Salzburg Express

On Monday, we left Budapest for Salzburg on a late train that left at 11:40 am so that we would have a relaxed morning and enjoy the scenic train ride for five hours to Salzburg. The hotel arranged a van taxi that we could all fit in and we arrived at the train station about 11:00. When we went to look on the big board announcing what trains were on what tracks, there was no 11:40 train to Salzburg. We asked the train station staff and they said that two days ago the Austrian train company changed the train station to across the river, and so we were 30 minutes away from the train station with all our luggage and there was no way to make our train, because the train departure was 15 minutes earlier, since the train did not have to come across the city. The second taxi driver was very talkative but told Judy not to worry that there were no seatbelts in the back seat- he was a very safe driver. This just increased the stress Judy was feeling. We got to the second station about 12 o’clock and found that the next train to Salzburg would leave at about 1:30 so we had a two-hour delay. Judy and Barbara found a shopping mall across the street and located a very nice bathroom. It was air-conditioned and so they looked in some of the shops until about 1 o’clock when they came back to the train station and bought sandwiches and pastries for our lunch. When the train arrived we loaded our six suitcases and two rolling backpacks onto the train aisle and then looked for spots to put our luggage. There were overhead racks and some of the small suitcases could go up there, but our four large suitcases needed spots on luggage racks and there is just one on each end of each car. Because we missed our train with assigned seats, we had to look for open seats, but there weren’t very many open seats on this train. The seats we first sat in were reserved at the next city and we would be without seats. So I went through the dining car to the first-class cars and found several open seats in a first-class car, so we all moved down to the first-class car and purchased the upgrades which were about €25 each, except that the upgrade only applied to the Hungarian border which was coming up between where we were and Vienna. When another conductor came to check on our tickets, she had mercy on our predicament and didn’t charge us to upgrade to Vienna. 

The remaining trip to Vienna was calm and we might even have called it relaxing, but as we approached Vienna, there were all sorts of announcements in German that we did not understand. Once we stopped in Vienna, they announced that our train would terminate, and everyone had to get off the train to wait for a new train. A woman across from us told us that all of the train troubles were related to a freight train that derailed and caught fire between Salzburg and Munich the previous day. Trains could make it to Salzburg, but they could not continue to Munich, and so lots of trains were having to detour and our train at the last minute was canceled from Vienna to Salzburg. Our luggage was four cars behind the first-class car that we had moved to, and we had trouble getting down to the car with our luggage.  The train crew was leaving the cars and wouldn't let Judy back onto the car. Jake and I had gone one more car down and were able to quickly unload our eight suitcases and backpacks, but Judy was really upset that we were about to lose our luggage on the terminated train. A different train was brought in, and we loaded back up with our luggage and all the other passengers, and we found four open seats together and found places for our luggage on a rack in the same car. The new conductor came through looking for tickets and we told him our sad story and he also had mercy on us and didn't charge for our first call upgrade. This was not quite as bad as The Orient-Express with mysterious murder suspects, but it was not the quiet, relaxing train trip that I had imagined. 

We finally arrived at about 8 o’clock and checked into our hotel, which was just across the plaza from the train station and went out for dinner, but found that restaurants in Salzburg close at about nine and so we bought groceries and packaged sandwiches at the train station store and had our dinner in our hotel rooms; we all agree it was a disappointing travel day- but thankfully we ended up with food and nice rooms ready for fun in Salzburg the next morning. This “bad train” day reminded me that Jesus told us: “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭34. 

Jesus did not promise us that every day would be smooth, but he promised to be with us in all that happens each day that we live. Trust in him on good days and trust in him on “bad train” days.

 

Passenger trains are used a lot in Europe 

 

Munich train station from our 8th floor window

How old is this train that we saw in the second Budapest station?

Judy and Barbara in first class compartment from Salzburg to Munich

On Tuesday after our nice breakfast, we bought Salzburg cards that allow us on the trolleys and give admission to most of the museums and buildings. We went to old town and rode the funicular up to the castle that sits high above the town on the ridge. There were many steps even after riding up to the castle plateau and Jake and I at least had fun walking around the circular stairs and passageways and looking at the small windows that were used to shoot arrows and muskets and cannons at anyone who might’ve attacked the castle. Apparently, no one ever captured the castle and perhaps no one ever attacked the castle. It was warm and after seeing several of the buildings all connected at different angles with cobblestone streets, the girls rested while Jake and I went in the last building that had a Museum and completed our tour of the castle. Then we made a great decision to have our lunch at the café under a sun canopy that overlooks the town. We had good food and a wonderful view. After lunch, we rode the funicular down and went to the bishop’s buildings and the main cathedral of Salzburg. The church buildings are now a museum with furniture, paintings and statues, as well as church decorations. After resting in our rooms we went on the tram in the rain to dinner in a German restaurant decorated with wood carvings and old furniture.

 
 

Salzburg old town and castle on hill 

View of old town from our lunch terrace 

Painter restoring castle wall decorations  

Fancy ceramic stove with figurines 

 Lunch with Barbara and Jake on the castle terrace 

Beautiful room in bishop’s palace 

Colorful painting of woman 

Beautiful woman of the Salzburg palace 

Front of the cathedral- who knows what style?
Wall carving of Jesus teaching the disciples?- oops, this carving has Mary teaching the disciples (this was one of the major mistakes of the Catholic Church- to elevate Mary above Jesus)

On Wednesday we took a bus out to a “day palace” of one of the prince-bishops, called Hellbrum (clear water spring). He built gardens with lakes and canals and many fountains and statues. He was very interested in technology in about 1620 and he built several fountains and water jets that could be turned on and off. He would seat guests at a table that was on a platform surrounded by water, and then have a servant turn on the jets that squirted out of the seats, and from all around the fountain area that would drench the guests. He called it a trick fountain. His palace rooms were full of decorations and statues and windows overlooking his gardens, which were on three sides of the house. We rode the bus back to our hotel and took a rest, and then we took a tram back to the old town and walked through the beautiful Maribell Gardens. There were fountains and statues and beautiful flowerbeds along the river with the buildings of Salzburg and the castle in the background. We walked across town to the University to go to our classical music concert, that was part of the Salzburg music festival. Our concert was performed by students who had been together for three weeks and this was their recital concert. We left at intermission after an hour and a half of music. The student groups included strings, brass instruments and one had a clarinet soloist with strings, but my favorite was two men playing giant marimba- one normal size of maybe four feet long (high notes) and one twice as long (low notes). They each held two sticks in each hand and they played so fast that it sounded like musical raindrops. We walked through a courtyard and found an Italian restaurant still open at 9:00 where we enjoyed a delicious dinner including tiramisu for desert. Although we had some troubles getting here, our days in Salzburg were very interesting and enjoyable.

 

Hellbrum palace and fountains 

Table for guests with trick (hidden) water jets

Room with fountains in back of palace

Water jet lifts crown in cave room

Old dining room furniture in folklore house at Hellbrun

Stuffed Unicorn in the nature room- they must be real

Beautiful Maribell gardens in Salzburg 
Judy leading us to the next garden area