We left Salzburg early to catch a train to Muenchen (Munich) for our connection to Regensberg. A beautifully preserved town on the banks of the Danube River, Rich’s mom, Christa, grew up in Regensberg, and for a brief time, Roger, Rich’s dad called it home, too. We decided we had to see the city where their romance began over 50 years ago!
From the main train station (shown here)…
it’s a 10 minute walk up Maximillianstrasse to the town centre. Unfortunately for us, it was a very wet walk, too. From most any vantage point in the town, you can ee the twin spires of the Gothic Dom St. Peter (St. Peter’s Cathedral). Built during the 14th and 15th centuries, it is an impressive sight…
Christa and Roger highly recommended we find the Historische Wurstkuchl (Historic Sausage Kitchen). A centuries old Regensberg tradition, they have fond memories of their meals at the “old wurst stand.” Without a good map and in the midst of the rain that continued to pour down on us, we couldn’t find the place. So we decided to head to the tourist office which is housed inside of the Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall)…
With a little help from our friends there, we finally made it down to the Wurstkuchl. The tourist office directed us to the Steinerne Brüke (Old Stone Bridge) and assured us our noses could lead us from there. They were right! In a little house beside the Danube, the same family has been cooking up the tasty local sausages since at least the early 19th century…
The tables beside the river look out on the Steinerne Brüke. Completed some time between 1135 and 1146 AD, in its day the bridge was celebrated as the eighth wonder of the world…
As the rain passed, and the sky cleared, we had just enough time to walk across the bridge and back before saying, “goodbye,” to the town where it all began for Christa and Roger…
From Regensberg, we caught a train back to Muenchen and on to Füssen, Germany. Very near the Austrian border and the foothills of the Alps, Füssen was the closest train station to Gusthof zum Schluxen. The innkeeper’s father met us at the station and whisked us away to the Austrian village of Pinswang and the working farm where we would rest our heads for the next two nights. Here you can see the incredible view from our balcony of the mountains and the open fields…
The palace is located outside the center city, but was well worth the trip. The exterior is Baroque, but the interior is a lavish rococo with chandeliers that are either hand carved with gold leaf gilding or Bohemian crystal. Of its 1,441 rooms, only 40 are open to the public. This was the home of Maria Theresa, Marie Antoinette’s mom and the only woman to officially rule the Hapsburg Empire during the family’s nearly 650 year reign. During her reign, she avoided wars and expanded her empire by skillfully marrying her children into the right families.
Behind us at the end of the gardens is the Glorietta, a purely decorative monument celebrating an obscure Austrian military victory. The terrace behind the Glorietta is said to offer a beautiful view of Vienna, but unfortunately we didn’t make it that far.
From there we headed to Albertinaplatz, home of the very evocative Monument Against War and Fascism. The four part statue is extremely thought provoking. Here Rich stands in front of the split white monument – The Gates of Violence – which remembers victims of all wars, including the 1938-1945 Nazi rule of Austria (the other pieces are seen in the distance)…
After Albertinaplatz, we made our way to Stephensplatz. Here sits Stephansdom (St. Stephen’s Cathedral), an enormous historic Gothic cathedral smack in the middle of Vienna. This is the third church to stand here. While the church survived WWII bombs, street fires from the ground battles between the Nazis and Russians jumped to the roof in the final days of the war. The original rooftop burned, and the cathedral’s bell crashed through the roof to the ground. The roof was rebuilt by 1952 due to the financial contributions of locals who each bought with their donations one of the colorful ceramic tiles you see here…
Of course we had to climb the 343 tightly wound spiral steps to the top of the 450 foot high south tower (see in the photo above). Called St. Stephen’s Tower, they only charged us €3 each for this spectacular view of Vienna’s famous rooftops…
Next was the Hofburg Palace – the monstrous winter residence of the Hapsburgs which grew with the empire from the 13th century until the early 1900 when the final wing opened. Here Rich stands in front of the grand entry façade which is said to be neo-Baroque from around 1900. The four statutes illustrate Hercules wrestling with his greatest challenges…
We finished our visit to Vienna with a self guided tram tour around the Ringstrasse. This grand boulevard which makes a three mile circle around the city core replaced the Vienna’s medieval wall in the 1860s… 
Wearing white coveralls, we road a funny little train down into the mountain and crossed underground from Austria to Germany…
While learning about the old time salt mining process,…
we cruised a subterranean lake and slid down two long sleek wooden banisters…
Fortunately, our guide spoke German, English, and Italian, so we did not have to be able to read these instructions…
What a fun experience (and you get to dress like the Pillsbury dough boy to boot)!!
You enter the chestnut tree lined bier garden though smoke-stained hallways lined with delectable food vendors. Rich decided to go for the schnitzel…
For the schank (self-serve) price, you choose a half-liter or full-liter mug off the shelf, wash the mug, give your receipt to the keg man, and carry away your ceramic mug…
After a few of these heavy handed brews, I think I’m for Oktoberfest job (just need to be able to carry a few more mugs)…
A ferry named Stephanie meets each arriving train to carry visitors across the scenic lake to the little town nestled in the side of a mountain…
Hallstatt has two churches – a Protestant church in the center of town (shown here)…
and a Catholic church high on the hill overlooking the town. Behind the Catholic church is the 12th century Chapel of St. Michaels. Its bone chapel or beinhaus (bone house) contains more than 600 painted skulls. The skulls are neatly stacked in rows and painted with flowery designs and the names of their former owners…
It takes about 15 minutes to walk from one side of town to the other. Here, I am standing in the center of Market Square with a statute that represents the Holy Trinity…
Rich is pointing to a pear on a two dimensional pear tree growing against the wall of this charming house (also in Market Square)…
From the other side of town you can look back and soak in the whole scene – absolutely breathtaking!...
After a 90 minute train ride to Attnang Puchheim, a 20 minute wait, and another 50 minute train ride, we were back in Salzburg. From the train station, we made our way to Mozartplatz in the heart of Salzburg’s old town. While Mozart lived and worked in Vienna as an adult, he was born in Salzberg, lived here for about the first 25 years of his life, and composed most of his earlier works here…
A series of interconnected squares lead pedestrians through the old town. Hohensalzburg Fortress is an imposing castle that sits high atop the Mönchsberg mountain and overlooks the whole town…
but the collection includes works by many artists Peggy knew personally – including Picasso, Dalí, Pollock, Klee, and Chagall (to name just a few).
The enclosed Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square) is nearly two football fields long. It is filled with music, historic buildings, cafés, tourists, pigeons, and pigeon food vendors. Rich thought it would be fun to feed the birds… 
Venice gained religious importance in 828 AD when the bones of San Marco (St. Mark) were smuggled into the city. Basilica di San Marco (St. Mark’s Basilica), shown here… 
was originally built in the 10th century to house the remains of St. Mark. It is a mish-mosh of architectural styles with primarily Eastern influences underscoring Venice’s connection with Byzantium (which protected the city from Charlemagne’s rule). The basilica is decorated with booty from returning sea captains, and the gold Byzantine mosaics and colored marble throughout are absolutely amazing.
The Rialto was completed in the 16th century. This stone bridge on wood piling is actually the third bridge to stand here and was built to replace a wooden bridge and an earlier pontoon bridge that once was the only link between the two banks of the Grand Canal.
These Venetian equivalents of five-star admirals were treated like royalty and honored with twin obelisks decorating their palaces.
Apparently we arrived just in time for the lunch break, but finally were able to get in to watch the artisans in action. Here Rich looks back at me as the artisan fires up glass in a furnace… 
Then, he literally blows through a pipe to create a vase shape out of the hot ball of glass.
As we headed back to our hotel to gather our bags and head to the train station for our night train to Vienna, we paused along a small canal to capture the city’s charm as the sun began to set behind the buildings… 
