#  >  > Non Asia Travel Forums >  >  > Travel the World Travellers Tales Forum >  >  Christmas in Austria 2016

## Jesus Jones

Well, things didn't get off to a good start!

During check-in at Suvarnabhumi, we discovered my wife and daughter's visa didn't have enough to cover our 10-day stay. Trying to find an earlier return flight to cover us was futile for this time of the year. While the fault ultimately lies with us, our travel agent convinced us to stay for ten days instead of our planned 7, but we both overlooked that our visa was only valid for eight days. Nevertheless, we took a chance and we are now at Vienna (2 pm Thai times) waiting for our next flight to Salzburg.




I can't say I enjoyed the flying experience but worth it for my daughter to experience Xmas in snow. The landing was a hard one that didn't help matters and was met with a laugh of relief from passengers, including myself. The wife thought nothing of it.

We landed in Vienna about 5 am. Now waiting for our Salzburg flight at 9:30 am.

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## Jesus Jones

So we left Vienna in a small propelled aeroplane over the beautiful, cloudy mountains. The iPhone and my lack of photography skill don't do justice. From the looks of it, there isn't enough snow for skiing either.

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## Jesus Jones

We arrived a little later than expected as there was a complication on the runway which forced all planes to share the same run. The flight was pleasant for our 35min flight (more than enough for me) with a softer landing if compared to our first. We jumped straight into a taxi and headed into town to our place of stay. A thousand-year-old town building. Built by the Romans, we ducked our way under the arches and climbed three floors of very steep stairs. Despite the old architecture, the rooms are very contemporary. Our room, though, is on a downhill slope and one feels you're picking up speed as you venture to the toilet.




Still jet-lagged, the next morning I woke at 1:57 am. Fortunately, decent internet and Netflix kept me occupied until my daughter woke to want to play 'My Little Ponies'. I was Apple Jack! Eventually, the wife woke at 5 am. Twelve hours sleep for her as we all fell asleep around 5 pm. We showered and waited two more hours for the wife to get ready, put makeup on and decide which hat and jacket she looked best on her!

Eventually, we ventured out to 'Supermarkt Billa' for some supplies and headed to a local coffee shop for breakfast.

"Check this dude out!"






Salzburg is full of historical sights despite it technological modernity with its public transport etc. What I did Find amusing, being a non-smoker was the service from cafe waiters with fag in hand resembling a scene from a 40s movie. I didn't see a woman without a fag in hand either. Gross! Fags were the only thing littering the street. Disfuckingusting!

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## Jesus Jones

After breakfast, we had a walk around the town to take a few snapshots and take note of tourist attractions we might want to see.

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## Jesus Jones

Franciscan Church and Salzburg Cathedral with HohenSalzburg Fortress peering over the top.

Unfortunately, I only have video from the Fortress and some snapshot views as inside photography wasn't allowed. Didn't stop the Chinese though who outnumbered the residents in the area!

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## Jesus Jones

View from HohenSalzburg Fortress.

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## Jesus Jones

We stayed in the historic part of Salzburg which is quite interesting, and this morning we had an early morning walk to the other side of town, across the river. Not as interesting but the Roman garden was worth a look. Will be back in the Cathedral Square to catch the festivities and angels walking around the square. Our daughter will enjoy it at least.

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## Jesus Jones

After a couple of hours, we headed back into the Cathedral square and market.




Daughter giving money to the carol singers.

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## Jesus Jones

The following morning we took the bus to Salzburg station and head to Hallstatt by train.


Mitterndorf





Traunkirchen/Ebensee

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## Jesus Jones

We arrived at approximately 12:30, hopped on the boat over Hallstätter See and took in the sights with its quaint houses, church and local shops.

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## Jesus Jones

The three of us were famished so we headed for some grub. There were quite a few restaurants and cafes to choose from which surprised us from such a small place. We opted for a local cafe.
The wife chose fish and chips, I went along with it!






She said the Schnitzel was the best fish and chips she has had!

Actually, I don't usually eat meat but I have tucked into it while being here.

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## Jesus Jones

Daughter wants to play Barbie and talk about limited edition schlond poofaas so i'll post later.

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## david44

Great photos thanks JJ
If you have time try and visit Berchtesgartedn and St Gilgen easy day trips

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## Jesus Jones

Will check it out, thanks.  In Vienna for the next 3 days.

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## david44

The Dorotheum
Wiener Sezession nat the foot of the Schonbrau Palace is an amazing building
Prater
If you want ultimate cream pie Demel's or Sacher of course

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## Luigi

That will clear yer lungs out!

Bladdy lovely mate. Thanks for that.

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## terry57

A long way to fly for a short trip, Big effort and well done.

Ta.

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## Davis Knowlton

Great thread, JJ. Love threads about places I've never been and am very unlikely to ever see.

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## Jesus Jones

> A long way to fly for a short trip, Big effort and well done.
> 
> Ta.


Tiz a long way, but two weeks is too long i think.  That being said, we'd planned on skiing but there isn't enough snow where we've been located.  Now I'm being dragged around the shops!

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## Jesus Jones

> That will clear yer lungs out!
> 
> Bladdy lovely mate. Thanks for that.


If you can find a gap between people smoking, yes.

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## david44

A world class collection



he Kunsthistorisches Museum (Art History Museum) was built in 1891 near the Imperial Palace to house the extensive collections of the imperial family. With its vast array of eminent works and the largest Bruegel collection in the world, it is considered one of the most eminent museums in the world.
Numerous major art works of European art history, among them Raphael’s "Madonna in the Meadow," Vermeer’s "The Allegory of Painting," the Infanta paintings by Velazquez, masterworks by Rubens, Rembrandt, Dürer, Titian and Tintoretto are housed in the paintings gallery. The Egyptian and Near Eastern Collection contains fascinating treasures from mysterious cultures long past.

The Kunstkammer Vienna (Chamber of art and wonders) with rarities from the former treasure chambers and cabinets of curiosities of the Habsburgs opened again in March 2013. The collection is one of the most significant of its kind in the world and displays precious artworks from the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Baroque era. The highlights are the collection of Emperor Kaiser Rudolf II, the exotica complex and the famous "Saliera".

2016: 125 years of the Kunsthistorisches Museum

The architectural mirror image of the Kunsthistorisches Museum is the Museum of Natural History on the opposite side, which was also built according to designs by Gottfried Semper and Karl von Hasenauer.

Discover Vienna's Ringstrasse - on a virtual walk ...

Imperial Palace Overview

Kunsthistorisches Museum (Art History Museum)

Maria-Theresien-Platz , 1010 Wien
Kunsthistorisches Museum: Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien
+43 1 525 240
info@khm.at
Prices
Opening times
Accessibility

live links on website
https://www.wien.info/en/sightseeing...risches-museum

Also the Albertina

Even a child will enjoy the Hare by Albrecht Durer also some Zuburans of world standard

No cut and paste ltd pixels can do justice to this chef d'ouevre of Euro culture

If added entire Russian Icons so called American , Austraian,British artists Emin Turner Hurst Piper together with all Jewish Islamic   Mayan Aztec pre Colombian art will you witness such draughtsmanship



http://www.albertina.at/en/informati...g_hours_prices

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## Nicethaiza

nice thread nice pics and lovely baby.

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## snakeeyes

Great pics , Cheers

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## Neverna

Nice thread. Thanks JJ.

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## wasabi

Lovely pictures of Austria thank you for sharing.

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## Jesus Jones

More from Hallstatt:

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## Jesus Jones

Back in the historic part of Salzburg, we spent our last 3 days there from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day before venturing on to Vienna.
We did a little shopping around the Xmas market, listened to the bells ringing which started with a few high-pitched rings to the low-down tones in the melody. After Christmas Mass in the Cathedral, we hit the stall for hotdogs and hot chocolate with mulled wine!

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## Jesus Jones

A final wonder around the market for breakfast and lunch.

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## Jesus Jones

For our last day in Salzburg we ate pizza, bought a caffismo Nespresso machine for 69 euro (8k in Thailand) and said farewell to our apartment.

The room was definitely on a slope!





Roman age stairs.



I wasn't imagining it as i slammed the anchors on when approaching the toilet!


Bye bye Salzburg, Hello Vienna!

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## david44

Never seen so little snow in Salzkammergut

If you have access to a vehicle

Bratislava /Pressburg in German the Slovak capital is neaby and the village of Horny Bar which attracts all sorts

More my taste is Mayerling and Neusiedlersee south of Vienna

Klosterleben in Heiligenkreuz in the Vienna woods, Austria

PS was Jeremy Corbyn your waiter in top pic?

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## Jesus Jones

So we bid farewell to Salzburg - which we thoroughly enjoyed, and headed to Vienna by train.

It has been over 20 years since I last caught a train and I can't recall being as relaxing as this was. I find it tough to sleep while flying or travelling as a car passenger, but within 20 mins I was gone. Plenty of room too!

After stocking up the fridge, we headed out for snap!

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## Jesus Jones

Fortunately, our daughter loves walking and not once has she moaned. I often stick her on my shoulders because I feel she must be a little weary, but she never asks.
After scouting around the shopping area and stumbling upon a shoe shop, I have searched high and low for we opted for some street food

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## Looper

Good effort and nice pics. Ta

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## Jesus Jones

We stumbled upon this joint called 'Hungry Guy Steet Food'
I ordered a beef burger and the wife shared fish and chips with my daughter. Again, prepared and served with fag in hand! The order wasn't what we expected either. Both served in a thick pita/kabab style bread. A novel idea for fish and chips. Was blood tasty too!

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## Luigi

Great stuff mate.

My dad took me around Europe on a 2 month road trip when I was 16, and I plan on doing the same, but stretching it to 3 months, with my kid. 

This place has now made _Ze Map_.  :Smile:

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## Jesus Jones

> Great stuff mate.
> 
> My dad took me around Europe on a 2 month road trip when I was 16, and I plan on doing the same, but stretching it to 3 months, with my kid. 
> 
> This place has now made _Ze Map_.


It is a beautiful place, but a pity there hasn't been much snow.  Out of the two locations we've stayed putting day trips to one side - as there's much more than the photos I've placed, Salzburg for me was the better.  Seven days here in Vienna would've been too much.  Glad we opted for Salzburg as our mainstay.

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## katie23

Thanx for the pics, very nice. 

Have you explored Stadtpark? Karlsplatz & Karlskirche? There's also a museum near Kaelskirche (free on Sundays, I think). Votivkirche & the platz, Sigmund Freud platz, I think. Votivkirche is a gothic style church, similar to St. Stephen's.  You can also try to go to Linz, another city. It's ~1 hr by train frm Vienna, good for a day trip. Or go to Bratislava in Slovakia. Cheers & safe travels!

Addendum: in Vienna, try Schonbrunn palace & zoo, Belvedere Palace & gardens (tho I don't know if gardens are nice in winter). The Prater is a big amusement park, with a big ferris wheel, ifyou're into that.

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## kingwilly

Great trip, was there a reason you chose Austria ? Or just because.

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## Jesus Jones

> Great trip, was there a reason you chose Austria? Or just because.


^^ Thanks, We visited many places within Vienna, churches etc.  Will post pics when I've been through them.

Always fancied Salzburg from the historical point of view, and I wanted my daughter to experience snow as she seems to have a fascination with it which has stemmed from the Frozen movie. We hoped to ski too but there wasn't enough snow in the area at the time

Between Salzburg and Vienna, we preferred the quaintness of Salzburg where everything was at your doorstep more or less. Just walking around the historic square was interesting in itself compared to the bustling shopping style of Vienna.

No particular reason for our the choice. My wife has visited Czech, Italy and other European countries. Austria was somewhere we both hadn't visited.

As nice as it was, we are not sure we'd go again. Good to be back actually.

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## Jesus Jones

My first decent night's sleep since my body clock recorrected itself, and I was looking forward to breakfast!

It has to be said, for the daily cost of the rooms, the breakfast on offer was pretty lame. Most average Thai hotels outdo this place even with its western offerings. We're staying in the junior suite, but the place in Salzburg 750euro 5 x nights (City Center Apartments) was much better than this.

Salzburg


Breakfast in Vienna!





Coffee tasted sweeter than some crappy Thai places!






Standard rate prices.
The coffee was truly awful. Despite all the excitment over coffee in Austria, thus far it has been mediocre, even some of the exclusive places!

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## Jesus Jones

After breakfast, we headed out for an early stroll. My daughter was fascinated by the trams and asked if they had schlond poofaas (exhausts, if you haven't watched Barbie's Dream House). We walked around some of the narrow cobbled streets taking a few snapshot and jumped on a tour tram shortly after.
I believe this stone talks about a place/house of the Gestapo where many Austrians died and the ruins left behind?  My German isn't great.












Just for the record, I am crap at photography and all these are snapshots with my iPhone.  The wife took proper shot with her camera and most of mine was video.

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## Dillinger

great thread JJ.

ive always fancied St Petersburg myself. Do us a favour and do us a trip report from there next Chrimbo mate :Smile:

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## Jesus Jones

After a guided tour on the tram which lasted about 30 mins, we headed into town again to do a little shopping and find a place to eat. I was very impressed with my 4-year-old who had walked a total of 120km over the last 5 days or so, give or take the odd shoulder ride.

We eventually landed on a place called "Heindl's Schmarren & Palatschinkenkuchl".  We hit the cellar as upstairs was packed. It was conveniently next to a sexy lingerie shop, hubba hubba!

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## Jesus Jones

After lunch, we headed back to the hotel to freshen up before a night-walk around the shopping area. Much more interesting at this time for our daughter. There were plenty of places selling hot cocoa and mulled wine for a quick warm up here and there. My hints at the various lingerie stores we passed didn't work either. Besides, Agent Provocateur was stupidly expensive!

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## katie23

Thnx for the pics. Good to see Vienna again. I stayed there for a short time, makes me feel nostalgic. I liked the Gluhwein (mulled wine) they sold in xmas markets, and the brezeln (pretzels)! Most of your pics are from the first district, which is touristy and very expensive.  In Kaentnerstrasse (maybe you passed by that street), there were lots of shops - H&M, Zara & Intimissimi, which is a lingerie shop. Didn't buy there, since their stuff was so pricey, but they were nice! Lol. I lived in an outer district w/ a lot of Turks. During Sat, I would try to shop before the Turkish moms did, or else, they would finish all the produce since they had lots of kids! One of the first phrases I learned auf Deutsch: Ein kebab, bitte. Mit alles. Scharf ein bisschen. (One kebab, pls. With everything. Chili powder only a little). Cheers & tnx for bringing back good memories!  :Smile:

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## Jesus Jones

^Yes, we did pass there, and I bought a couple of cheap shirts from H&M as it happens.  Real man size in XL!  Intimissmi had some tasty stuff which we purchased from at the Salzburg. As you mention, quite pricey in places. I'm not sure of the place you named but I'm guessing it's where Gucci and Hermes are situated.

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## katie23

^probably. I didn't shop at Gucci or Hermes, too far above my level! Kaentnerstrasse is abig street in the city center, one of those streets that radiate from Stephansplatz and I think opens into the Opera house and the 'ring'. There was a nearby Starbucks near the Opera, don't know if it's still there. I liked the fish & chips (take-away) from a stall of Nordsee. Would buy there while walking along the 1st district. I sometimes went to church in Votivkirche, as they had an English-language mass, officiated by a very nice British priest. I would guess that you saw the Parliament, the Rathaus, theatre, Uni of Vienna - they're all beside each other. And the museums - kunsthistorisches & naturhistorisches museum! It's a great place. I didn't go to Salzburg (and now I regret it), but I did go to Linz and Bratislava. Thnx for the memories.  :Smile:

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## fishlocker

Jesus, Jones that church is huge compared to what I recently found in Pakse Laos. Surely it must be humbling to the average souls as they have passed throughout time.  Good heavens, a green sent for your time to post your vacation photographs for us to enjoy.

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## Chico

Great pics and thread

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## Jesus Jones

Tnx ^^
For our final day in Vienna, we explored St.Stephen's Cathedral taking the elevator to the rooftop, during the walk there we stumbled upon this old Church. There was quite a long queue waiting when we arrived at St. Stephen's but the power of the church organs during morning mass made it worth the wait.

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## Jesus Jones

View from the Cathedral rooftop.

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