Salzburg, part I - getting there

Today, I have a dream. And that dream is to finish all blog posts on continental #4 no matter what it takes. (At present, a cup of coffee.) It's been going on for far too long - a whopping 4 months. This is a rather sobering realisation. And after that I can get onto work and resurrect continental #1.

When other people are the train wrecks hurtling towards Clayton Ravine, it's amusing and merits popcorn. When you yourself happen to be said trainwreck... not popcorn. Some sort of refined delicacy I suppose.

I mentioned how nice the view was in the train from Munich to Salzburg. Caught up a bit on my journal, this is what I wrote, and so technically this is a wrapup of the past few days:

View from the Meridian.

Train to Salz. The men in lederhosen looked like leprechauns. (AN: Nothing new there.) Munich's kind of boring. The Rathaus and the Glockenspiel are nice but that seems about it. Dresden's old town was startlingly beautiful, but I did not care for the tourist tax. Nuremberg was ruined by the weather, but I did like the hostel I stayed in. It was so nice sleeping in a proper bed for once. What I did manage to see of Berlin through my whopping cold was hot, communist and boring. My only favourite was the Brandenburg Gate.

OK, maybe I shouldn't have included that. It wasn't after I'd started transcribing it that I realised that most of the stuff I mentioned in my journal is already in my blog, despite my not having referred to it at all. Oh well.

I arrived in Salzburg at about 6, and my first impression was FREEZING and wet. I waited at the Hbf for my bus to the hostel for simply ages, and it was pouring with rain. And did I mention freezing? It was about 5 degrees. In September.

My first impression of Salzburg, therefore; cold, wet and mountainous, but I could see a taster of its beauty.

Though this picture is probably not a good indicator

My hostel proved ridiculously and unbelievably hard to find. I wandered around for 2 hours. GPS failed me, as did all the roads signs. I went to McDonalds for their free WiFi, determining to look up their phone number and just ring them and ask where they were, but the WiFi didn't work for some reason. I finally swallowed my pride - also it was getting dark very fast and I didn't fancy wandering around looking for my hostel after dark -  and asked a person who couldn't speak much English, but she pointed me in the right direction and I found it. I was not at all surprised that I couldn't find it, when I eventually arrived. Misleading GPS, plus it was just tucked away behind a huge gaggle of buildings, which you had to walk around.

After that rather irritating episode of hostel-searching, I checked in, went up to my room and found it to be rather pleasant. The hostel Hotel Meininger - was another pseudo-hotel like Nuremburg's, but alas the only two proper beds in the room had been bagged by a Kiwi couple who looked like they could climb mountains all day. (They always look like this!) Other roommates included some more Kiwis, two Scottish girls doing their undergrads in Edinburgh, and some Aussies. I hope this next sentence does not come across as offensive, but listening to them all talk together gave me a bit of a headache - their accents were really quite thick.

Went out exploring the next morning after morning coffee and, because I'm lucky that way, the weather was dreadful. Went into the Old Town, obviously. Untersburg was shrouded in mist, as was Salzburg Fortress. However, despite the horrid weather, that first glimpse you have of the Salzach and the Old Town rearing up at you out of the alpines, is something that you'll never really forget.

I took loads of pictures of this actually, but since I have spoiler alert lots of pictures of this when the weather was much better, I'm just going to include this one.

I walked all the way through the Old Town, and went mountain climbing, which was actually a little scary, since there was no one else at all in those rather wet and secluded mountain paths. There was a golden statue of the Buddha, rather surprisingly, deep inside the mountains, but didn't take a picture.

This creepy statue that's definitely worth a picture. It looks like a Nazgul, or a Dementor.

View of the Old Town from the mountain.

Managed to get a rather nice picture of the Fortress, before hurriedly making my way down.

During my stay in Salzburg they were having their own version of Oktoberfest - Rupertikirtag I think it's called, and the old town square was filling up with stalls and I threaded my way out. Sold stuff like those huge iced biscuits, loads of wurst of course, and then our run-of-the-mill hams that you also have in Borough.

Munich, part II

We are currently standing in the old city square, which of course was bursting to the seams with tourists galore.

We are observing the magnificent Rathaus, with its wonderful clock tower, or Glockenspiel.

The clocktower figurines have always rather terrified me to be honest

A wee glimpse of the Rathaus itself, which really was something - imposing, Gothic, herculean.

I wonder if people can tell when I'm being insincere? Maybe they can.

There was an arched doorway complete with medieval doors which led into a verandah within the Rathaus, so naturally I went in.

Parts of it kind of looked like Bran Castle in Romania.

Most of it really looked just like what it was, the interior of the Rathaus.

After this I headed over to the Oktoberfest field, which was about half an hour's walk, through some surprisingly shady neighbourhoods.

It was basically just a big fairground.

Dirndl.

I wandered around for ten minutes or so, decided that was enough (didn't get to go into their famous beer tents), and went back to the Hbf, which was about 10 minutes away. GPS was very helpful.

My favourite place when travelling, the Hbf. Railway stations, particularly big ones like these, provide me with an odd sense of comfort and, dare I say, belonging. They're always so large and shiny and bustling, with their schedules and conductors and overpriced shops and (in this part of the world at least) Billas. Chockfull of people like me, travellers hurtling to their next destination. I like that sense of transition and trepidation, of being a fleeting "passerby."

I found an early train I could take to Salzburg, which nonetheless still wasn't due to leave till about 40 minutes later. The train - called "Meridian" huffed and puffed into the station.

This actually wasn't the Meridian train I had to take, but since it was coming from Salzburg, and terminates at Vienna, I thought it was worth a picture.

I lounged around and took some rather silly pictures of the Meridian since I'm an Asian tourist and that's what I do. I am very fond of this train, and it wasn't the last time I took this train on this trip, either. Also, I would come back to Munich fairly soon. Why do all roads lead to Munich?

MYYY train.

I was the first person on the train, which eventually filled up merrily, but this is what the carriage looked like when I had the whole compartment to myself.

It's very nice, seeing no people at all.

The destination, and we are off to Mozart's birthplace, the city that brought us Alla Turca and The Sound of Music.

Destination Salzburg.

Journey to Salzburg lasted about 3 hours, during which I rolled through gorgeous Bavarian countrysides, and entered increasingly mountainous terrain. Took the train on the Bayern ticket, just as I had when coming in from Nuremberg. Bayern's the way to get around here, it's certainly the cheapest option.

Munich, part I

The train from Nuremberg to Munich was supposed to take about two hours but as with all the other German trains I took during this trip, I was horribly and incredibly delayed, though to be fair that probably had something to do with Oktoberfest. Loads of lederhosen and dirndl, the likes of which I hope never to see again. Carriagefuls of singing, drinking Germans, the trains bursting to the seams. The Germans are very friendly; a man offered me his SEAT despite the fact that I'm young and fit. I like how they always prioritise women here.

I didn't stay the night in Munich because the hostel prices had skyrocketed thanks to Oktoberfest. According to some Kiwis I met in Salzburg, even TENTING there cost 60 euros a night per person. Whew, no thanks. I'd originally planned out a whole day for myself in Munich but finished it really in less than three hours, upon which I caught an earlier train to Salzburg.. but that can come later.

Anyhow, first thing I saw when I alighted at Munich Hbf, which was just awash with people.

A bit fuzzy because I was trying to be surreptitious

Everyone was dressed in them, and now I see where all the peasant dress designs in my childhood fairy tales came from, since most of them I believe were of Germanic origin.

Did lots of walking and the weather was really just as bad as ever. Loads of clouds. Horrid Bavarian weather. Though at least it didn't rain.

Dare I see a bit of blue sky?

Found a place to have wurst. It was called Nuremberger sausage or something like that. Very tiny wurst they were, too, and set me back 15 euros I think. Can't really remember if I tipped or not. I may have. I don't like tipping. I'm glad I come from a thoroughly non-tipping country.

Tiny little wursties.

Once I'd finished, I headed further into the old city centre.

Weather's marginally clearing up then

And the city Glockenspiel, always my favourite feature of Bavarian cities.

To be continued!

Nuremberg, part II - Justizpalast and Reichsparteitagsgelände

This entry is so long overdue that I think I must have forgotten all of the important details, and all the things worth remembering. But still, since I'm hopelessly stuck on my research, writing something else for a change might inspire me. Might.

When I arrived in Nuremberg, the Justizpalast (Nuremberg Trial Courthouse) and Reichsparteitagsgelände (Nazi Party Rallying Grounds) were actually the first places I went to. It was an overcast, gloomy grey day, which I usually like when I'm not travelling or on holiday. I still wish it hadn't poured when I was in the Old Town, but the weather was curiously fitting for a city that had once lain at the heart of the Third Reich.

Despite my GPS, I wandered around the Bärenschanzstraße hopelessly lost for a good ten minutes before a frau tending a coffeehouse flapped a teacloth at me. I walked over to her and she asked me where I was going. I said the Courthouse, and she pointed me in the right direction.

It was just all very dismal, and the streets of Nuremberg were completely deserted, for some reason, which creeped me out slightly. Even the Justizpalast, which I thought was a tourist hotspot, was completely devoid of human activity. I wondered if it was closed because it was Saturday, but managed to find the entrance, which stated quite clearly that it was open. I pushed open the EXTREMELY heavy oaken door and went in.

The extremely heavy door.

The tickets were 5 euros I think. I chatted to the ticket ladies for a bit, who asked me for my nationality, since they wanted to keep a record of the people who came. I asked them where they got the most visitors from. To my surprise, they said the US. Not quite sure why that surprised me, but I think I was expecting the UK, or Germany, since we were in Bavaria, after all.

The first place I went to was the infamous Courtroom 600.

They had a very good audio guide. Apparently the Room isn't always open to visitors, so I think I may have gotten lucky, if you can call this lucky, getting to see a court room where people were on trial for acts of genocide.

The rest of the Justizpalast was a gallery where there were photos and short documentaries. There was a short piece on the Yasukuni Shrine and the trials of Japanese war criminals, which obviously hit a lot closer home, since we used to be a colony of the Empire of the Sun, and were coerced into fighting for the Axis powers in WWII. I wish we had something like this to commemorate what the Japanese did to us. There are some aspects of history that should never be forgotten.


The next place I visited was Reichsparteitagsgelände - Nazi Party Rallying Grounds. It was the terminal station for one of the tram lines, and it was also a gallery, rather similar to the Justizpalast. The real Rallying Grounds was located about 20 minutes away from the gallery by foot, and it was a beautiful, tranquil place - the surroundings, I mean. I'll get to that in a moment.

Map of the concentration and death camps throughout the Third Reich.

The gallery and the Rallying Grounds were separated by a lake. I remember stopping to wonder at the beauty of it, and I remember wondering if Hitler too had looked over the lake and meditated upon its serenity.

The Rallying Grounds itself was horribly unkept. I remember reading somewhere - or my German friends might have mentioned it - that the Germans didn't/don't want to remember what they did during the SWW, and so they don't really make much of an effort to preserve things or places that were left behind by the Nazis. This tattered stadium was all that was left. I remember standing there, trying to imagine the Führer giving his speeches to the Nazis. Also reminded me inexplicably of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - I think this was the exact same location that Indy went to, when he went to get the diary back from Elsa.

After this, I took the tram back to my hostel, went to the Old Town which I already wrote about, and got caught in a terrific downpour. Went back, had dinner at the Chinese diner next to the hostel because I couldn't be bothered to go anywhere else, and went back to my incredibly comfy room and took a nice long hot shower. Spent the rest of the evening writing in my journal, listening to music and talking to my friends on Skype.

The next day I caught a train to Munich with my Bayern ticket. The Korean boy said goodbye to me before I left at 7am. Last coffee in Nuremberg - this set me back a whopping 4 euros. Regardless of the ridiculous pricetag, I still miss this so much. I miss all the buses and trains I had to catch, all the early crack-of-dawn getups, all these solitary (and extremely expensive) morning coffees that I swallowed before hopping on board to my next destination. Seeing this photo again reminds me of a thousand other coffees I had on the Continent, drowsy and sleep-riddled, tentative, exhilerated, wanderlusted. Coffee represents so many things to me; serendipity, solitude, travel, being on the move, trains, buses, books, journals, hostels, friendships, Europe, thunderstorms, doing things my way, lack of sleep. When will I be back again?

Those other travellers in the background

And it's Auf Wiedersehen Nuremberg.

That's what I like about railtracks, they always lead somewhere else