Salzburg, December 19-21, 2011...

With the arrival of morning, it was time to say goodbye to Munich and our charming hotel.  Two days (1-1/2 really) had barely opened the door to the city's rich history and magnificent architecture but another adventure beckoned, Salzburg...

Oh Salzburg, small, intimate, romantic, we couldn't wait.  We grabbed our bags, retraced our steps to that very spot in Marienplatz where we first felt the excitement of Christmas in Munich and descended underground. Fifteen minutes later we scrambled out of a subway and into a train platform, still underground! 

Munich Central Station, main floor

People were scurrying around us, people who knew where they were going and how to get there. We must have looked obviously confused because an elder German gentleman came up from nowhere and "befriended" us.  No worries, he would show us where the ticket desk is located.

Now this is a situation that makes me ill at ease. As the gentleman and I walked side by side toward the upper level and daylight, he told me about his trip to New York some 20 years ago and how someone helped him find his way. I couldn't concentration for wondering whether he expected cash or truly wanted to help.  Meanwhile, the family was a short distance behind and content to follow along.

Tickets were purchased and the elderly gentleman disappeared, no money was exchanged.  As we left the ticket counter for the gate, the gentleman appeared again, frantically pointed in the direction we were going, and in his thickly accented English we heard, "the gate, this way, go this way."  Secretly I wondered if we would see him again at the Salzburg station!

John, Tory, Daniel, Lee and Bebe waiting on the train

Traveling through the Bavarian countryside by train is a lovely experience.  We pressed our faces against the windows as quaint, gingerbread villages and farm lands flew by, first in Germany and then Austria.  Snow levels increased as we neared the foothills of the Bavarian Alps and dissipated on the other side.  After a short 1-1/2 hours, we pulled into Salzburg and disembarked.   Our hotel was a 10 minute taxi ride from the station, or two taxis for our group of six with luggage.

Built in 1890, Hotel Bristol  is all about Old Europe.  We loved the art, the chandeliers, heavy velvet drapes and antiques.  The service was impeccable. 

  Our room was located on the second floor just to the right of the main entrance.  We could step out on our balcony and see the old historic city.

Left: Our room at the Hotel Bristol with an

elegant crystal chandelier and walkout balcony, Right: Hallway with chandeliers, velvet drapes and fine antiques

At the suggestion of the Hotel Bristol staff, we walked to the K+K Restaurant for lunch.  That meant walking a block from the hotel to the Salzach River, over the pedestrian bridge and into Old Town Salzburg, a quick 10 minutes in the cold. As a group, we ate a lot of schnitzel in Germany and Austria, from well prepared to "bar food" schnitzel.  By far, the best schnitzel we ate was at the K+K.

Us outside the entrance to the K+K Restaurant am Waagplatz where we ate a fine lunch: Salzburger Schnitzel-lightly breaded pork escalope stuffed with onions, bacon and mushrooms with potatoes and salad

After lunch we set about to explore Old Town on foot.  Of the three cities  visited on this trip, Salzburg was the most walkable - small, cozy and easy to navigate. The narrow streets were brick or cobblestone and most were pedestrian only. Aside from visiting cathedrals (which I never seem to get enough of) , we strolled the Christmas markets and browsed a number of interesting shops.  

Salzburg is the birthplace of  Mozart and the city has capitalized on his name.  Among the most visible references were Mozart chocolate candy, Mozart chocolate liquor and Mozart street mimes on every corner.  Some  were ridiculous looking, some really didn't get the mime thing but the fellow below was absolutely the best!

Mozart Street Mime 

We never  figured out his shtick but we think he had a seat attached to a rod running along his right arm that is attached to the stick.  The base has something to do with the balance. 

We were spoiled by the Munich Christmas markets and initially disappointed in the Salzburg markets. I had counted on all the markets carrying similar merchandise but the gifts I waited to buy in Salzburg were not available.  I know, I know, if you see something you like buy it, don't wait.  I have experienced this over and over on our travels but I don't seem to quite learn the lesson.  Nevertheless, we had fun strolling the Salzburg markets and sampling the mulled wine and food.

Main Christmas Market in Domplatz - Salzburg

Catholicism is the main religion of Salzburg and several cathedrals were located on the outskirts of  the Christmas market in Domplatz. The first cathedral we explored was Salzburg Cathedral or Salzburger Dom.  The Dom is known for its Renaissance architecture and 4,000 pipe organ.  Massive bronze doors open to expose  a soft white and sepia interior.  Just inside the front doors sits a large font. Mozart was baptized here and later served as the organist. 

The altar, Salzburg Cathedral

We did not get into Mozart's birthplace in Old Town but did visit his boyhood home, which is now a museum (below).

The view from our hotel balcony included the home where Mozart spent his youth.  On the hill directly behind the house is Fortress Hohensalzburg, which is mentioned in historical records dating back as early as 1077 AD.

Us in a park beside Hotel Bristol

Daniel on one of the statues in the park

Lee "Tebowing" on the same statue

Fortress Hohensalzburg was one of the few sights we saw in depth (two days per city schedule has its limitations).  Hohensalzburg sits on a hilltop above Salzburg and is probably the city's most dominate and  biggest attraction.  Originally built as a castle in 1077, Hohensalzburg was rebuilt into the fortress that currently stands between the 12th and 13th century. 

Inner courtyard at Fortress Hohensalzburg.  The Christmas market here was only open for the first couple of weekends in December.

View of Salzburg from Hohensalzburg: Old Town Salzburg is left of the river, newer Salzburg right of the Salzach River

A few hours exploring Hohensalzburg was not enough but lunch beckoned us back to the city. We had heard tale of St. Peter's Stiftskeller, the oldest continuously operating restaurant in Central Europe.  Located in an alcove of St. Peter's Abbey Church, the cozy restaurant turned out to be our most expensive meal of the trip.  Shouldn't be hard to guess what we ordered...

Salzburg Schnitzel and parsley potatoes. This time at St. Peter Stiftskeller, which was first documented in existence in 803 AD

After lunch we explored the magnificent St. Peter's Abbey Church, also located in Domplatz. The Abbey, founded in 696 AD, is where Mozart first premiered his Mass in C Minor in 1793 and the Van Trapp family hid from the Germans in the Sound of Music film. The Abbey cemetery is the oldest in Salzburg and where the remains of Mozart's sister, Joseph Hyden's brother and many of Salzburg's aristocrats are located.      

St. Peter's Abbey Church looking toward the altar

Much of our time in Salzburg was spent walking and browsing. H&M was on Daniel and Tory's list of shops to see, "Christmas in Salzburg" was on ours. We had read about the shop on "must see" Salzburg travel sights and heard about it from friends Duane and Angela Simmons.

The shop alluded us for a day and a half then, quite by accident, we stumbled upon it on the way back to our hotel.  Windows filled with  twinkling lights and painted ornaments lured us in, 1000s of hand painted egg ornaments kept us there for a while.

"Christmas in Salzburg" holiday windows

A small sample of the many thousands of eggs for sale.  Note the Mozart eggs hanging on the tree and in several cartons.  We came home with about 1/2 dozen eggs.

A wet snow began to fall as we wrapped up our final night in Old Town Salzburg. We scurried across the pedestrian bridge and home before the wind and dropping temperatures turned the winter wonderland into a treacherous obstacle course. John and I watched the snow from our balcony and talked about our trip. Tomorrow, Vienna...

Our last evening enjoying Christmas lights in Salzburg

Festive Old Town Salzburg

Night view from our hotel window.  The building with purple lights is the Opera House, arched lights in the center of the photo run along the pedestrian bridge to Old Town.

What to do with 5 hours in Crossville, TN !?...

For the past few weeks, we had been discussing plans for the upcoming MLK weekend, stay at home, overnight or day trip?! At some point an afternoon trip to Crossville entered the conversation (it might have been John, it definitely wasn't me).  Crossville, TN really?!  What can you do in Crossville for an entire afternoon?  Well, the answer just might surprise you...

I believe that half the fun of any trip is planning, but finding enough things to do to fill an afternoon in the self proclaimed "Golf Capital of  Tennessee" challenged me a bit. Discarding the Cumberland Playhouse (on break till the end of January) and golfing (cause we don't) left me with a short list: The Minister's Tree House, Cumberland Mountain State Park and Homesteads Tower Museum.

Our list narrowed by a third when I discovered the museum was closed for the day. This left us with two sights fill an entire afternoon, could be dicey. We knew what to expect from the state park (we have visited several times), but the Minister's Tree House, now that had us scratching our heads.

Crossville, population 11,900 (about) and self proclaimed "Golf Capital of Tennessee"

It was almost noon on Sunday when we jumped in the car and headed west toward Crossville, an easy 1 hour and 20 minute drive from Knoxville on I-40.  Since the Minister's Tree House was first on our list, we exited the interstate at #320, turned right on Hwy 298, right again on Cook Rd, left on Beehive then drove about 1/2 mile on a partially gravel road. Easy, peasy! 

The gravel road led us to an open farm gate with "No Trespassing" signs on both sides.  As we drove through the gate (obviously ignoring the signs), a most amazing structure came into view. A jumble of plywood and odd pieces of lumber that seemed to stretch toward the sky.  We had arrived, the Minister's Tree House. 

The "Ministers Tree House"

Words of warning at the entrance!

Here's a little history about the Minister's Tree House.  In 1993, minister Horace Burgess had a vision.  God spoke to Horace and said that if he would build God a tree house, he would never run out of material.  So, for 14 years Horace has been working on his tree house and has apparently never run out of material (as evident by the piles of scrap lumber scattered about the property).

The tree house is built around an 80' white oak tree with 6 other trees serving as pillars.  Standing some 90+' tall, the structure has between 8,000 and 10,000 sq. feet and is held together with 258,000 nails.  The building is multi-level with numerous decks, rooms and dead end staircases.  A sanctuary can be found on the 4th level, chapel on the 1st and belfry complete with bells at the top. There is an open deck on top of the belfry but that just too much to think about!

Most of the walls (and windows) are covered eclectic artwork, wall hangings, signs, sayings,  names and dates.  We explored for over an hour.  We did not chance the flat wall ladder to the belfry and top deck and I am sure we missed some of the countless nooks and crannies scattered about. 

John in front of the entrance to the tree house

The 4th floor sanctuary as viewed from the 5th floor

Another picture of the sanctuary

The windows and walls are filled with graffiti 

In one of the rooms above the sanctuary, we found a room filled with Bible figures, probably Jesus and the Disciples

More figures (note the artwork behind the carvings)

"Owl we need is love" 

Photo from the top floor, we did not go into the belfry

Incredible

A mosaic of small boards lined a stairway that twists around the big white oak.  I believe every one of the boards contains a name, written message or date.

A rather frightening swing

A swing was hung from a small platform secured about five stories above ground. Two pieces of very long, thick nylon rope secured the swing to the platform.  I gazed long and hard at the platform and would swear it looked like a piece of weather worn plywood, nevertheless, I plopped myself in the seat and started to swing.

The chair appeared to be a handicap shower chair with strips of duck tape for seat webbing. Duck tape was also strategically wrapped around sections of the rope.  I didn't want to think too hard about that.

Is that a look of panic on my face?

On our way out of the house, we heard a lady mutter about the lack of "Beware" or "Caution" signs. We were surprised too, we could see a careless visitor threatening suit.  I am guessing that Horace Burgess expects you to take responsibility for yourself and family members when exploring on his private property.


We passed Stonehaus Winery on our way to and from the Minister's Tree House. Stonehaus Winery was not originally on our list of places to visit but as you know by now, our list was pretty short and we had only spent an hour exploring the Tree House so John suggested we stop and taste. I was reluctant about "Tennessee" wine, home grown in red clay, but John was driving so we stopped.
  

Stonehaus Winery

Wineries are like gambling joints, they never look quite like one expects they should.  The tasting room had a large bar and a number of wine related gifts.  A second room was filled with trinkets, gourmetish foods and sauces.   Several cute t-shirts caught my eye including the one below.

'Nuff said

We slid up to the bar and began tasting... Merlot, Pinot Gris, Homestead White, Fairfield Red, Lantana White, Blackberry Summer, Raspberry Mist, Orange Squeeze.  Stonehaus offers free wine tasting but I think the wine  pourer was ready to cut us off.  Finally we selected bottles of Merlot, Homestead White and Blackberry Summer and a jar of Chili Stone ground mustard for dipping. 

John at the wine bar

I was wrong about Tennessee wine, at least about Stonehaus Wines.  If you are in the neighborhood, stop by Stonehaus on the corner of Hwy 298 and Cook Road. The tastes are free and you might find something you like.

Last stop for the day was Cumberland Mountain State Park.  The stone bridge is my favorite structure in this park.  We are looking forward to early spring, renting a cabin and going to a play at Cumberland Playhouse (and maybe back to Stonehaus Winery)!  Additional pictures are here.

Munich, December 17-19, 2011

Munich was not in our original plan.  It was always about the Christmas markets in Austria-Innsbruck, Salzburg and Vienna.  Then, in mid-August we had dinner with some friends and one of those friends is German.  "Munich" she insisted,  "the best Christmas markets are in Munich."   She was right...

Our adventure began on Friday, December 16th with a 7:30 PM flight from Knoxville to Dulles in Washington, DC. After a full day's work, I was excited about the trip but dreading the three flights ahead.  The fact that we would be awake until Munich bedtime on Saturday the 17th just added to my dread.  Luckily most of us grabbed a few hours sleep on the planes and, aside from a little turbulence over the Atlantic, our flights were smooth and on time.

We arrived in the Munich airport late Saturday afternoon, working our way through luggage, immigration and a 30 minute train ride to our hotel.  Daylight was fading when we boarded the train.  By the time we arrived at Marienplatz Station, darkness had blanketed the city.

Athought we had boarded the train above ground, our terminus was a multi-level underground station.  We were tired, a little confused and struggled to locate the exit.  Eventually we got our exhausted bodies, luggage and carry-ons up the escalator and out into the night air.  Finally we had arrived, Marienplatz, the main square in the heart of old town Munich.

John will tell you this was his WOW moment, the special time in any trip that grabs your heart and lingers long after other details have faded. As we stepped off the escalator into the square, we heard the sound of voices singing Christmas carols.  A gentle snow was falling and holidays lights lit up the darkness.  For just a moment, time froze and we were in a magical place, in the middle of the biggest Christmas market in Munich. 

We quickly realized  that we were in the path of hundreds, no thousands of people, walking, talking, laughing, drinking wine and shopping.  We grabbed our luggage and moved to the side of the market.  John pulled a map out of his pocket, located our hotel and we made our way to the beautiful, Platzl Hotel . 

The Christmas market on Marienplatz

Our rooms were ready so we checked in and settled in.  The Platzl Hotel is a 4-star luxury hotel and a perfect choice for us, comfortable and just steps away from Marienplatz, shops and restaurants.  Our rooms were elegant, the staff, very accommodating.

Platzl Hotel lobby

In Munich, darkness falls early this time of the year, around 4:30- 5:00ish. Deemed too early to go to bed (probably by me), our travel weary group headed back to the market for dinner and shopping. We strolled through the market, grabbing sausages and biscuits for dinner and looking at the wonderful Christmas crafts.

Christmas tree in front of the Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall) dominates Marienplatz.  The choir we heard on our first (and last) night was positioned on one of the balconies on Neues Rathaus.

Right: gingerbread stand. Above: sausage and mulled wine booth.

One and one half days is not enough to see the sights in any city so prior to our trip we selected a couple of  "must sees".  Any extra time would be spent shopping and exploring.  First on our list was the Neues Rathaus-Glockenspiel or carillion, which according to wikipedia, is a musical instrument typically housed in a belfry of a church or municipal building.

Torre and Daniel waiting for the Glockenspiel show to begin

Everyday at 11:00 AM and noon (more often in the summer tourist season), the Glockenspiel comes alive with 43 bells and 32 life size figures that re-enact two stories from the 16th century. The top half  tells the story of the marriage of  Duke Wilhelm V (founder of Hofbrauhaus) to Renata of Lorraine. Two life size knights on horseback joust at the end with the Bavarian knight knocking the Lothringen knight off his horse.

As the figures on the top half of the Glockenspiel go still, the bottom half comes alive. The bottom re-enacts the "coopers dance" which occurred during the great plague of  1517.  According to myth, coopers were said to have danced through the streets to bring vitality to the fearful.  The cooper figures twist and spin in place as they circle around on a ring. The total performance lasts 15 minutes and is definitely worth the top spot of any one's "must see" list.

The Munich Glockenspiel  in Marienplatz

After the performance, we walked across the square to St. Peter's Church. We arrived in the middle of services and waited quietly in the back of the nave until the benediction was given and  the congregation departed.  Incense was still heavy in the air when the photo below was snapped.

St. Peter's Church, the oldest parish church in Munich and presumably the originating point for the city

After exploring this remarkable church, we headed out a side door to the St Peter's Church tower to see the famed 360-degree view of Munich.  After a quick glance at the oh so narrow, 302 step climb to the top of the tower (no elevator available), Daniel, Torre and Lee sprinted ahead, while John and I brought up the rear (well, me really). Bebe headed back inside the church to get out of the lightly falling snow and enjoy the warmth.  

The view was worth the climb!

The Cathedral of Our Dear Lady (twin towers) is considered the symbol of Munich

Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall) is to the right of The Cathedral of Our Dear Lady.  The Glockenspiel is visible about halfway up the main tower. We watched the 12:00 PM performance of the Glockenspiel from the tower balcony.

In front of the Neues Rathaus in the Marienplatz (main square) is one of the many Christmas markets in Munich.  The roofs of the market are usually green but it had been snowing on this day and the roofs were covered in snow.

John and me in the stairway of the St. Peter's Tower.  This is no place to get claustrophobic

Bebe, John, Torre, Daniel and Lee (far right) in a courtyard outside St. Peter's Church

We also visited The Cathedral of Our Dear Lady including a fascinating stop in the catacombs below the nave.  This cathedral is the seat of the Arch Diocese for Munich.

Hofbrauhaus

Among the things we most wanted to see in Munich was Hofbrauhaus.  As it turned out, Hofbrauhaus was located a block behind our hotel.  I am not sure exactly what I expected from a famous German beer house but I can tell you, the beautifully painted ceilings surprised and delighted me. 

Painted ceilings in Haufbrauhaus

John and me in Hofbrauhaus

Yes, even I enjoyed a beer at this famous Munich institution 

John and I knew we wouldn't get a lot of time to ourselves on this trip so late Sunday afternoon while everyone else was resting, we slipped out of the hotel alone and headed to Marienplatz to absorb some of magic of Christmas in Munich.  To our delight, a choir was singing from a balcony on Neues Rathaus.  The air was bitter cold, snow was falling lightly and we stood among the hundreds of  other holiday revelers, hand in hand, totally in the moment.

Choir singing from Neues Rathaus

For our final dinner in Munich, our group chose a traditional  Bavarian restaurant near to the hotel, Haxnbauer .  The house specialty is pork and veal knuckles, which are slow roasted over beech charcoal grill.  The result is a crispy, delicious and very rich meal.

Exterior of Haxnbauer

Everyone ordered a combination of veal and pork knuckles, except Torre, whose food choices include no meat.  Below is pictured a half  knuckle serving, a full serving would be just too much.  Along with knuckles, we had pretzels for bread, mashed potatoes and sauerkraut.  Yum, yum!

Bavarian style pork and veal knuckles

After dinner we drifted back to the market for the final time before leaving on a morning train to Salzburg. 

John, Bebe, Lee, Torre and Daniel

One last look at Marienplatz