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Day
5 (Halstatt to Salzburg)
The
rain from the previous night still had the roads
wet, but Halstatt was cold & cloudy this morning
but the rain gods decided to take a break.
Had
breakfast & finished the morning routine of
packing, loading the bike and started out along
the lake & set the GPS to Salzburg. On the
way stopped at Steeg for some pics and then carried
on to Bad Ischl.
From
Bad Ischl, we turned left onto road B158 and passed
Aschau, Strobl, Zinkenbach, Wolfgangsee(lake),
Fuschl, Fuscl lake and stopped at Hof for a light
lunch. The ride again was thru scenic backroads
passing 2 lakes & rolling mountains dotted
with small villages along the route.
At
the gas station in Hof we met a very friendly
mother & son duo who were from Salzburg and
they advised us to take a Zimmer (B&B) around
the area of Hof as accommodations are generally
overpriced in Salzburg city (like everything else!).
Besides, Hof was barely a half an hour ride from
Salzburg. So we went around searching for a Zimmer.
We found one on the road, but the owner had a
huge dog there and before I know, my brave wife
scooted towards the bike indicating- we search
for another place without a big dog! Finally found
a place a few kms ahead at Koppl for Euro 38 per
person at the Gasthof Am Riedl.
BTW,
all the B&B that we stayed at during this
trip may be in remote towns, but they all have
WiFi connectivity right in your room and most
importantly- its FREE. OK, as a bonus some of
them also have a huge dog (I can already see my
wife turn blue!). Anyway, we put our baggage at
the Gasthof in Koppl and headed to Salzburg city.
Being
a sunday, I could park at a place that is otherwise
reserved for cars right beside the Salzach river
close to the Mozartplatz. We put our jackets,
helmets, gloves etc into the topcase and then
toured the city by foot. At first my wife had
a brilliant idea to use the GPS to guide us while
walking to various tourist spots but soon we had
to abandon that plan as the GPS started loudly
prompting in a female voice sentences like “turn
right to whatever strassa at 50 meters” etc.
Soon we saw lot of anxious faces amongst the crowd
staring at us as if we are visually challenged
& needed help. So I quietly put back the GPS
in the bag and decided to look at old fashioned
maps and make our way to the spots. But I had
forgotten to switch off the unit and then from
inside the bag it shouts out “satellite connection
lost”!! We had a good laugh over it that
night.
Visited
Mirabell gardens (seen in the ever famous Do-Re-Mi
song from Sound of Music), Mozart’s birthplace,
Franziskanerchurch and few other places. Finally
settled for dinner at a Japanese Restaurant and
got ripped off on the soft drinks!
In brief, Salzburg has lots of places to visit,
but many of it is related to Mozart and the remaining
to the Sound of Music. Personally, I feel it’s
a small & beautiful city but too much of Mozart
could be overwhelming to some.
Modern
day Mozart in silver paint posing for tourists
for a dime
I
am always fascinated with buses
 Pics
from the Mercedes merchandise shop
An
Indian restaurant- No we didn’t eat there
Mirabell
Gardens: Where the movie ‘Sound of Music’
was filmed 45 years ago
This
little fellow suddenly happened to pass by
Our
expensive Japanese Dinner- Each soft drink cost
us Euro 3.80 so guess the rest!
My
wife’s fascination for cop cars continues
in Salzburg
Returning
back to our B&B for the night in Koppl just
outside Salzburg
Room
with a view- Thank you
Some
of the unsung heroes of our trip
Michellin
maps, Zumo 660 GPS & Chatterbox Intercom
Total
distance traveled for the day 123kms. We purposely
kept the ride short today to allow some time to
walk around Salzburg & enjoy the sights in
this place like regular tourists with a camera
hanging around the neck rather than walking like
aliens from outer space in our riding suits, helmets,
boots etc. So far the trip was all about the ride
& not the destination, but for today we decided
to keep some for the destination also!
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