Five Go Mad

We’ve been pretty lucky with accommodation being pretty much what we expected. The only exception was when I had to pull rank over the girls and take their room in Innsbruck owing to the fact that I had screwed up the booking (long story). The Pension Adlerhof booked for Salzburg looked pretty good online and the TripAdvisor reviews were OK but it was surprisingly cheap, which to be honest was a big attraction. Of course you get what you pay for so it turned out the room was just that, a room, with just enough floor space for four beds, five suitcases and a few scattered stepping spaces. I’m OK with sleeping Marae style for a bit of cultural enrichment but I could only see downside for family harmony if we went beyond day 2 of this burrow like arrangement. Happily the hotel was very understanding and the next day gave us an apartment with a couple of rooms with space aplenty for swinging cats.  It turned out pretty well.

Salzburg took a bit of getting used to; possibly because we’d been sedated by tourist comforts for a few weeks enjoying either quaint mediaeval character or modern city convenience and shiny lights. The accommodation was close to the central train station, areas which commonly tend towards grotty; sex shop across the road, betting places on the corner, mysteriously vacant vacant lots. It also seemed to be a part of Salzburg where following the Ottoman invasion and retreat of the late seventeenth century, a bunch of Ottomans decided to stay and open kebab shops. After a few days though the proximity to the buses, supermarket and tourist information center at the train station turned out to be pretty handy.  There were also plenty of elderly people and kids about on the streets which is always a good sign for a community (not too many women though curiously). I didn’t attempt a kebab though.

All through Germany and Austria I’ve been surprised at how many people are begging on the streets. The number of them might be quite normal for here; people were generally ignoring them. I did wonder if it was linked to the huge number of refugees that had passed through here escaping their homelands. I’m pretty clueless though as to whether these generally pleasant cup bearing folk were Syrian, Roma, or just hard-up Germans and Austrians. Not many spoke English although there was a kid I gave some money to for a breakfast at Train Station Burger King who went through four languages before he hit on mine, which impressed me and made me feel inadequate at the same time.  Nice chirpie cheeky kid. He told me he was from Syria.  I didn’t ask him where his parents were. There was a small population of non-threatening, non-begging people hanging out at the train station with bags and kids which were attracting a surprisingly high armed police and un-labelled and slightly disturbing security interest.  It wasn’t obvious if the guns were there to protect from or just to protect these people.  I think it’s probably a god-send that it’s a mild winter so far this year.

Christmas for the travelling Fromonts involved midnight Mass at the Salzburg cathedral, sleeping, tiny Christmas stockings, presents under the tiny Christmas tree, flash lunch at the Sheraton, sleeping or walking off the food hangover, gluhwein at the Christmas Market, snacking, watching British comedy, sleeping. Christmas eve featured prodigious cannon fire from the fortress walls (quite un-announced as it happens and quite close-by so I nearly pooed my pants) and Boxing day’s highlight was a dinner concert in a cavern to Mozart, Sound of Music and Christmas carols. I’ve really enjoyed the music we’ve come across so far. We had a couple of choirs, a small orchestra, soloist and classical guitar at midnight mass which, with the acoustics in the 17^th century cathedral, was a rare experience.  The Sounds of Salzburg concert on Boxing day by contrast though was very intimate and simple, just a piano and two singers.  Both had no form of amplification or back-up.  I did think there would be more ‘accidental’ live music, street music etc. given the cultural heritage of Salzburg or Vienna.  So far the only busking I remember seeing has been a couple of old guys with accordions and an auzzie playing a didgeridoo.  Maybe in this part of the world the expectation is that music will be ‘taken’ in a performance setting only which is a bit of a shame. Given the number of people walking around with instruments on their backs, there’s a lot of under expressed musical talent here; either that or it’s too cold for busking.

​Cobblers

Fish of Europe

In Training (Innsbruck to Salzburg)

The dentist said to floss daily

Salzburg from the Museum od Modern Art

Crags for miles and miles

Salzburg from the foretress walls

Working on Christmas food babies