A Little Town Called St. Gilgen

Mitch and I signed up for a day trip to Salzburg, and enroute we made a lightning stop in St. Gilgen. It was still quite early in the morning and most of the locals weren't up yet. It was so cold I could see the air coming out of my mouth as I breathe.

Breathtaking view

Lane leading from the St. Gilgen bus station

Our guide took us on a brisk walk around the town and town square. I would really have loved to stroll this place at my own pace, with perhaps a coffee on one of its many terraced restaurants. Unfortunately, it was not to be the case.

A quick shot of Mitch before hurrying after our group

Outside the Town Hall (I think!)

A mother with her children on a brisk morning walk

Cable cars going up to the ski base

Cable cars going across the town

Overlooking the roofs and across to the mountains beyond

Glad we made the stop but would definitely have preferred to spend more time here!

Vienna Sights - Kunthistorisches Museum

Vienna is actually a very walkable city, with most of its major sights within reach of each other. All one would really require is a good pair of walking shoes. Well, if even I can manage it, I think everyone else would have no trouble!

The first majot sight we visited was the Kunthistorisches Museum, part of the Museumquartier complex. First impression - Huge. First thought - No way I'm going to explore every inch of this place!

If our first sighting of it already took our breath away, we were astounded when we rounded the corner and came upon the central courtyard of sorts. The Kunthistoriches was paralel facing another similar sized building (I have forgotten its name now) and smack right in the middle between them was a giant-sized statue of Marie Therese.

Some of the items on display inside the museum.

Huge marble sculpture of 'Theseus Defeats The Centaur' greeting visitors at the top of the marble stairs

Mummy sarcophagi in the Egyptian Wing

Ancient Egyptian jewelry

Greek relief in the Greek Wing

After leaving the Museum, we came across a huge statue of Goethe on the streets.

Vienna Part 1

This was my most recent 'major overseas' trip, with Mitch. It's our first trip together, and overall I think it went quite well. We complement each other quite well and I wouldn't mind travelling with her again. To think that the idea of this trip was hatched whilst I was still on my other overseas trip - Turkey!

Me and Mitch at Schonbrunn Palace

My expectations of Vienna were all ballroom waltzing and operas, but obviously the city had more than that to offer. Although the weather wasn't all that friendly to me, 'twas raining, cold and windy, we did manage to make the most of our trip there with even some side trips out into the country side.

Food was so-so, Western food is all about the sauces and Viennese Schnitzel is about as dry as they come. In fact, the best meal we had was at Naschmarkt in this little eatery that serves Turkish food! Our little attempt at Chinese food also failed miserably, in fact the Szechuan Soup was a downright disappointment. It's only saving grace was that it was piping hot.

Turkish Hummus at Naschmarkt

Myriad of cheese for sale at Naschmarkt

Pickles galore at Naschmarkt

The famous Austrian Pork Schnitzel

Sacher Cake. Another famous Austrian must-have.

This looks dry but is actually quite good

We managed to take in most of the major sights around Vienna although had to give some up due to the vastness of the places. On average, it took us about a day to visit just one site.

*Next post - highlights of the sights in Vienna

The Great Wall

This was one of our earlier family trips way back in 2001.

This plague reads "You are not a true Chinese until you have climbed the Great Wall"

A footnote : We had to wait like forever to finally get this plague to ourselves for the photoshot!

At the foot of the Wall

The Great Wall of China was indeed magnificent, and totally packed with people! The inactive me only made it up to the first outpost, but actually, most people only made it there too so I didn't feel that bad! Some of the steps were literally half my height and in the end, I just resorted to climbing on all fours!

HT at the second outpost

After that I happily spent my time browsing in this tiny little souvenir stall tucked away to one side with Dad. Not many people noticed this stall, and in the end, we were the only two people in our group who walked away with a tiny plague stating that we had climbed the Great Wall (me in my high heeled boots, no less!).

I have to say, the Great Wall was mighty impressive and I wouldn't mind returning again.