Salzburg

Today was all about Salzburg. After sleeping 10 hours to alleviate yesterday's journey fatigue, we had a huge Austrian breakfast of fresh bread, cheeses, and great coffee. Jolted awake with the caffeine, we drove in 10 miles to Salzburg Centrum. We walked toward the old center of town but were drawn up the mountain side to the Festung Hohensalzburg (the high fortress of Salzburg). Parts of this great castle are over 1000 years old. With the entrance fee, you have access to the fortess grounds as well as a tour of the inner tower that leads to you a high perch overlooking the entire valley in all directions.

After our castle tour, we made our way down to the old city square and the massive cathedral at Residenz Platz. Another impressive symbol of feudal society's ability to construct an huge and intricately designed structure. Labor must have been cheap. We bought lunch at a grocery store and ate at the Mirabell park in the shade of the great trees there. Kristin and Daniel are great to travel with at this age (not that they were ever a bother). There humor and inquisitive questions, like "Is weinersnitzel a kind of sausage?", make are touring all the more fun.

Tomorrow, we began the road trip - south to Slovenia to the sleep town of Kobarid. It is a town that was ravaged in WWI and has several sites related to its role on the Italian Front of the Great War. We are not sure about our web access so our next post may be a few days away.

Mike