After a good nights rest I woke up and decided to check out the hotel breakfast that came with my booking. Tons of food. Eggs of every sort, pastries, fruit, yogurt and honey, jams, deli meats and cheese, juices, fruit and coffee all served in a lovely dining room. It is funny because I decided to stay at a nice high end hotel, book first class train tickets and got the flight upgrade and it is all very nice but I must say it all makes me a little nervous too as if I am not sure what is to come or what might be expected of me and I am waiting for someone to point out that I don't belong. Oh well I will do my best to get over it and enjoy the great service.
This morning I decided to head over to the old town and wander through some cathedrals, see some familiar sound of music favourite sights and see what I could get up to before I head to Hellbrunn. So I wandered down to the river by the famous Hotel Sacher and took a few photos of the river and surrounding buildings. Passing over the river I walked down to snap a shot of a cute little church when I saw a courtyard near the Sternbrau (star brewery)where a christmas market was set up. Oh my! All hand blown glasswork ornaments, wooden toys and ornaments. I would show pictures of them but that is giving away some presents. After that I wandered through some of the pedestrian shopping way and headed towards the festspielehaus (the large concert hall seen in sound of music) and the horse baths. I love this area of town. The horse baths and fountains are amazing. Unfortunately a lot of the fountains and my favourite spots are closed or encased for the winter to avoid damage. This is ok though because it is helping me see other sides of the city. I then wandered over to St. Peter's Cathedral and Cemetery. Again this is the cemetery in the end of the sound of music where they hid from the army and from Rolph. Some of it is even built into the side of the Monchsberg (named for the monks there). After here I headed towards the main Dom and once again headed through the Christmas market at the Domplatz. I was lucky to get into the Cathedral before it was getting too busy. I was able to catch all the bells ringing at noon. We need more bells. I know they can be annoying but there is something lovely about hearing all the cathedral bells ring out to announce the hour. I have posted a link to a recording of it here. Sorry the video is sideways becuase it was my first video with this phone. It is such an extraordinary place. After I left the Cathedral I grabbed a quick schnitzel on a bun and a cinnamon and vanilla sugar pretzel and headed back to the hotel to drop off my shopping and repack my bag. I also decided to do an update and unload some photos before I head to catch the bus out to Hellbrunn palace.
Cheers! Part 2 will follow later. I am also hoping to catch dinner later at the Stadtkrug. A highly recommended restaurant with the best Schnitzel and Spatzle in town!
