Europe Day 5: Salzburg

Monday June 25, 2018

• Long drive that was made longer by a road closure near Bad Tölz, about 3.5 hours to get to the salt mines
• We had the car GPS and Google GPS compete (Google was usually better, but it forgot about the road closure on the way back)
• We first went to Berchtesgaden to visit the salt mine. Mom and dad weren't thrilled about it at first, but they had a good time
• Coveralls for everybody, including Hugo
• The tour itself includes a train ride in and out, two long wooden slides, a boat through a briny grotto, and a funicular
• Laser shows and animations are new
• Learned a lot more about salt mining than I expected
• Proceeded to Salzburg next. Parked at a P&R and rode the bus into the city. It rained a bit, but it cleared up by the time we got into the city
• Ate at a restaurant called Fisch Krieg - the vegetables and sides were forgettable, but the fish was delish. I had plaice, Liz had red perch. They were selling fresh fish in the same building and there was a tree growing out of the middle of the building that we didn't even notice for a while.
• Stopped at H&M to replace the sunglasses that Liz had lost. It's right next door to Mozart's birthplace.
• Strolled through Salzburg and saw a lot of the sights in the old town (UNESCO World Heritage site) following Rick Steve's tour. 
• We canceled our Sound of Music bicycle tour due to rain but still saw a few of the sights - the theater they sang in and the hall the dad waited in before singing Edelweiss, St. Peter's Cemetary which inspired the Hollywood set where they hid from the Nazis, fountain where Maria sang "I Have Confidence"
• Bought a yummy cream-filled pretzel
• Met up with my other family members at the "confidence" fountain
• Salzburg buses have USB drives on them
• Had trouble getting gas on the way back - gas stations at the border with Germany were more expensive so we had to drive a little further back into Austria
• GPS adventures (led us to a rest stop in a really weird way, didn't know about the road closure)

Observations:

• Lots of RVs
• Very few pickup trucks

Kurt needed hair assistance

Ready to tour the salt mine!

The photo opp turned out pretty well!

There was a tree growing through our restaurant!

Fish for lunch!

This is the back facade of Mozart's birthplace. Checked that one off the list.

Liz in the tunnel where Captain Von Trapp hung out. The stage is in the background of the photo.

Cemetery that inspired the cemetery hiding scene from The Sound of Music. The scene was actually filmed in Hollywood.

This pretzel was so delicious! Choux pastry with a cream filling.

I HAVE CONFIDENCE!

Abersold siblings

Mozart rubber ducks were a popular souvenir

Mark playing air violin in front of the Mozart statue

Salzach River selfie