Elisa and I consult the map in Salzburg, Austria
in Salzburg we rented bikes to go visit nearby Hellbrun palace. It was a beautiful day for a bike ride, and the palace itself was a blast. Fun fact: a few hundred years ago, having sunflowers was a huge status symbol, I guess 'cause they were so rare. Kind of like how having oranges back in the George-Washington era in the US was a big deal. Guess we're a bit more spoiled produce-wise these days.
the other big thing about Hellbrun was its plethora of fountains. Many of them were trick fountains designed to soak the unwitting guests. Here Elisa and I fall prey to the trick-chairs at the main table. (note that the front seat, where the Prince would sit, is the only one that doesn't shoot water. And good thing too, 'cause a Bishop was sitting there during our tour and I think it might be blasphemy to soak him).
fact: Sound of Music was based in Austria
fact: several scenes in Sound of Music took place in Salzburg
fact: a certain person I was traveling with was obsessed with Sound of Music, and kept on singing songs from the musical, which was unfortunate 'cause then they got stuck in my head, too
here Marla and Elisa pose with the "Sound of Music" gazebo, where the "16 going on 17" scene/song was done.
fact: the gazebo is now locked because a few years ago a tourist broke their hip trying to copy the scene, jumping from bench to bench within the gazebo. Way to ruin it for the rest of us, uncoordinated tourist person! Oh, and sorry about your hip. That sucks.
castle to my right, awesome mountains to my left (in Werfen, Austria). Life is good.
on our way from Salzburg to Innsbruck, we made a stop in Werfen (see pic above) to visit Eisriesenwelt, this incredible ice cave. Long story short, the ice is formed when cold air in the winter freezes melting snow from the mountains above, and it stays cold enough that the ice is there year round. Pretty cool. (Hah, pun!). This is a postcard I found with a google search, 'cause photography isn't allowed in the cave, but it's similar to the picture I would have taken if I was allowed to. And was a professional photographer.
in Innsbruck we did a day-trip to the Swarovsky crystal factory. Rather than show how the crystal was made, it had a bunch of Swarovsky-crystal inspired/infused artworks. Not what we were expecting, but interesting nonetheless. Here we are outside the entrance to the museum.
greetings from Innsbruck! Marla, Elisa, and I pose in a giant postcard frame. Pretty cool idea - well done, Innsbruck
one of the neat things about Innsbruck - it's got all these great old buildings, but if you look up you can also see these incredible mountains towering above you. Very cool.
is it winter already!?! In Lucerne, Switzerland we took a cog railway up to the top of Mt Pilatus. Unfortunately, I don't have a video of Marla screaming like a little girl when I threw a snowball towards (not at) her, but trust me, it was classic
very serious group pic while on the slopes of Mount Pilatus
cool lion carved into the cliff of Lucerne. It's a memorial for the Swiss guards killed during the French revolution
Marla, Elisa, and I pose with Mt Pilatus in the background. It was cloudy when we were on the summit, but at about 6pm decided to clear up just to mock us! Oh well, we still enjoyed our cloudy summit visit. . .
Marla and Elisa on one of Lucerne's two painted bridges
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