Salzberg Part 2

On Friday we went back into Salzberg to hit some sights we weren't able to see the day before. We were hoping to visit the Fortress, which is a really awesome structure built high up on a hill. We thought a boat ride afterwards would be great since we could be sitting down and sightseeing at the same time. Then maybe the Toy Museum. We started off at the bridge that they run across in the Sound of Music. We didn't run across it though, we were too busy getting out of the way of all the bikers that have a bike path right next to the bridge and take it very seriously if you get in their path and aren't on two wheels at the time.
The bridge is neat and affords you a good view of the fortress.

On the way to the fortress we walked around a central area with some cool historic buildings. I wish I could tell you more about them, but we were all so HOT that we weren't really concerned that we didn't have our Rick Steve's books with us at the time. So, let's just say that we saw some really old and really cool buildings with significant historical importance that we were gonna forget sooner rather than later anyways, so its ok that we didn't have all their names and dates. The kids saw segways and really wanted to rent some and ride those around the city. I kinda wanted to see my two pregnant friends zipping through Salzberg on them too, but that wouldn't have been the smartest idea, so we passed on that thought.




Well, guess what? It was SO HOT that by the time we got to the Fortress, we were cookin'. We took a funicular (think of a cable car that goes sideways up the hill) to the Fortress. We walked around a bit and were able to have a great view of the whole city.



Here's Ella walking around the Fortress. In fact, this is how she walked around during our whole trip: holding hands with someone. Not with me, but with another kid. Or kids. Sometimes with Adeline, a cute little 5 year old, sometimes with Kathryn Price, an older girl, but USUALLY she held hands with a boy. Or in this case, TWO boys. Should I start being concerned? Find a good parochial school? Maybe look into a convent since we are in Salzberg and seeing The Sound of Music sights, so if it was good enough for Julie Andrews, maybe Ella should follow in those musical footsteps? Well, I decided that the boys she was holding hands with are both from AWESOME families. The Booths and Jensens are wonderful people with great standards and morals, so maybe I should give them both a cow and a quilt, call that a dowry, and catch up with one of them in about 18 years.



We contemplated taking the tour of the castle, but you couldn't do it at your own leisure, you had to stay with the group. Not good. 11 kids forced to be quiet and listen to a German guide tell historical facts. That would be harder than keeping them quiet during sacrament meeting. So, we passed on the tour and just walked around on our own. We went inside a room that had great puppets. My kids had fun pretending in there for a while.



After walking around the Fortress, we were all hot and hungry. We found a perfect shady spot for a picnic lunch. My kids of course choose playing over food, so they found a wooden 'horse' to play on and a big box of blocks to play in. They eventually came to me for food, and later money for ice cream.


After sitting and visiting for a while, we decided that it was too hot to be wandering around the city, and we would miss the next boat ride anyways. How about if we go back to the Hellbrun park and let the kids play? They had the best time there yesterday, and we didn't get to stay long enough since it was getting late last night when we were there. So, more sightseeing was cancelled in favor of letting the kids play and have fun. And, just like the hokey pokey, THAT'S WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT!

Here's Mason and me going on the zipline. I was feeling all good about losing a few pounds until I went on the zip line with him and my rear nearly touched the ground along our ride the whole time. We were centimeters from dragging along the grass during our zipping. Mason LOVED going on the zip line though and we are thinking of installing a smaller version in his bedroom from his bunkbed to his shrunk (German closet).