Storming the Citadel

July 12, 2008


Festung Hohensalzburg (Hohensalzburg Fortress)


For those of you tuning in and wondering what in the world we're doing in Salzburg besides sampling the cheese...we're here on a working vacation. Bohn is teaching a summer session at the University of Portland's center here in Austria. While here, we're expected to immerse ourselves into the culture as much as possible. We're very happy to comply. :)





Yesterday, the U of P gang went on an excursion together. We scaled the side of a mountain and made our way to the Hohensalzburg Fortress on top of Mönchsberg Mountain. I'm not sure how far we walked, but it was all up. I quit counting after 136 steps. The day was a scorcher and we nearly lost Rae along the way. (Rachel gets the award for perseverance, as she made the trek while sick.)


Prince Archbishop Eberhard built the castle in 1077. At the time, there was some sort of power struggle going on between the emperor and the pope. The archbishop decided to back the pope and the castle offered him protection from the emperor. Since that time, the size has been increased, wood has been replaced by stone, and the castle has been increasingly fortified. An impressive piece of work, but I don't know...I just can't see any of my pastors throwing up a place like this for protection against an uppity congregation. Can you?


Was it worth the hike? YES!







Daniel: Ready, aim...
Rachel: Where do you light this thing?
Becky: I think I have a match in here somewhere...






Check out the view of Salzburg!



While there, Dan and Rachel showed off a previously hidden talent. We never realized that they were crack shots with the crossbow. Bohn and I have decided not to cross them from now on.



After walking up the mountain to the fortress, we proceeded over the mountain, looping into town the back (and long) way, arriving just in time to make our reservation at the beer garden. This was the second beer garden that we'd frequented. And finally! Carole and Becky scored some local vegetarian food. The previous evening at the Augustiner Beer Garden, the entire menu consisted of meat. Sausage, chicken, fish, pork, turkey, something-wurst, and nary a vegetable in sight. Not even a salad! Meat and beer. Beer and meat. Why hasn't every man on the planet moved over here??



Spinach dumplings - yes, they are as yummy as they look. And don't you worry...Carole plans to learn the recipe so she can make them for all of her dinner guests when she gets home.



As if the evening wasn't exciting enough, a thunderstorm rolled in partway through our meal. The storm refused to abate, so after walking all afternoon in the heat, we ran all the way home (one mile) in the chilly rain. Rachel was even sicker today. :( Pray for her.





Dan: It's ok. A bit of a weird aftertaste.


Becky: It's not as bad as I thought. I prefer wine.



Mom: Never liked beer and never will. Yuck!

Today was a definite trip highlight. The gang took an hour and a half bus ride to another fortress: Hohenwerfen Fortress. This castle was pretty cool, too. One of my favorite photos shows the width of the fortress wall - four solid feet. Some folks dressed up like Robin Hood exhibited some falconry, and even though this was all great stuff, that's not the highlight I mentioned above.






Now, that's what I call a timeout! (Disclaimer! No children were injured during the making of this photograph.)



We saw "Ironman" in person!






Don't rescue me. I'm trying to get taller.


A pair of shoes Becky doesn't have....yet!
What a view!

Hallstatt - As you'll see from the photos, it looks like God spent a little extra time on this place. In fact, when Bohn is made Emperor of the Universe, this is where we're putting our castle. This place is one of the quaintest, quietest, most stunning, gorgeously situated, perfectest and beautifullest (sorry, I can't think of any more superlatives, so I just made some up) spots in the world. In fact, Hallstatt is on the World Heritage list of places that are considered to be of outstanding value to humanity and, therefore, worth preserving. I guess that means all countries of the world are supposed to respect and protect these sights and try really, really hard not to destroy them when they go to war. So, not only is this an amazing place to visit, it would be a great place to be if bombs started dropping. Hallstatt is famous for it's salt mine (no longer operating) and the town is so tiny that our bus had to drop us off and leave because there's no room to park. There are about a thousand residents and it seems that they primarily cater to tourists. It's sooooooo beautiful, snuggled up at the foot of the mountain, smack dab on Lake Hallstatt. And I really mean, ON the lake. Take a look at the pics.

This will be our temporary castle while Bohn's Emperor of the Universe castle is being built.










One of the most interesting spots in town is located next to the church. It's called The Bone House. Guess what's in it? That's right! Bones. Lots of 'em, too. Here's the scoop. The cemetery in the town is so small there isn't enough room to bury everybody. So, when a plot is needed, they exhume good ol' grandpa Johann and he gets promoted to the Bone House. Inside the Bone House, shelves filled with over 600 decorated skulls line the walls. Underneath these shelves are the long bones of the individuals residing on the shelves. Decorated skulls sounds gross, I know, but they're actually kind of sweet. They each have the name of the deceased and the birth and death dates artistically lettered on the front of the skull and then a symbol - a cross, a flower, a laurel wreath ...something special for each person. Becky and I were trying to decide how we'd like our skulls decorated if we had the opportunity...eyebrows definitely, and maybe just a hint of blush.

I don't think they're still adding to the Bone House today as most of the skulls seemed to be from the 1700's and 1800's.



We drove back to Salzburg through the lake country. And I mean, THE lake. Lake Hallstatt is massive. It stretches for miles and miles and miles through the picturesque Austrian countryside.



Before I close this post, I'll leave you with a few interesting photos from around Salzburg.



Austrian child walks on water??



The next photograph taken at the park during the lunch hour requires a bit of an explanation. We're not sure what was going on, but here's our best guess:


Gunther says to Hans: I've finished my lunch.
Hans to Gunther: Me, too.
Gunther to Hans: I'm bored.
Hans to Gunther: Me, too.
Gunther to Hans: What do you want to do?
Hans to Gunther: I don't know. What do you want to do?
Gunther to Hans: I don't know.
(SILENCE)
Gunther to Hans: Hey, I know what we can do! Let's get a rope and string it between these two trees and see who can walk the furthest without falling off.
Hans to Gunther: Sounds great! I'm in!

And here's the answer to our first trivia question. Carole has only broken into The Sound of Music song once. (Bohn did it twice today, though!!)



Here's the second trivia question (winner will receive the coveted "Cruel Shoes" award): How many blisters does Becky have after scaling Monchsburg Mountain in high heels?



More to come...