Rod purchased each of us a 3 day Salzburg card which gave us free access to all museums, attractions and public transport. We needed to plan our 3 days in order to get the best value for money, of course. We also were keen to keep Hamish busy in the lead up to Christmas. The weather has been just beautiful: clear blue skies, 10 – 12 degrees, no wind, no fog, so any activity that required some outdoor time was very comfortable.

 

Day 1 – Tuesday – Castle/Toy Museum

We kicked off our three days of adventures with a funicular ride up the side of a hill to Salzburg Castle. The ride itself was worth the effort and the castle provided spectacular views of the city and countryside.

The section of the funicular we were in was full, but then one family of 5 just squeezed in at the last moment. They were Australians – we found this out immediately because they were telling one of their children to “Stop that and come and stand here!” Oh, yes parents, the struggle is real. Hamish and the older son, also 5, struck up a friendship in the next few minutes and as a result, we ended up spending the morning with them. This gave both sets of parents a bit of a break – double the adults, two children occupied, one in a pusher (mostly). Turns out this family has just moved to the UK from Newcastle and were chasing a ‘white Christmas’.

The kids had plenty of space to run around and it seems this is just what Hamish needed (to hang out with some kids, not the running around part). We decided to risk the 1.3km walk to the Modern Museum where we caught the Monchsberg Lift back down to ground level. The views along this walk were again, spectacular in all directions.

We said goodbye to our Aussie friends and had a lovely, cheap and delicious picnic by the banks of the Salzach River. We were amazed again, by the weather – who would have thought we’d be sitting in the sunshine eating a picnic in the middle of December? Not us. We were further amazed by a busker playing a didgeridoo. Australians in Austria – turns out there’s heaps of us here.

The toy museum was three levels of brilliant. It has the museum old toy display part, but also has plenty of toys and activities for kids to do. It was great. There was a shop to play in, a slide, a reading room (no books in English, unfortunately), trains sets, theatre, mirror maze, blocks, marbles, Lego, interactive displays, life size meccano and some hidden drawers, which Hamish found and loved playing in.

 

Day 2 – Wednesday – Nature Museum/Mozart Museum/Cable Car

We had originally planned to do the Cable Car ride first thing, but I changed my mind that morning, thinking that Hamish might have more energy for the Nature Museum early in the day, rather than later. Plus, I didn’t want the Cable Car trumping other activities for the day.

Hamish and I went to the Nature (and Science) Museum whilst Rod went to the Mozart Museum. Hamish and I had a great time exploring the four levels, with plenty of things to keep us both interested and occupied. We were to meet Rod by the river bank at 1230, so just didn’t have time to go to the three floors of the science/technology building (we will get back there this week).

I (Rod writing now) visited Mozart’s birthplace/original home, which was full of artefacts, information and recreations from the 18^th century. It did feel quite overwhelming to realise I was actually standing in the room where Mozart drew his first breath. However, it was much more than just a building where he started his life. There was a wealth of information detailing many facets of his and his family’s lives. Room after room appeared with a new twist on his tale, before I ended up in the gift shop, of course. From here I walked to the Salzburg Panorama, a 360⁰ work of art, portraying the town in about 1829.

Rod picked up lunch from our new favourite place (‘backwerk’ – basically a take away sandwich shop, but it’s way better than it sounds) and we met him for another picnic in the sunshine.

After this, we walked to Mirabellplatz to catch the bus to the Cable Car Untersberg, about a 30 minute trip. Now, I had already seen the cable car in the far off distance on more than one occasion – looked like a matchbox on a piece of string. So it was really Rod (he has a fear of heights) I was concerned for, I mean, once you’re on that sucker, you’re not getting off till you reach the summit (elevation of just over 1700m).

Up close, the match box cable car was a decent size and we jammed 30-40 people in there. Hamish weaselled his way to the very front, I could see his red jacket, but not much else. I told him if he could see to stay there, which got a few laughs. The South African man standing directly behind Hamish told me he’d box him in to ensure he was stable. See, people are still nice.

The trip to the summit took approximately 10 minutes and it was spectacular. A few Japanese girls had the nervous giggles which made the scarier parts funny. Once at the top, it was like standing on top of the world and I know this sounds clichéd, but there’s no other way to describe it. Just seeing the rest of the snow covered Alps in the distance was incredible. Turns out Rod was OK with the trip, but not so good once we were outside walking around on the mountain top. Hamish got to touch some ‘snow’ (probably last year’s) and we caught the next cable car down. Again, Hamish got front row seats and this time an older Australian couple said they’d keep an eye on him.

 

Day 3 – Thursday – Christmas Eve – Zoo

Shops are closed for 4 days from Christmas Eve lunch time, till the 28^th, so this morning I did a last minute shop whilst Rod took Hamish to the park. We had a quick lunch at home and caught the bus to the Zoo. There were plenty of parents there with presumably the same idea as us – keep the kids busy, wear them out, early into bed Christmas Eve. The Zoo didn’t look very big, but we spent the best part of 3 hours there and even saw some Reindeer. Hamish and I thought perhaps they were resting for their big night ahead – maybe Santa gets them for the Salzburg leg to give the others a break? Many of the animals had Christmas trees in their enclosures, decorated with apples and carrots for them to eat. Stand out animals at the Zoo included a White Rhino and her baby, Griffin Vultures, Snow Leopards and Otters. The Zoo runs alongside a sheer cliff face which provides a remarkable backdrop.

After Rod was accused of being ‘the worst daddy in the world’, (he stopped Hamish from kicking a toy excavator another child was using) we caught our bus back home. I suggested tracking Santa on the internet – this worked wonders with Hamish. We kept up our usual Christmas Eve traditions: carrots and water for the Reindeer, drink, snack and letter for Santa and managed to get a tired, excited boy into bed by 8pm.