FUN-travel: Salzburg to Hallstatt to Vienna, Austria

September 29, 2013 by  

Day 10 – Wednesday, September 25 – Salzburg to Hallstatt to Vienna, Austria – sunny & 60’s

What I LIKE

  • 7:45 wake up

    Hallstatt, Austria 2013 6

    View Across Lake in Hallstatt

  • another good night sleep
  • hot coffee on patio
  • ready to go early (I’m feeling some more points coming on)
  • *check out
  • 9:25 – take off for Hallstatt
  • muscles still sore – clearly ones not used that much!
  • **have gps & map
  • beautiful drive thru forested mountains & alpine meadows
  • the hills are alive w/the sound of music!
  • leaves starting to change color
  • ***11:00 – arrive Hallstatt – story book village on lake filled w/swans
  • stop @ grocery store (free parking) for snacks
  • +11:50 – attempt to program Garmin for Vienna hotel – put in city center & head out using shortest route from map
  • river flowing next to road
  • 12:30 – another big lakeside drive
  • able to program car drop off address
Hallstatt, Austria 2013 4

Hallstatt

  • 3:00 – enter Vienna proper
  • 3:30 – arrive city center
  • WATCH (what are the chances) – our hotel is 3 blocks from car drop! Ritz Carlton right next door

    Vienna, Austria 2013 21

    Vienna

  • would never spend that much on a room
  • drop luggage @ The Ring Hotel first then car
  • location, location, location!
  • 4:00 – get settled in our big, beautiful, quiet room w/10 ft ceilings & king size bed
  • 4:05 – head to happy hour for 2 pints @ Café Schwartzenberg
  • GI – (great idea) – should download travel books into iPad instead of carrying – will look into that @ home
  • no high rise bldgs in old town
  • 5:00 – hungry & Friday’s is across the street – fajitas! jalapenos! salsa! YUMMY!
  • 7:00 – Spar grocery store stop for the usual stuff
  • they have Unplugged wine for only $15 Euro

What I DON’T LIKE

  • *feeling ripped off – breakfast was $11 Euro pp extra and we opted out – told the charge for our 4 coffees per day totaled $22.40 Euros
  • **miss correct onramp @ roundabout – takes us 20 mins to recover – morning traffic thru little towns – gps is not perfect
  • ***no place to park
  • +won’t take address we have & wants to take us on longer route

FUN-fact – Salzburg is one of the best-preserved city centers north of the Alps and become a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.
Not so FF – At check in, when we said all we wanted was coffee, we were told, “That’s not a problem.” There was never any indication of a charge, or if there was, how much it would be. Had we known, we would have gladly paid $44 Euros. They missed getting another $22 Euro and we walked away saying… NA = Never Again! And feeling “shame on us for not asking.” Between that & the hop on bus experience Salzburg didn’t make the list for a most pleasant stay and should have.

Vienna, Austria 2013 15

Rathaus, Vienna

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