20 years ago crossing Europe was a difficult task. Border guards asking for your “papers” and a gillion different currencies. No more. Its like driving from Maine to Maryland. You don’t even realize when you cross the borders, except that the language on the signs change. When I crossed from The Czech Republic to Austria the border station was still there, barriers, booths and the whole cold war trapping, but no signs or official looking police. Today you drive around it without slowing down. No border guards, no questions.
The roads in the Czech Republic are great, some are freeways, some country lanes, but they are well tended and safe. In Austria, you are back on the autobahn. The difference is that the Austrians are a tad more concerned about speed than the Germans. They set the speed at just over 80 MPH (130KMH).
I was staying in Grodig, a suburb of Salzburg. A beautiful village right against these mountains.
We are in the Austrian Alps. Jagged peaks and snow. Well not down here, but certainly up there. This is the home of Mozart and dare I say it “The Sound of Music.” The folks at Skidata set up a tour for me and I was joined by Marketing Director Sabine Holzl and Communications and PR manager Mariam Weiherer. Here we are at a castle where much of the musical was filmed:
That’s me in the middle and Miriam on the left and Sabine on the right.
Our tour guide was really into the Sound of Music — ‘Here is where she sang Edelweiss, See that gazebo, that’s where the children sang do re mi. ” I told him I liked Mozart and so the next stop was his birthplace — The room in the center on the top row:
The most trendy Salzburg shopping area is a narrow street where the symbols hanging on the signs tell what is sold in the stores:
Umbrellas:
Shoes:
And of course
No we didn’t eat there — Lunch was a two hour masterpiece. I had an asparagus soup that was to die for, and a lobster dish that melted in your mouth. I was told that this was not a restaurant that was frequented by my guides, but as long as a visitor was in town, what the heck. Notice the happy faces.
We saw palaces built by archbishops, Charlemagne was involved, too. Churches that go back 1500 years, catacombs dug into solid rock. Salzburg is a city of art, beautiful architecture, and history. And yes, if you are very quiet you can hear “Climb every Mountain” carrying over the meadows and streams.
Now, back to Parking and Skidata.
JVH
