.  I needed to get a photograph for my global collection. A little closer to the doorway on the left side. There it was!!  A Starbuck's coffee shop.  This would come in handy later while the group was gathering at the end of the walking tour. ...

This is the map of the walk in Salzburg.  The walk started in the upper right red pin where the bus stopped and we walked to the lower left red pin for lunch.  The green pin is where I stopped to take the Mirabell Palace photographs. The Mirabell Palace and Gardens are a listed cultural heritage monument and part of the "Historic Center of the City of Salzburg" UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The palace was built around 1606 and the gardens were laid out in 1686 by Johann Bernard Fischer von Erlach.  It is one of the most favorite tourists' attraction. Several scenes from "The Sound of Music" were filmed here.  Maria and the children sang "Do Re Mi" while dancing around the gardens. The statues around the garden are mythology themed.  These statues were created by Ottavio Mosto around 1690 and later. This is the entrance to the gardens.  Below my photograph is a view of Maria and the children singing and dancing along this walkway. You ca...

Time to begin the walk back to the boat.  The castle looking building in the distance is where the ATM is located.  The tower is Adlertum , Eagle's Tower and was once part of the town walls.  Nice place to stop for coffee before the walk.  This sign shows that the upper middle Rhein/Rhine River is a UNESCO World Heritage area.  The area is between Bingen, Rüdesheim (our location now) and Koblenz (our next stop).  It was and still remains an important transportation route and is lined with terraced vineyards and hill top castles (we will see those later).   http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1066  Trains pass through.  The train station is on the other side of the town.  Ferry transportation is important in this area. This is a passenger ferry and there are also car ferries (that allow passengers).  http://www.bingen-ruedesheimer.de/rheinfaehren/?lang=en  The river divides in here.  We are not looking at th...