Austria - 19th to 29th May 2008

Gruss Gott from another gorgeous country! It's hard to believe that this small country was once the epicenter of the mighty Habsburg Empire, but the defeat in WWI saw it broken up and today's Austria was formed. We explored the western side of the northern Alps after entering at Feldkirch and taking scenic secondary roads up to Furkajoch at 1500m, where we bush camped surrounded by snow covered jagged peaks. The next 2 days we spent at camping Innsbruck Kranebitten with the children enjoying the massive playground while the adults had some R&R as rain dampened any sight seeing efforts. Gary and Dean decided on a No. 1 haircut with Ducky's clippers - this not only shocked the GR team, but on-lookers as well. Sorry guys, these photos are censored!

On our departure we spent a few hours in Innsbruck 's old town – the jewel in the valley of the river Inn. A great place to wander around between colourful buildings and to stumble upon sights like Emperor Maximillian I‘s display of wealth at the golden roof and views from the mid 15 th century town hall. We could just ogle the famous Swarovski crystals in its stylish boutique, but GR1 opted to taste the traditional Tirolese schnitzel and goulash soup while GR3 could not resist the local sausage and roll (Bosna) with chips, but then there was Pepers Kebab, that served the best Schwarma (Durum Kabab) they had ever tasted!

Driving via Kufstein in search of camping supplies we decided on a detour back into Germany to visit Munich . This was primarily to link up with Axel and Eva who GR1 met a few months earlier in Carcassonne , France . Bavaria 's capital had a mix of old sights like the neo gothic town hall with its dancing Glockenspiel and 600 year old royal Residenz, all set in a modern well planned metropolis. Strolling through the city and the English garden, Europe's largest city park, we even encountered surfers on artificial waves in the little Isar River that runs through this green lung. But all this paled in comparison to the great friendship and hospitality of our hosts who spoiled us with authentic Bavarian weiswurst (white sausage), a host of different meats, breads, pastries and of course an abundance of tasty Belgium beers – and even home made pizzas and chocolate mouse! For insight into Bavarian culture, we were entertained by the action around ‘Stustaculum festival' at the university residences – lots of typical beer in huge 1L jugs and a range of live music. Even the kids were reluctant to leave but eventually midnight and tiredness won over. Tons of appreciation and gratitude to Axel and Eva for allowing us the use of your home facilities and for all the thoughtfulness that made our detour so special.

Back east to the Alps, we spent the night bush camping off the road in long grass and between tall trees, just on the border with Austria .

The 24 th of May and we were in Mozart's home town, Salzburg, which appeared burrowed in below steep hills with 17 th century ornate buildings shadowing narrow cobbled streets. Salzburg 's old town rightly deserves its status as a UNESCO world heritage site and it hills are a fitting set for the ‘sound of music'. After settling in at Camping Kasern and all the formalities were handled and we enjoyed our lunch, we were off to sight-see. GR1 opted to drive Tipperdee into town while GR3 decided on the more relaxed bus ride. Being a really hot day GR3 were soon all drenched in sweat, with shorts, caps, sunglasses all packed in their day packs. Zack and Troy were handed a bunch of white balloons and this they 'tried' to keep throughout their walk but not with much success though!!

The Baroque Dom, Residenz and Schloss Mirabell- all built around the 1600,s with proceeds from salt mining by Archbishop Wolf Dietrich. Interesting to note that the Mirabell Palace was built for Salome, the Archbishop's mistress! Most impressive, especially for its views of Salzburg , was the impenetrable 1077 fortress from where successive Archbishop Princes ruled- the Festung Hohensalzburg. The day ended with a few local beers in the Makartplatz, opposite Mozart's residence and then a bus ride back to the camp. GR3 could not go to bed without first watching the movie ‘The Sound of Music', recognizing all the sights they had seen in the movie - ‘lights Out' at 2h30, the next morning!!!!

The next day we visited the 17 th century Schloss Hellbrunn with its gravity fed trick fountains and water-powered figures. GR1 opted to spend their time there strolling through the park having a picnic lunch, while GR3 took pleasure in the trick fountains. Zack enjoyed being wet and running through the fountains, but Troy complained about the cold and did not enjoy the “tricks “that much. Time seemed to fly-by as they ran through the fountains, trying to avoid getting wet by the many tricks, controlled by their guide, while trying to follow his explanations of the fountains history.

After that we had a fun filled tour of the salt mines within the Durrnberg Mountains near Hallein – the oldest in the world and first mined by the Celts 2500 years ago. From riding the pit railway through ancient tunnels which crossed the border with Germany twice, to hurtling down miners slides and crossing a salt lake by boat – all inside the mountain! We learnt how salt mining grew into the ‘white gold' from the 12 th century to 1989 with modern solution mining. These salt deposits were formed by the sea 250 million years ago, and then with evaporation and the formation of the Alps , the deposits were encased in solid rock.

After visiting a Celtic village depicting their way of life we drove north east through mountains and the lakes region via St Gilgen on Wolfganglake and Attersee, spending the night in a parking lot in Schorfling. Driving east the next day we dotted through many deserted looking rural villages to Vienna . The flavour of Wien is as elaborate as its heritage with evidence everywhere of the prosperous Habsburg dynasty. We settled in with the kind hospitality of Christoph and Tanya (who GR1 met in Spain ) who runs camping Wien Neue Donau, for 4 nights. After being spoiled with pizzas from our hosts and heeding their advice, we decided to take a day trip by train to nearby Slovakia 's capital, Bratislava . Immediately this country's communist past was evident but the petite old town with its cobblestone alleys and side walk cafes galore had us captivated. With interesting bronze statues dotted around town like the watcher peeping from a manhole and the gothic St. Martins Cathedral where 11 monarchs were crowned from 1563, the pastel 18 th century Rocco buildings came alive. Bratislava castle after being destroyed in a fire in 1811 and being reconstructed since the 1950's offered a great view of the city and the New Bridge over the Danube River leading to the institutional housing blocks on the town edges. After enjoying tasty Slovak cuisine and beer we headed back via the presidents residence in the impressive 1760 Grassalkovich Palace .

Then Vienna – the vibrant massive city stuffed with museums, galleries, palaces and cathedrals. We elected to walk the old town with all its Platz's, marveling at elaborate renaissance architecture of the Habsburgs Hofburg Palace , Town hall and Greek styled massive Parliament building. While GR1 toured the city, GR3 visited the Austrian Football Association, where they succeeded in meeting the CEO, who courteously signed our ball and gave gifts to Zack and Troy , as reminders of the European Football Final to be held in Austria and Switzerland during the month of June. Again GR1 indulged in Vienna 's cuisine in some subterranean vault restaurant. Finally they explored the massive structured gardens of Schloss Schonbrunn – the Habsburgs summer palace with 1440 rooms! From the Gloriette atop a hill on could see Vienna 's expanse. For some culture they attended the apple strudel baking demonstration with Jade obtaining her bakers diploma for assisting! That afternoon GR1 met up at Schloss Schonbrunn to enjoy Mozart's opera, The Magic Flute at the palaces Marionette Theatre. This 1791 work expertly combined puppetry with his music, but would've meant a lot more if we understood German! Yet all the kids quietly endured over 2 hours of heavy stuff!

Our last day in Austria was for washing and teaching whilst GR3 fitted in the SA Embassy visit and a walk through the streets of Vienna . The fitting end was a delicious braai with our hosts. The meat was a bit burnt, but there were no complaints from anyone - how could there be after such a long time??? Thanks again Christoph and Tanya. The 30 th of May, we travelled west again crossing the border into the Czech Republic at Gmund.