Day 5 - Innsbruck to Salzburg, Hangar 7, The Sound of Music, Mondsee, and Mirabell Gardens
We arose to another beautiful day in Austria... and on this day opted for the breakfast at the hotel. We were able to pre-pay for it the night before.. which meant it was at the reduced rate of €15, instead of €26. As is customary for buffets in Germany, the buffet included many types of juices, many types of meats.. sausage.. bacon.. deli meats like ham, prosciutto, and even salmon.... and of course eggs, potatoes, and many fruits and pastries. Properly fed, we set off for Salzburg, to visit Hangar 7. If you are not aware of this structure, it is an airport hangar near the salzburg airport, and it is owned by the owner of Red Bull.
http://www.hangar-7.com/en/ Hangar 7 has a cafe in the center, and the cafe is surrounded by Red Bull sponsored vehicles... But before one even gets to the hangar... the parking lot is full of automotive enthusiast vehicles...
A vintage Ford Thunderbird is one of the last vehicles I would have expected in Austria...
And of course.. the nearly omnipresent X1. The X1 SUV has not yet made it to the US. It was actually intended
to be here 6-9 months ago, but strong sales in Europe, mean that they are'nt able to build enough to meet the
additional demand from the US market. The X1 is also produced on the same line as the 1 series... so production
of the 1 series M at the Leipzig factory is also limiting X1 production. Sorry future X1 owners.. you'll have to wait!
And a very unique F1 car
a close up
A photo of the cafe...
And of course some modern art...
I am not sure why an Alien was invited..
And a very cool Sony cubicle with a Bravia TV and playstation 3 with Gran Turismo 5.
Even the bathrooms were extraordinary...
As we left... we encountered more TVRs... Apparently the owner of the red car didn't get the memo on the proper time..
We then began to look for the Sound of music house... and found a roundabout... Salzburg has buses that use electric power... Salzburg was not nearly as charming as Innsbruck...
However we did find a tour company.. The tour was a 4 hour tour around the city of Salzburg... at a whopping €107 for the three of us!
one of TWO homes used as the actual home in the movie.
the gazebo it turns out was relocated to this garden..
The tour continued on through salzburg...
we came upon a lake...
Can anyone guess who own this? Hint... note the architechture... lots of glass..
The owner of Red Bull and hangar 7 of course!
then we came round this hill..
And the tour came to the town of Mondsee..The tour bus stopped here for an hour to let us walk around
the church used in the movie for the wedding..
we stopped for some apple strudel and ice cream... the food, the ice cream, and the wait staff, were excellent,
however the bees made it unbearable to sit at your table...
Definitely recommended.. even if you have to eat and run!
On the way back to the tour bus we passed by this BMW again... so I got some photos.
Finally the tour bus returned us back to town and we saw the fountain at Mirabell Gardens
It was a four hour tour... a four hour tour........ and a good way to see Salzburg.... but if we're being honest... no slight to those that live there... we found it a bit of a disappointment compared to Innsbruck and Munich. On our way out of Salzburg made a pit stop at a local gas station....
ED Tip... Looking for the Bathroom...? Look for one of following signs.. W/C... Water Closet..... Toilette.... and....
And off we go to Munich....
where we got ourselves in a good old fashioned traffic slog.... such as between say....Dallas and Austin ... Or Indianapolis to Chicago... ... New York.. to.. well.. New York... and the same for L.A... It was enough that we diverted as much as possible, at exits, and made some headway past kms of stopped traffic, but within an hour rain and darkness spoiled the fun, as well as occasionally ending up on a road that looked like someone's driveway.... (the Tom Tom faithfully guiding me, believe it or not). Eventually we found our way back to the Abahn..
Autobahn ED Tip...
When you cross under stanchions where there normally are speed limit signs..... and you realize they are all DARK.. it's time to drop the hammer! The 1M is a comfortable highway cruiser for intermediate trips... I made several extended runs (alternating gears and rpms, yes!) at 110 mph throughout the trip.... For the most part this entire trip, the 1M was a Grand Tourer for me, and it was very capable. Certainly an E9x would have been more comfortable, but for carving on the roads to Stelvio and back..the 1M was easily able to cut and thrust past cars, which is the only way through traffic! On what I would call the backside or my approach path up to Stelvio, I would definitely not have wanted a wider or heavier car! Finally, a welcome sight...
For our last night in town, I elected a hotel near the airport.. and I found what we all thought was an awesome hotel.
Hotel Moevenpick Hotel München-Airport
Address Ludwigstrasse 43
Hallbergmoos, 85399
Germany
Phone +49 (0) 811 888 524
Fax +49811888444
E-mail
nicole.bartz@moevenpick.com
There is a large outdoor parking area... it was packed... This hotel looks brand new and just had a great upscale casual atmosphere... There is a restaurant which is open from 6-11
and bar....which was open until midnight...
and the food at the restaurant was good, with very large portions...
The menu was a little confusing... but prices had a wide range from spaghetti with beef for €8.95 to steaks at €26.00 Most items were in the 13-15 range. They also serve ice cream, which our entire family enthusiastically recommend! At a mere €2 per scoop, it's the perfect completion to whatever meal.. or.. no meal.. !
Pick a flavor... try it.... you'll thank me!
Our first floor hallway had a trick automated doorway....
And here was our room...... Adult room...
and adjoining chidren's room.. or room for a second two...
The hotel has WIFI at decent rates.. or at least some tiers below 11 per day.. I paid €5 for 3 hours, with multiple devices permitted, but ended up getting only 2.5 hours of time. Aside from a lobby computer that was bogged down, everything was impeccable.
The bathrooms had their own surprise... extra facilities.... !
Note.. Hand Towels, pictured above... are a rarity in Germany and Austria. if you have a loufa... bring it along..
Unlike US hotels.. where we get two different types of soaps and fancy little bottles of mid range hair products, most european hotels appear to have a single soap/shampoo/conditioner gel in the bathroom.
The price for 1 room... either two twins or the full size bed...€77
Our Total room price -Family Room (2 Adults + 2 Children in two adjoining rooms) € 87.00
Yes.. parents.. that wasn't a typo..the difference for an entire adjoining room with it's own bathroom was less than one Andrew Jackson.
The hotel is a few miles from login/out and the airport terminal. If you are using a GPS.. it's in the city of Hallbergmoos (not Munich) as per the sign pictured earlier. The hotel has airport boards so you can keep track of your flight before leaving for the airport, and there is a free shuttle that runs as early as 5am.... which we were about to experience...
but for now, it was.. farewell...
Anyone recall the number of miles I had originally planned??