From Vienna to Salzburg

Sunday September 6th
Today was the day for moving on but before they finally pulled out they decided to take a walk to the local village to get some money and also see what it was like. Every day they had walked the railway station across the road from the camp and never even looked at where they were staying. It was a pleasant little place having a Sunday flea market. No one seemed to be selling anything and it was all pretty much rubbish.

On the way back to the camp they noticed a lot of plastic bags with Sunday papers in them hanging off the lamp posts. There was a locked place to put the money in, but the papers were open so anyone could actually take them. Mary commented that the honesty systems in these European countries were to be admired. The transport system all works on honesty. No one checks to see it you have paid and there are no special barriers to put tickets in like the London tube system. You buy your ticket and validate it and have it with you. Every so often a plainclothes inspector checks at random although we have never seen one. People actively buy tickets before they get on the trains. Some people buy a pass for a whole year at a time.

Sunday is a good day to travel. Once again they set out knowing the roads would be quieter and virtually truck free. Having revised their original plans they were now heading straight to Salzburg. Alan had programmed in a couple of extra stops along the way but Mary over ruled this preferring to stick to the bigger places and having longer stays. She is so much happier when they are parked in a nice safe campsite and taking buses and trains into town. Ever since I took ill she has been a nervous wreck regarding my health and likes to play it safe. I have to say though that today being a warm 20+ I was really on top of my game.

They set the Tom Tom to take me to Salzburg and as there is no ring road around Vienna it took me through town. This was quite good really as I had a chance to warm up slowly doing 50k an hour. Not that I could have done much more as Alan was giving Mary regular updates as to what speed she was doing and if she hit as much as 51k she was told about it. This is because the speed camera beeps were going off all the time and she has already had my photo taken by one of those. I have to say the feathers and fur brigade in the back seat were oblivious to all of this as they are still getting over their late night at The Magic Flute last night.

On the whole the drivers are courteous but you get the occasional one who displays a bit of road rage because they can’t get to where they want to be fast enough. Those kind of drivers weave in and out of lanes and toot if they can’t get their own way. Mind you because of my age I command a bit of respect on the road and get lots of friendly waves and toots from my extended family of fellow VW’s.

On the way through town they saw parts of Vienna they had not had a chance to get to. One of these was the Spittelau. This is a refuse incineration plant. Yes even in Vienna a ,refuse incineration plant is worth seeing thanks to the imaginative facade based on designs by Hundertwasser. It has the characteristic onion dome. It is a fine example of one of his ecological projects.

Once safely on the motorway the journey went well. The stop for lunch was timed well as they had no longer parked me in the rest area than they noticed all the traffic slowing to almost a standstill. They thought there might be another few games of yahtzee needed to pass the time, but Alan wrote his diary and Mary read her book about Empress Elisabeth. (Sisi) When the traffic finally started moving they ventured back onto the motorway to find that the accident had happened right on the on ramp and there were two cars waiting to be towed away. It looked like a case of not too careful passing or merging.

Mary had found what she thought was suitable campsite online but the Tom Tom didn’t pick it up, so they took the off ramp at Salzburg Nord and picked up signs to it straight away. It looked really nice and there was a sign to find a place and sign in when the office opened at 5pm. There were useful brochures outside the office giving details of tours and also the Salzburg card. It was really warm and sunny so they got the table and chairs and planned the next four days.

When the office opened they booked in and also booked a double tour for tomorrow. They are going to do the famous Sound of Music Tour followed by the Bavarian Mountains and salt mines tour. Mary can’t wait for the luxury of actually being driven in a coach. I am not sure how to take that! They will then buy the 72 hour Salzburg pass which looks like really good value for the next three days. It includes all transport and admission to most of the major sights.

This has been a much needed catch up day. The diaries were well behind as was the video downloading and backing up. So now all these tasks are done and it is back out for more adventures, although I am destined to have a few quiet days resting amongst in the trees.