Week 49: Belgium and Austria

This post is coming to you from the 22^nd country we have visited this year! This week was filled with exploring beautiful European cities and the incredible landscape that surrounds them.

We kicked off this last week with a big travel day and a milestone- celebrating nine years of marriage! We woke up in Edinburgh, Scotland, and flew out from there just before 6:00am. We arrived in Brussels, Belgium just before 9:00am, and headed out for a few hours downtown. We walked around the Grand Market area, exploring some of the interesting shopping areas and buildings. We then enjoyed some delicious waffles and ice cream in a park! We walked through the Grand Place and next to St. Michael’s church, and then spent some time enjoying Brussels Park, complete with fountain, a gazebo for performances, great walking paths, and a view of the Royal Palace. Here we also enjoyed some Belgium beer and lunch in the park before heading back up to the airport. 

We flew out again at 3:45pm, and landed in Vienna, Austria at 5:20pm. We figured out the transit system easily and made our way to our new home for a few days. We stayed in an AirBnB with a couple of great girls, and were in a great location for exploring the city. We even had one of the best pizza places (Disco Volante) in the city on our street, so we took advantage of that for dinner! 

The following day was a big walking day in Vienna. We headed up to Westerhof station to get our tickets for Salzburg later this week, and then headed over to Schoonbrun Palace. Man, is this place impressive! Our friends Tanya and Zo had raved about this place, so we knew it would be a great place to spend some time. We walked through so many beautiful gardens, some with fountains and many with flowers. We enjoyed a picnic lunch in a garden all to ourselves. Although we didn’t visit the zoo, this palace is also home to the oldest continually running zoo in Europe. We did, however, spend some time in the mazes on the property. We walked through the labyrinth and a few of the themed paths they had, and then split up to conquer the hedge maze. Is anyone surprised that Will finished in record time, and ended up giving me hints from a platform above?? There were so many fun features for children and adults alike- crazy mirrors, musical dancing games, and so much more. For those who remember Tanya’s note I found hidden in a temple in Thailand earlier this year, I tried to find a good place to put a note for their visit here later this month, but the Austrians are far too neat and tidy to allow a note to go unnoticed anywhere that long! After we finished with the mazes, we walked up to the Gloriette, which gave us a great view of the palace and part of Vienna. On our way back out, we walked by the Privy gardens and Orangery. There are so many nooks and crannies here; Schoonbrun is certainly a great place for a day trip!

Later that evening, we headed up to Naschmarkt, a massive outdoor foods/goods market. The area was lined with vendors as far as the eye could see! We were treated to many generous samples of candied fruit, nuts, meat, and cheese. Vendors were also selling oil and vinegar, pastries, falafels, sandwiches, schnitzel, chocolates, and seafood. Amongst the array of fruit and vegetables were wide selections of olives and dates, and tomatoes that didn’t even fit in my hand! There were many souvenir shops as well, selling fancy beer steins in amongst all of the traditional souvenirs. We bought a few items to snack on while we walked around, and then sat to enjoy a group of women singing for a little while. There were many restaurant choices here as well, but we decided to buy a few items from different booths and enjoy a little mixed plate of cheese, meat, bread, fruit, and nuts. 

We spent the next morning exploring the Old Town. Our walk took us to the Opera House, Albertina, Burggarten park, Hofburg Palace, Volksgarten park, Theseus Temple, the Austrian National Theatre, Palais Ferstel, Rathauspark, the Austrian Parliament building, Justizpalast, and Palais Auesperg (where Mozart first played in Vienna at the age of 6). We stopped at Schweizergarten for a picnic lunch, and then walked around the gardens of Belvedere Palace. We loved the leveled fountains and gardens here. We then walked around Resselpark, Karlskirche, and the Red Army memorial before heading over to the Museum Quartier to soak up the atmosphere outside the MUMOK, Kunsthalle Wien, and Leopold Museums. We did some shopping, and Will finally found some shoes to replace his that were falling apart. We returned on the metro to our part of town, and walked over to explore the Haus des Meeres, which is a tall aquarium with a massive climbing wall on the outside of it. 

During our days in Vienna, we came to learn that this is a very tidy city, and one that is filled with elaborate gardens, great walking streets, and endless possibilities for museum goers. Before we had arrived, locals said that the weather had been really warm and sunny for a few weeks. However, they were experiencing a change in weather when we were there, and with rain off and on throughout the day, we just had to be prepared with a rain jacket each day. The weather was still warm though, and we did have some really sunny moments in between the clouds. 

On Saturday morning, we headed out on the train towards Salzburg. We rode through bright green manicured hills, and passed small clusters of houses. After getting some information about potential daytrips and sights to see, we walked downtown. Salzburg’s waterfront was such a beautiful sight to take in! We explored the many vendor tents set up on the water’s edge, and then walked over to Augustiner Braustubl biergarten, which had been recommended to us by our friends Krista and Mike. It was packed in there for the France vs. Argentina game, and we got swept up in all of the excitement. If all sporting events were like this, I could easily become a sports fan!

Sunday, July 1 marked one year since we left BC soil. What better way to remind us of the beauty we left behind than getting out into the mountains?! While looking into activities in Salzburg, we learned that most places in Austria are closed on Sundays. So, we decided to save the city tours for another day, and instead, hopped on a train down to Werfen. We really enjoyed the views of the hills and mountains, the tidy fields, and the Bavarian style homes. We also thoroughly enjoyed the warm sunshine! Once we were in Werfen, we caught a shuttle up to the ticket office for the Eisriesenwelt Cave. This ice giant is the largest in the world! Although most people opt for the cable car to the cave, we decided to hike up instead. The trail was well maintained, and after a little more than an hour of steep climbing, we reached the cave. Before going into the cave, we layered up to prepare ourselves for 0 degrees Celsius and the major wind tunnel you have to pass through as you enter the cave! The hour-long tour inside the cave took us up 700 stairs, and through the first kilometre of this 42km deep cave. The tours of this cave started in 1920, but the tours took many hours because there were no stairs at that time. The wind had worked it’s magic inside this cave, creating these phenomenal tunnels and walls and cones. We were not permitted to take our own photos inside (no artificial light at all allowed inside the caves), but I have included some from their Facebook page so you can see how awesome this cave was! 

After hiking back down the mountain, we set off on the Sound of Music trail, which was recommended to us by our friends Tanya and Zo. After seeing their photos from this trail, we knew we had to see it for ourselves! This trail was very well signed, and it led us through a few different themed stations before reaching the top. The view of the mountains and Hohenwerfen Fortress were stunning, and we enjoyed hanging out here for a little while. We just had the perfect day for exploring in the mountains!

On Monday, we set off very early for a bus and then a train that would take us down to Obertraun. When we got off the train, we walked up to the ticket office for the Dachstein Five Finger Lookout. We rode up the mountain on two cable cars, reaching 2100m at the top. We were so lucky to get a day that was clear and sunny! We walked around at the top, absolutely in awe of the stunning mountains surrounding us. We ventured over to a structure that had a viewpoint where we watched paragliders fly over the mountains and lakes way down below. We then enjoyed some of the best scenery we’ve ever had for a picnic lunch! 

After lunch, we walked on the wide trail down to the Five Finger Lookout. Each “finger” was different and gave visitors a slightly different view, but they were all magnificent. 

After soaking up the views out there, we headed back towards the lodge at the top and set off on the Karstwanderweg trail, a 9km trail that takes you on a loop around to the end of the third cable car. This trail was mostly flat, and took us by some scrubby bushes, a small ice cave, and a little lake. Oh, and a shark structure that you could climb inside. 

Mountains surrounded us at all times. This place would be a skier’s paradise in the winter! 

We finished the hike with a ride back on the third cable car, and then rode down the other two to get back to the base of the mountain. Here we caught a bus into Hallstatt, and spent some time wandering around this picturesque town. Everything about this town was picture worthy. After walking around and snapping photos, we enjoyed a beer and bosna as we stared out at the water. Later on that evening, we returned to Salzburg via three bus transfers. 

Act of kindness:  we were especially thankful this week to our friends who have travelled here before and given us awesome recommendations about activities and places to see. In addition to the friends I mentioned above, I want to thank my friend Pam for her recommendations and her love of the Sound of Music… it’s incredible how many sights here look like they are taken straight from the movie!