Pania Discovers That Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music

Monday September 6th

Mondays are often days where a lot of things are closed in the big cities so taking an out of town tour today seemed a good option. This is not something they have done a lot so it was a nice change. They were picked up by shuttle right from the campsite and whisked into town to join the coach.

The tour guide was from England, and got a bit irritating at times with her attempts at being funny and dramatic but she had excellent knowledge and not only showed the highlights of the film but also the historical and architectural landmarks of the city. The first stop was the Leopoldskron Palace where the front exterior was used as the Trapp family home and also the lake where they were boating and fell into the water. The glass gazebo specially made for the film had to moved from here as too many fans were visiting it all hours of the day and night and jumping around the seats. It is now relocated in the gardens of Hellbrun Palace and remains locked. We did visit it though. High up on the hill was the Nonnberg Abbey which was used for the opening scenes in the movie where the nuns were going to mass and the famous Untgersbergahn mountain in the distance. Maria supposedly took two minutes to run back to the abbey after being in the hills; it was a good 2 hours walk away! It is the oldest convent in the German speaking part of Europe and it was the actual convent the real Maria went to and the place where she and the Baron were married in real life.

There was then a pleasant drive through typical Austrian countryside to the Lake District. Scenery shown at the beginning of the movie was filmed at Lake Fuschul on the way to St Giligen, and there was an opportunity for a photo stop to admire the beautiful village of Salzkammergut. The main stop was in the village of Mondsee to visit the church where the wedding scene was filmed. It was the highlight of the trip. It was a beautiful sunny day and this village was picturesque against the blue sky. The church itself is 17th century and very richly decorated. The actual organ in the church was used for the movie. There was time to eat here and have a good look around. Back on the coach they played a video which put all the locations into the context of the movie which was really good. Throughout the tour they played the original soundtrack in appropriate places and invited everyone to sing along.

The Austrians and Germans really know little of the Sound of Music movie and most have not seen it. Originally there was a German movie that was made about the Family Von Trapp. This would have been a lot more authentic and true to life than the Hollywood version. However 6 million visitors a year come to Salzburg and most come to follow the Mozart trail or the Sound of Music locations. It was a bit cheesy at times but well worth doing.



When they got back to the depot it was only a short time before the second tour left to the Bavarian Mountains and Salt Mines. This was taken in a minivan with a tour guide and four other tourists. BerLin had been feeling very homesick and was really missing Germany. Luckily he got to go on this tour today and in no time at all they had crossed the border from Austria into Germany and started to travel up into the Bavarian Alps. The tour started by going via the Alpenstrasse and travelled parallel to the King’s Lake river to the Oberalzsberg. From a distance high up on a peak they could see the famous Eagles Nest; Hitler’s summer conference centre. You can take a tour up there in the mornings with the same tour company which uses special busses to do the final climb. One of the tourists had read the brochure wrongly and thought this tour went right up there and he wasn’t happy.
This was primarily the Salt Mines tour. On arrival they had to put on traditional miners clothing to provide warmth and protection in the mine. Then they all boarded a special train to take them into the mine. It was quite a long ride through a narrow lit passage. The tour guide spoke German but they had an audio guide with the English version to listen to. These mines have been working for over 450 years and are still producing salt. The best bit was the huge wooden slides that they had to slide down to get to the lower levels. They went down in groups of between 2 and 4 and it was fast and fun. The miners used these highly polished slides as a means of getting down the mines. There is a long end at the bottom that gives you time to slow down and get off. On the way down they take a photo of you and at the end they bought theirs, as it was quite good and really showed the slide. There waslots to see and it was all very fascinating seeing the displays and machinery. The journey ends with a beautiful raft sail across a salt lake in the dark with visual effects. A cable car takes you back up the levels you have come down by slide and a fast train ride brings you back to the surface. It was educational and fun.



The final part of the afternoon was spent in the village of Berchtesgaden high up in the alps. Here they had had the cold snap experienced by all of us last week. It had got down to zero and snowed in the mountains, and there was some still visible. Apparently it had been very unseasonably cold in Austria and Germany as well.

Back in town they were a bit lost as they hadn’t a map or the list of buses to catch back to the camp. However they did manage to walk to the railway station where there was a very helpful girl who spoke English in the info centre and she told them exactly which bus to catch and where it left from and also which stop they needed for the camp. They found it easily, the bus was about to leave so there was no waiting. It turns out they are not too far out of town and the bus stops nearly right outside the camp. They also noticed a little supermarket at the stop before so they walked back to it and got some supplies,

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.

A Special Treat for All

Saturday September 4th

Today was the last full day for seeing things in Vienna, and it was going to be a very special day so Mary said we could all come if we were very good. When they had been in the cafe having dinner the night before the waiter had told them that they had a cheaper coffee every morning from 7 -10 am and they were welcome to come back. Because of the Christchurch earthquake they were really keen to get back online and read the news so they got up earlier than usual. We all caught an earlier train and were in town well before 10am and caught up with all the reports and were able to look at some photos of the devastation.

Yesterday they had run out of time to see the Albertina at the Hofburg Castle complex so they made their way there. They were about to pay for the tickets when the girl selling them said that the Royal Apartments were closed for the day for a wedding. Well that was the particular part they wanted to see, so they declined the tickets and left.

So it was back on the underground to the Schloss Schonrunn. This is the former summer residence of the Imperial family and there was a lot to see and do there. The first thing they had to do was to decide which combination ticket to buy. There were five options which included various combinations. In the end they went for the Classic Light which covered three outdoor venues and the grand tour of the palace. Mary decided that it must be light as it didn’t include the trip to the castle bakery with the free sample of apple strudel. As the weather didn’t seem to be able to make its mind up about what it going to do, they decided to do all the outside activities first. This took nearly two hours and involved a lot of walking. (Lucky us all getting a ride in the backbacks) The privy garden was a small formal laid out garden and was easily viewed. From there they went t o the maze which was more than a maze. It was a fun area for all ages. Lots of big people were trying out the activities. Some were just fun and some involved real skill. The big maze really was one you could get lost in. In the end they solved it by the always go left rule. The big climb up to the Gloriette which was a panorama terrace was worth the effort. From up there you had a view all over Vienna and a panoramic view of the castle grounds and formal gardens.

So it was back to do the inside tour of the house. Alan looked at the ticket again when they got back and realised that they had a timed ticket for viewing the interior. However the nice man on the desk took the ticket and recharged it and all was well. The tour included an audio guide that was not as straightforward to use as previous ones and both of them seemed to get on an endless loop, but they worked it out in the end and made their way through the palace. It is a grand baroque residence. The interior is in stunning rococo style with white and gold stucco, tall windows ,crystal chandeliers, Flemish tapestries, inlaid wood panelling and frescos. It was refurbished for Maria Theresia who was the mother of Marie Antoinette and thirteen other chidren. At the moment the Grand Gallery is partly covered as it undergoing an extensive refurbishment costing millions. There is ongoing maintenance work happening all over these historic palaces to ensure long lasting preservation.

After leaving here Mary was still keen to go to the carriage museum so they found it on the map. This turned out to much more than a bunch of old horse drawn carriages. Inside they had arranged them to tell stories of the lives of the people who rode in them. Again there was a large part of it dedicated to Empress Elizabeth (Sisi) and included several of her original gowns. There were a lot of children’s carriages that had been made for the Imperial children. These were miniature replicas of the real thing drawn by small ponies, goats or dogs. No photos were allowed to be taken otherwise they might have been able to take a shot of us all near one. A bonus was a special exhibition called Napoleon’s Wedding to commemorate the bicentennial of his marriage to Austrian Archduchess Marie Louise. This marriage was arranged after he divorced Josephine because she couldn’t produce an heir.

When they had first arrived they had gone and booked tickets to Marionette Theatre production of The Magic Flute at 7pm. This was to be our special treat. At the same time they had hunted out a place to have a meal and found one right next door that had the bonus of Wifi so they made for that and had a great meal while also being able to catch up onfurtehr news from NZ.

The Magic Flute was enchanting. Before the performance one of the puppeteers came out and explained how they managed to get the fine movements. It takes most of them a year to perfect getting the puppet to walk naturally with their feet on the ground. The gestures that are possible by pulling the strings are incredible and give the puppets life.. We were given the English translation and it said that the puppeteer has to become the character and be able to perform the movements without thinking about it. An excellent sound track provided the music and dialogue with details of the orchestra and soloists provided with the programme. It was so good that they bought the DVD to take home and we are all going to enjoy seeing it again. It is so much better seeing the puppets come to life. Everything was in miniature and the set was based on the castle garden and pavilion at the castle zoo. Even the zoo animals came out in part of it and a cheeky monkey jumped up on top of the peacocks tail and had a ride on the lion’s back. It was such fun and we couldn’t believe that the people sitting next to us didn’t come back after half time.

It finished just before 9.30 and it was a really easy trip back to camp with only the one change from underground to suburban rail. So three tired little kiwis, one bear and two big people all went to bed and tomorrow we all set out for Salzburg.

Ka Pai Has a Busy Day in Vienna

Friday September 3rd

This was the day set aside to visit the Hofburg Quarter. They took a walk down Dorotheegasse past all the antique stores and art auction premises. The first stop was the Augustine Church which was part of the Hofburg Palace complex. Built in 1327, it is one of the best preserved 14th century Gothic interiors in Vienna. It was the wedding chapel for Napoleon and Marie Louise and Franz Joseph 1 and Sisi. (More about her later)

They looked in at the stables of the Spanish Riding School, but didn’t go on the tour. There were no performances scheduled that suited. So it was into the Hofburg Palace. There were lots of options here and too much to see in one day so they made some choices. They chose the combined ticket to the Kaiser apartments, the Sisi museum and the Silberkammer. (Silver Collection)

The tour starts by taking you through an impressive array of court table ware silver belonging to the Habsburgs who were Austria’s ruling family until the monarchy was dissolved. There was just so much of it and such variety. The dinnerware had all been silver until the Napoleonic wars, when most of it was all melted down to make coins. Gradually porcelain took over but at one stage they made a made a porcelain dinner set and covered it completely in gold so that it looked like metal not porcelain.. The audio guide made it very interesting. They were hoping for a break so they could eat lunch but the tour carried on and you couldn’t leave without giving up your audio guide. So they went on into the Sisi Museum. This was an insight into the myth and truth surrounding Empress Elizabeth know as Sisi. The whole story of her tragic life was captivating and Mary bought the book that outlines the whole exhibition. Sisi was assassinated in Geneva by a mad anarchist in 1898. The tour finishes with a look at the private apartments of both Franz Joseph and Sisi who lived together but apart which seemed to be the norm in those days.

It was nearly 2pm when they got out of there and they were quite hungry so found a seat in the palace ground to eat lunch. The other place they had chosen to look at was the Schatzkammer which was the Imperial Treasury. This was the oldest part of the Hofburg Palace and here they have the crown of the Austrian Empire, the crown of the Holy Roman Empire, the treasures of the Order of the Golden Fleece and much more. They chose the brief free audio guide that came with the ticket. For another €3 they could have had the long version; they would still be there now. There was a lot to see and the wealth that must have been held by the Hasburgs was unbelievable. There was also a large ecclesiastical section with reliquaries, one supposedly containing a nail from the true cross and another a thorn form the crown of thorns. Nails and thorns are held in various places in Europe and they have lost count on how many nails form the true cross they have now seen.


That was enough exhibitions and museums for one day so they consulted the map to find out how to get to the Hundertwasser Village. Having visited the toilets in Kawakawa they needed to see the Hundertwasser architecture on this side of the world. The village is a small commercial shopping area all designed by Hundertwasser with the distinctive colours angles and uneven floors. The Hundertwasser House is a municipal apartment block designed in 1985 by the flamboyant Austrian artist as a playful take on usually dull social housing. The building’s facade sports irregular bands of colour, spires with onion dome cupolas and trees on the rooftop. All the windows vary in size and shape and each one is framed with a different colour. The size of each of the 50 apartments is visibly marked by a line of uneven ceramic tiles. Not far away is another similar block and part of it houses a museum of changing exhibitions, the official very expensive Hundertwasser shop and a cafe. Hundertwasser ended up living in The Bay of Islands for about 30 years and was happiest in New Zealand according the woman in one of the shops in the Village.

They managed to find a nice cafe to have dinner and use the internet at the same time. The campsite had wifi but not free, in fact it was a ridiculous price. You could run the internet at home for month on what they wanted for two hours! It was here that Mary checked the NZ news and learnt of the earthquake in Christchurch. It had only just happened and was breaking news. She probably found out about it before most of those back home as it would only have been just after 5am in NZ when she read about it.

This was the night they were going to the Mozart concert which was just nearby. They got there in plenty of time along with all the other tourists. This was one place you were allowed to take your camera in and there were a lot of photos being taken. The music was superb and the whole programme enjoyable. The orchestra was the Vienna Mozart Orchestra all dressed in historical costumes to give an impression of an authentic Baroque era. The concert was in the style of “musical academies” as concerts were known in Mozart’s time. The programme includes single movements from symphonies and solo concertos as well as operatic arias and duets from well known works. At the end they played the blue Danube Waltz and Radetsky March by Strauss. It must be quite a boring gig for the musicians as they play 4 times a week, but they probably have a wide number they can call on to fill the seats as it was only a 30 piece salon orchestra. The performance was polished and flawless.

The trip back was easy and they managed to do all the changes of train without any waiting and were home in bed by 11pm which was very good.

Pania Gets a Taste of Vienna

Thursday September 2nd

To get to the Vienna transport system they had to catch an overland commuter train four stops. So they went over to the station and bought the ticket for this and the train came along shortly afterwards. These trains are modern fast and smooth. At the stop there was a U Bahn, underground train waiting so they managed to get onto that and with one more change were in the centre of Vienna. As soon as they emerged from the underground they were pounced on by a man dressed in 18th century costume selling tickets to a Mozart concert. As it happened it was the concert they had been considering going to. Apart from being a very good salesman he was also very helpful and showed them on their map where they were and where other things were in and around the main part of the old town. The front of the cathedral was swarming with similar costumed people all selling various Strauss and Mozart concerts. He was able to show them the box plan and the options and prices. This particular concert, which is primarily for the tourists, rotates through all the major concert halls during the year.

Their first stop was Stephansdom, the cathedral. The guide book gave the impression that there were more features worth looking at on the exterior than the inside. Looking inside they agreed and didn’t pay €4.50 to look around. There was plenty to see by just looking in at the back. The finest feature is the tiled roof covered with 250,000 colourful tiles laid out as the Hasburg coat of Arms.
Mozarthaus was nearby so they spent the rest of the morning here. This exhibition was on three floors and first two being an exhibition tracing his life and work and the last one being the town house where he for over two years and composed The Marriage of Figaro here. The audio guide was excellent, complete with appropriate excerpts of music. It gave a fascinating insight into his life and was probably more realistic than the movie Amadeus. It was 1.30 by the time they got out of there so they found a place to sit and eat their lunch and plan the rest of the afternoon.


There were other things to see in the vicinity so they set out on a walking tour. There were several magnificent Baroque churches to visit on the walk each one special in its own way. However the Jesuit Church turned out to be a real find. Here they ended up with their own private tour guide. There was a woman volunteer in the church who spoke really good English and she started to show them around. She showed them things they would never have noticed. She was absolutely passionate about the place and rightly so as it had many unique features, It dates back to 1631 although the Baroque appearance dates from 1703. It really has to be seen to be believed. All the walls and ceilings are covered with Frescos. A lot of illusionary techniques have been used in the paintings to give a 3D effect including a ceiling dome which isn’t really a dome at all. All the side chapels have painted domes as well except for one. The inlaid wood work on the doors, pews and pulpits is indescribable. A lot has mother of pearl inlaid. The only modern feature is a new altar for services today. It is made of 12 concrete chairs representing the disciples and the 13th chair that the priest sits on represents the chair for Jesus. There used to be a modern cross made of lego standing on it but it was repeatedly vandalised by people who couldn’t cope with a modern image, so it has now been placed in the pulpit out of the reach of tourists. The middle part of the cross is a tuck symbolic of the fact that nothing stands still and everything is always moving on. Things like this were told to them by this lovely lady. Mary asked her where she had learnt her English and it turns out she had been an Au Pair in London 40 years ago.


From there it was pretty much general walking and finding places of interest. They did get over as far as the Opera house to inquire about tours in the next two days, but there are no English speaking tours until Sunday and they won’t be around by then.

So it was back into the subway to negotiate the train system back to the camp. It was all very easy even though there were two stations called Klosterneuburg. They got off at the second one which was the correct one and had a late dinner and went to bed.

I Catch a Cold

Wednesday September 1

When Mary woke up at 6am this morning it was only 7° in the van. Yes it is the first day of autumn, but that is ridiculously cold. She had to find multiple layers of clothing just to be able to sit up in bed and write the diary. They are going to have to buy a heater if it stays this cold. The photo is of me parked in the field and shows all the Solar heatingpanels at the camp and this would be about a quarter of them. Didn't warm me up though! And yes there were very few people staying here.

Little did they know that the cold had really got to me as well. After packing up they set out and followed the Tom Tom directions. Mary noticed that I was not running as well as usual. I got a real case of the coughs and splutters. She hoped I would feel better after a few kilometres but things went from bad to worse and faced with a hill climb, I couldn’t cope. At this stage Mary knew something was dreadfully wrong, so suggested that they go back to the main town and seek help as they seemed to be heading out of civilization. So they turned around. Alan said just drive on but she wouldn't have a bar of that. On the outskirts of town was a Renault garage so they pulled in there but no one spoke English but one man did have enough idea of how to direct them to the VW garage through the other end of town. They managed to get down there without stalling. Again no one spoke English, but they found a man who understood a little and he said to go to the next town which was bigger. He found the address of the VW people there and they put that into the Tom Tom and set off. By now I had warmed up and was feeling a lot better. I was nearly back to my old self.

The feathers and fur contingent on the back seat took all this in their stride. They had absolute confidence that I would get better. Not so in front though. It was looking like the end of the golden run.

They did find the VW garage easily using the Tom Tom but again no one spoke English. Luckily they found someone who did and he translated to the others. They said they couldn’t help as I was too old and if I needed parts they wouldn’t have any and it would take 3 days to get them. But they did give the name of another place to try, so into the Tom Tom with that address. He also drew a good map with features to look for like KFC and Nissan. When they got near they stopped in a carpark and found that I was idling fine with no accelerator and quite smoothly. They decided that it must have been the extremely cold snap. It would have been down well below 7° in the night and as it turns out I don’t do the cold either.
Alan got out the original manual and it basically gave the instructions for starting in cold weather. It seems VW’s take a bit if warming up when it is really cold so the panic was over. He reset the Tom Tom to go in the direction of Vienna and it turned out we had not gone out of our way at all, just taken a route that wasn’t a short cut through hills and back country. So it had been a good decision to turn around.

The drive was straightforward from there on apart for a stop to eat lunch and pick up a few groceries. Some English people in the last place we were staying suggested we come to Klosterneuburg as the transport links to Vienna are so good from here. You literally step out the gate onto the train. They said to buy a 3 day travel pass which you can buy at the camp. So they decided to take their advice and come here. They got one of the last two places left for vans in the whole camp and this is the late in the season. It is jammed packed full of campervans with very little space in between each one. It is top of the range and well set up for Vienna with brochures and booking facilities for tours and shows. The people speak excellent English and are really helpful. So they got all the info they need and sat in the sun, yes the sun, and planned the next three days. There is way too much to see in three days so they will have to be selective. Mary decided to go and buy the travel passes straight away as they come with a book of discounts and offers and that helped in planning what to see and do.

Mary also decided that all the bed linen was overdue for a wash and got that all organised as well while they looked at the brochures. She was never going to risk washing it where there was no drier. After a really good meal they made up the bed and tried to watch some TV but were too tired and ended up packing it in and going to sleep.

Patariki Takes Ber Lin to See Real Bears

Tuesday August 31st

Surprise, surprise it is still raining and still only 10°. Mary keeps thinking about the suitcase with the winter clothes in that she left back with Hamish. They won’t see those for another month. The comment from her sister about the temperature in Wanganui being 18° didn’t help. Put it down to climate change. Could be some shopping about to happen. She slept with her fleece jacket on last night which was a good move as she didn’t feel cold. At one of the Asian shops in CK they had both bought some really warm socks to wear in bed as well so it had been a comfortable night. Mind you there was an overwhelming temptation to stay in bed and crank up the computer and watch a few movies, but they had decided to stay here a second night to see the Castle and the Baroque Theatre so they got up and drove back to P1 the great parking place with the little bridge into the town.

They walked slowly in the direction of the Castle taking photos and videos on the way and finally got to the ticket office to find that the English Tour of the Baroque Theatre started in 4 minutes. So they quickly made their way to the starting point. There were only five people on the tour and the young Czech girl doing the commentary had learnt it all carefully and spoke slowly and clearly in immaculate English. You had to admire her tenacity because it was no easy task. This tour was to be the highlight of the day. It is described in all the publicity as the Castle’s unique gem. There are only two theatres in the world where the entire original equipment from the 18th century has been preserved and this is one, the other being in Sweden. 300 painted parts of stage scenery have been preserved which enable the building of 13 basic sets with endless variations. We were taken under the stage to see how the sets could be changed in 10 -12 seconds by hooking the right ropes and turning a central spindle. There could be up to 40 scene changes in a production without interrupting the action. There were also trap doors that could be used to bring people or items needed for the set up or down really fast. It was all done with an ingenious system of ropes, pulleys, winches and sliding frames. There is also an extensive collection of early lighting equipment which would have all been done with candles or oil lamps. Added to this was a whole series of sound effects imitating the rain, thunder, wind and the rattle of coach wheels. These sounds were all demonstrated by the guide.

At the end we were shown a movie of the scenery being changed and all the quirky features. They also showed a production taking place. Unfortunately the season is over now and there was no chance of seeing it. It would be hard to get a seat and the seating is just wooden planks with no backs, in the stalls. There is a gallery where the gentry sat, but it would be exceptionally expensive to get a seat up there. The museum where they house all the sets and costumes is only open on a few occasions a year so they were unable to visit it. In the museum there are over 600 pieces of original costumes and accessories preserved, along with technical apparatus and materials for the stage.

Although the day was wet and gloomy the decision to stay was justified by seeing this magic place alone. They went back to Hemi to boil up for a cup of soup as they had done the day before. They had already bought tickets for the Upper Castle Tour at 13.50, so had a bit of time to kill.

The tour takes you through rooms inhabited by lords of bygone days. The tour guide was excellent and fluent in English and able to answer questions easily. She hadn’t had to painstakingly learn the script by rote but could talk about it off the top of her head confidently. One of the highlights was the gold coach displaying remarkable woodcarved ornamentation and gilding. It had been made in Rome in 1638. The other outstanding room was The Masquerade Hall. It was completely covered with murals which included Harlequin, aristocrats in fancy dress, Chinese and Turks. There is clever use of mirrors as well. The artist who painted the murals also painted his own portrait in one corner drinking coffee out of pot with his name on.

On the way out of the Castle complex Ber Lin finally got to see the real bears in the bear moat. He was pleased he didn’t have to live down there and be watched by tourists all day.
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They found a nice warm internet cafe with free wifi and spent their remaining Czech crowns on coffee and cake followed by drinks. It was nice to have access to fast indoor internet. The internet at the camp was flaky to say the least and you had to sit on a seat outside the office where you could hardly see the screen and hope for the best. The cafe seemed to be full of people with laptops.

Back at the camp they worked on their diaries and then had dinner which warmed the van up nicely. Then off to bed to watch some more TV. The entertainment drive is really coming into its own now the evenings are cooler. (Thanks Craig) Thankfully it is really warm in bed and the netbook makes an excellent TV.