Christmas markets in Europe and Caribbean cruise (RTW)

[RooFlyer]

That evening, I had dinner at a nice wine bar I spotted with this menu posted outside. Oysters!



Menu inside





Goose terrine, pate en croute, bread and a Grand Cru Riesling.



The Brittany hollow oysters were a big disappointment. Lean and not much sea flavour, as, they say on the menu, they are finished in fresh water.





Then another round of the markets







Will I go the Nutella and waffle?



Nooooo - Nutella and crepe.

 

[RooFlyer]

Next day, it was over to Salzburg by train. A bit apprehensive about this one, with three segments, 2 on DB Strasbourg-Stuttgart-Munich and 1 on the Austrian OBB Munich-Salzburg (thinking about delays/cancellations). As it happened, all went well; a bit of a delay on the first and last legs, but nothing dramatic.



Cold and desolate on the Strasbourg platform. I haven't yet got the hang of trains - that you can turn up abt 10 mins prior and just get on. I'm in airline mode an arrive an hour before (but have some breakfast at the station).



Here's the ride



DB Navigator app continued to work a charm - constantly updating info, times etc.



First class seating -the first leg practically deserted





Wifi continues to be a dead loss

 

[RooFlyer]

The second and third legs were just about packed. I had an Aussie sit next to me for the leg Munich to Salzburg - we both said that each other was the first Aussie we had met on our respective tours. A few breaks in the cloud gave us great views of snow-covered Alps and a few patches along the train tracks, but nothing of consequence was staying.

Pulled into Salzburg Hbf 20 mins late and it was 12 mins walk to my Mercure Salzburg City. A reasonably modern place, 3 levels + ground set in a low rise apartment area, 20 mins walk to the Old town and Dom.





Deluxe room with a ducky little balcony. As usual, aircon on warm and no cooling, so the balcony door and window was open for much of the time!









Small welcome from Accor



But great wifi - 96Mbps

I had dinner at the hotel - very ordinary. A Wiener schnitzel of course. Not a great example of the art.




Couple next to me brought their 4 dogs in with them. Just after they all left, the 4 mutts had a freestyle run around the place for 2 laps.

 

[OZDUCK]

Those oppressively hot hotel rooms and also many shops are really annoying.

 

[RooFlyer]

Salzburg - looked forward very much to going there and it disappointed a bit. Probably the weather more than anything -cold and grey. No snow, which would have improved things. I was expecting more baroque, grand buildings and Mozart everywhere, but no, not really.

Walked from my hotel to the Dom, passing through the Christmas markets there and adjoining Residentzplatz. Daytime is obviously not the best time to visit, but I sussed the lay-out. Not as large as Strasbourg or Cologne obviously and much the same stuff, but more food types, I think.







I'm happy to say that I didn't stop here!



Nor at any of these, for that matter, but at least it would have been a bit local.











If you ever see these 'geodes' of amethyst (the purple mineral), don't buy any. The purple is 'doped' (basically stained) onto the base crystal and I'm not even certain that the base crystal set is natural or created.

The doping is particularly evident on the RH one. Total cough.

 

[RooFlyer]

On to the funicular to get up to Salzburg Fortress. I had bought a Salzburg Card which got me onto public transport and into all the sights I visited and I also got the Salzburg app on my phone which was great for transport options.

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Die aktuelle und moderne Fahrplanauskunft mit unserer SalzburgMobil - App. Natürlich kostenlos.



Nice views of the city from the Fortress

 

[RooFlyer]

To be honest, the Hohensalzburg Fortress ("don't call it a castle") was a bit plain. Not much there from the glory days. Various areas were extra to pay for, but I don't know how much as I just flashed the Card on my phone.

The Fortress was begun in the 1000s and added to over the centuries. It looms over the city and is a major attraction. The State Apartments were the most interesting for me, dating from the Middle Ages. But again, mainly just the walls and ceilings decorations remaining



Heater. I think fed fuel by an opening behind, where servants moved within the wall.