Going to Egypt can be overwhelming in many ways. Your initial reaction to something like the tombs of the Pharaohs in the Valley of the Kings (and Queens) at Luxor may well be one of astonishment…. like Joshua’s here who went on our Genesis to Revelation tour last summer… I know how he feels. Visiting the tombs of the Pharaohs is mind boggling. You see images carved and painted 3,000 years and more ago, and some of them look like... Read more

There’s plenty of shopping for Christmas that can be done in this town.  For example….   Local music is a good option. Or you can just take home some indelible memories for instance of the original mill still in town… Or how about the river, or the castle on the hill…..   But the realm of Mozart is well worth the visit, however you get there..               Read more

The food in Saltzburg is quite excellent.  And there are some specialties…. for instance The Saltzburger Nockerel, which basically is a giant puff pastry, sort of like a meringue, but filled with cream.   We saw this attempted at the little pub we ate at. This is not a sign for the rock group…   Did I mention hot soft flavored pretzels again?   But how about 50 different flavors of marmalade?   Yikes! There are of course more conventional... Read more

The portion of the city where the Sound of Music was partially filmed is in the central park/garden.       All this walking makes one hungry, so the giant soft pretzel stand in many flavors (we got cinnamon) was worth a stop.     Read more

Saltzburg has churches a plenty, and it’s time to have a look inside of several of them, especially the two giant ones that dominate the central square. This is St. Peters, as should be obvious from the entranceway, although the statue of the man makes him look like he’s trying to give back the keys to the kingdom to the Almighty. This cathedral is incredibly ornate as we shall now see.     Around the central dome are paintings of... Read more

There are many fascinating aspects to Saltzburg, one of which is the signs of the merchants which indicate their products or wares, or sometimes their names.   Here are some of them….   Colorful church day umbrellas anyone? Is this a music shop, or does this merchant just like to toot his own French horn? Whatever this advertises, they want you know they are merchants to the crown since 1720. Cloth merchants perhaps?  Probably not basbers.   Top quality Austrian children’s... Read more

Saltzburg is only a little bigger in population than Innsbruck (150,000 compared to about 130,000), but it seems to be a much bigger city as it is more spread out along and above the river, the Salzach.  Like many such medieval towns its old city is walled and includes a castle on the acropolis. As the town name suggests, it was a town that made its fortunes originally from a salt mine.  Today, it mostly relies on tourism, as it... Read more

So about the Palace.  It’s in town and not on the scale by any means of the one just outside Vienna– Schonbrunn.   And it doesn’t much look like a palace, but it is…   It looks like a shopping area in the swanky part of London,  the West End.  Think Fortnam and Masons.  And the most notable feature is the royal chapel, which has as its own most notable feature some remarkable bronze statues, including King Arthur, no less, and... Read more

Whereas Munich is a huge city by European standards (over 1.5 million inhabitants), Innsbruck Austria is only about 130,000.  Let’s clear up one thing— the Alps are partly in Germany (remember Bavaria), Austria, Switzerland, and a tiny bit in France.  Of course the Swiss and secondly the Austrian Alps are the most famous, and Innsbruck is famous for hosting two winter Olympics when I was young. Behold the ski jump tower.   And below the view from up there…    ... Read more

What are the Germans good at producing? Good beer, good cheese, good meat mostly. And prepare to start drooling as you thumb through this post.   And you thought gardens were just for flowers.  This is a beer garden. You’ll need one of these to truly celebrate. This beer, made by Augustinian monks like Luther, dates back to the 14th century.   Or maybe your go to is cheese? Or how about a whole wall of cheese? Perhaps however you are... Read more