Happy Thanksgiving to all of our Canadian readers! We hope that you have had a wonderful weekend!

We left Vienna this morning, feeling that we had seen so much and understand the city, but would love to return to become even better acquainted with it.

First job – retrieve the car from the car park where it had rested peacefully for several days, mixed in with rows of BMWs, Mercedes, Peugots, etc. – oh and this morning an Alfa Romeo that Deb quite liked. She was very interested when Harv told her they will be for sale in Canada soon.

Then luggage in, a stop for fuel and off we went on the autobahn. We detoured off for a bit to travel alongside the mighty blue Danube. It is easy to see why it is one of the world’s truly great rivers!
We arrived at the pension we had booked in Salzburg mid-afternoon and were very pleased to find the Haus Katrin is just delightful. The proprietress, Sandra, was very welcoming and informative.
After depositing our luggage, we headed into the old town area of Salzburg. The Hohensalzburg Fortress sits 400 feet above the Salzach River and it is easy to see why the town was not attacked for nearly a thousand years – it is so formidable.
Salzburg did however surrender when Napoleon stopped in.

Domplatz is dominated by the Salzburg Dom.. This cathedral was consecrated in 1628, built on the sight of the previous church founded in 774. A partial reconstruction of the cathedral was completed in 1959 due to damage by a WWII bomb. This Baroque church is very beautiful, in a different way from some of the others we have seen on this trip. We marvelled at the detail of the interior sculpturing and paintings.

Also in Domplatz were a giant chess set and some men that are really on the ball.
We enjoyed walking through the streets, looking at the buildings and statues we encountered.
The Getreidegasse was old Salzburg’s Main Street and continues as such today. It’s famous for the old wrought- iron signs – the stores today are required to follow this same tradition. Oh – and I found a treat I had been wanting for our whole trip!
As it became time to think about dinner, we headed along the river and up the hill, encountering some great views along the way.
Our choice for dinner tonight came from a Rick Steve’s recommendation. The Augustiner Braustubl is a 1000 seat beer hall (well actually several halls), located in the monastery where the Augustiner beer is made. It was such a fun time. First, you pick up a mug, rinse it, and give it to the keg master to fill. Then you head to the various food kiosks to purchase whatever you desire. We picked a huge pork knuckle, potato & beet salads, sauerkraut & buns, which we all shared, family style.
What a great Thanksgiving Dinner!!

We walked back along the river, marvelling at Salzburg by moonlight, and contemplating how much we have to be thankful for.

We miss our families on this Thanksgiving Day and send them our love!!

Cheers,

B,H,D&L