Summer 2007 - Day 15

Day 15

Sounds like a gruesome way to start the day but our first stop was a Beinhaus (bone house) in Hallstatt. The bone house is located in the church cemetery and dates back to the 12th century. It houses over 1200 skulls and 610 of them have been painted. The painting of the skulls, in flowery designs, was seen as an act of love.

At the time, cremations were forbidden and there was no possibility for the cemetery to expand. When the cemetery became overcrowded, graves that were 10 - 15 years old, were opened and the skulls removed. The skulls were then cleaned and placed in the sun and moonlight for several weeks until they became ivory white. The skulls were then painted.

This tradition began in 1720 and continued until 1995. The lady died in 1983 and her last request was to be stored in the bone house.





We also visited Hitler's "Eagles Nest" on the top of Kehlstein mountain (1834m) in the German Alps. Kehlsteinhaus (Eagles Nest) was built as a 50th birthday present for Hitler and was meant as a retreat and a place for him to entertain guests. Hitler rarely visited the "Eagles Nest" and it was saved from destruction at the end of WWII.

We took a bus along the 6.5 km mountain road which was blasted out of solid rock in only 13 months. The last 124 metres is via a solid brass lift which has been bored out of the mountain and reached by a 200m long granite tunnel.

Summer 2007 - Day 14

Day 14


We gave the kids a break from churches and castles and drove to Hallstatt which is an hour away from Salzburg. Here we visited the Ice Caves, the Bone House and the Salt Mine.

There is indication of settlement in the Hallstatt which dates back to the Stone Age. Stone axes from 5,000 BC have been found in the area which serve as proof of salt mining in prehistoric times.

The Hallstatt Salt Mine is over 7,000 years old and is the oldest salt mine in the world. The world uses around 150 million tonnes of salt each year and the Hallstatt salt mine produces over 900 million kg of salt per year.

We rode in a funicular up the mountain and then walked the rest of the way (15 minutes) to the mine entrance. Where the funicular stops on the mountain is where the miners used to live

Before we went on our tour we dressed in miner's clothes.

This is the Christina mine entrance and is 928 metres above sea level.

We walked through 12 levels of tunnels (horizons) on our tour.

In 1734 a corpse was discovered preserved in a salt deposit. It was described as "pressed flat and tightly grown into the rock. Clothing and tools were quite strange but well preserved."

The highlight of the tour was a ride on the 64 metre slide which was used by the miners to descend quickly from one level to another.

We used the train to leave the mine in the same way that as the miners.

We left the salt mine and then went to Hallstein Ice Caves. At the start of the century Peter Gamsjager was out tracking down a runaway goat and he discovered the ice cave. Tours of the cave began in 1910 and the funicular was completed in 1951. After the funicular ride there is a steep 15 - 20 minute walk to the entrance. For the boys the time was mainly spent waiting for us to catch up to them.

The total length of the cave is 2,700 metres but we only went along an 800 metre path. The tour lasted an hour and the temperature in the cave is -1 degrees all year round.

John preparing himself for our caving expedition.









The ice cave contains 30,000 square metres of ice which is up to 25 metres thick. There is seepage into the cave via the snow melting and the air flows into the cave in winter and out of the cave in summer.




























We enjoyed our tour of the cave but it was nice to get out into the warm sun.

Summer 2007 - Day 13

Day 13

Another busy day around Salzburg. Visited St Peter's Abbey which was built between 1130 and 1143.

We also went to the cemetery and saw the catacombs cut into the rock.

We then went to the gorge and waterfall (Liechtensteinklamm) at St Johann. There is a wooden footpath which goes along the gorge to the waterfall.

The boys ready for their "trek".

Full of energy - at least they were.

The gorge with the footpath beside.

We also had to go through tunnels -

but Mark and John managed to keep up their strength.

The waterfall at the end of the path.

Back in the car and we continued our sightseeing of Salzburg with a tour of Hellbrunn Palace. The Palace was built between 1613 and 1615. Hellbrunn Palace was where the Archbishops came to distance themselves from their obligations.

The most popular part of the palace is the "trick" fountains in the gardens.

This is the Roman Theatre. The trough of cold water, in the middle, of the table was to cool wine.

In addition, all of the seats have holes in them. Water could be streamed through these holes at varying strengths. The only seat that wasn't connected to the water was the Archbishops.

When the Archbishop would invite friends for wine in the garden, he would secretly turn on the fountain in the seats to amuse himself. After drinking a few wines and then gradually having their seat get a bit wet the guests got a bit worried about how much they had to drink. The guest weren't able to get up as it was considered impolite to raise from the table before the Archbishop.

In the Grotto of Orpheus, there is a statue of Orpheus playing music. His wife, Eurydice, lies on the cushions listening. The ibex, the lion and the other wild animals have all been tamed by the music.

Mark and John enjoying the fountains.

Summer 2007 - Day 12

Day 12

Today we went on a "Sound of Music" tour. Got onto a bus with a picture of Julia Andrews looking like she is having an allergic reaction to something (probably the tour). Got whipped around the sights and tried not to blink so we didn't miss anything. Found that everyone may have heard of Salzburg and "The Sound of Music" but the Austrians can't stand the movie.

The movie is a bit inaccurate but it is from Hollywood. The real Maria moaned about the details so Hollywood chucked money at her and she got over it.

Caught a glimpse of Leopoldskron Castle from across the lake. This was built in 1736 and the facade was filmed as the Trapp Villa. This was were Maria danced with the Baron on the balcony.

This is the pavilion where Liesl and Rolfe pranced about singing "16 going on 17". The pavilion has been locked, supposedly because an 80 year old lady tried to skip over the seats as they did in the movie, and she fell and broke her hip. Hmmmm.

Scrambled onto the bus and motored off to the town of Mondsee. This was where the wedding scene of Maria and the Baron took place. The real wedding took place in Nonnberg Abbey in 1927 (before the start of WWII).

We just make it back to the bus in time to be whisked back to Salzburg. Thus endeth the tour.

We took ourselves to Mirrabell Palace to see where, after travelling 45 km in 5 minutes, Maria pranced around the Pegasus fountain and skipped up and down the stairs in the palace gardens chirping "Do Re Me".

When we returned home the kids watched the Sound of Music movie. They weren't interested before we left to go on holidays but, after having seen the sights that featured in the movie, they really enjoyed it. We also love the movie despite its inaccuracies (there are plenty) - would have been shocked if there weren't any.

Went past Mozart's birthplace and went inside the cathedral.

Took the funicular to Hohensalzburg Fortress which began construction in 1077. The fortress was besieged but not captured. The story of the "Salzburger Stierwascher" (Salzburg Steer Wash) tells how during a long siege the last steer was painted and then lead to the outer defence wall to graze and then brought back to be washed off and repainted. The attackers became convinced that there were plenty of provisions and they gave up the siege.

View of Salzburg from the fortress.

Summer 2007 - Day 11

Day 11



Had a late start from Munich and drove to Salzburg. Had an incredibly difficult time finding our hotel and didn't get lunch until 4 pm.



Mozart was born in Salzburg in 1756 and this monument to him was erected in 1842.








Also near our hotel was the Residenz Fountain. Constructed in the 17th century, this was were Maria warbled "I Have Confidence".

Bit of a short day. Off to do a "Sound of Music" tour tomorrow.

Summer 2007 - Day 10

Day 10

We took a break from churches and castles and took the kids to Bavaria Film Stadt (City).

We did a tour of the film studio and saw the original model submarine used in the German film "Das Boot" (The Boat).

The next part of our tour was the making of a short (10 minute) film in which tourists could take part. We managed to get Mark to volunteer for one of the parts. The movie was a bit of a Star Trek spoof. He really enjoyed himself and we bought the DVD of it for him to watch.

Also saw a stunt show and the mythical creature from "The Never Ending Story".

There was a 4D film which was of a roller coaster ride through an old mine. It was very well done and we had rocks and carts coming at us from all directions. We often had to go backwards and kept going off the track into lava pits.

The reality was we were just sitting in our seats (which rocked and vibrated) in a darkened room with a screen in front of us. It was very realistic - a bit too realistic for John who hated every minute of it. He did progress from demanding to leave to a stony tolerance.