Salzburg with Magda and Moni! July 29-Aug 3

Made it from Thailand to Munich! We rented a giant van (there are not a lot of vehicles to rent that will hold 6+ people and luggage!). We had a lovely, flat, wide highway drive to Salzburg. This part of Germany looks very much like home! So many corn fields!

The next day we went to Magda's flat, where Magda and my sister Monica had come in from Ireland the night before, and we got to meet Magda's partner Peter, who took us canal surfing.

Well, Josh, anyway. The rest of us were content to watch. It was very fun!

Josh and Peter waiting their turns.

From the other side!

Magda and Frankie dipping their toes in.

Peter surfing in the background!

Exploring Salzburg. Found a fountain? Water feature? Regardless, it provided endless fun.

St Peter's cemetary where Mozart's sister Nannerl is buried.

Girls in a tree!

Pedestrian bridge with so. many. locks!

Mirabell Palace gardens/grounds.

Pretty girls and big fountain...

Checking out more fountains!

Still in the gardens!

Strolling down the gorgeous streets.

Magda usually doesn't like jumping in the photos I ask her to be in...but sometimes she says yes!

Birthplace of Mozart! (right next to the spar)

Beach day in the gorgeous lakes area!

Enjoying the sun, paddleboarding, volleyball, and lounging under trees...

Oh, and some spectacular sand cakes. This was my special request-salted caramel cake with caramel buttercream,compete with surprise candy inside (in case you were wondering).

Driving to St Gilgen from Mondsee.

It is all gorgeous.

Playground stop in St Gilgen....

And an ice cream stop, of course.

There was a performance in one of the squares, so stayed to enjoy some music-even danced a bit!

Peter brought us some tasty cheese danish that I think are called topfenkolatsche. Super tasty!

And Violet may have gotten a bit wet.

Cute kids!

Our Airbnb in Salzburg had gorgeous gardens-and a pool! Today we had a super quick swim before heading to see the trick fountains of Schloss Hellbrunn.

Schloss Hellbrunn is an 'early Baroque villa of palatial size, near Morzg, a southern district of the city of Salzburg, Austria. It was built in 1613–19 by Markus Sittikus von Hohenems, Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, and named for the "clear spring" that supplied it. Hellbrunn was only meant for use as a day residence in summer, as the Archbishop usually returned to Salzburg in the evening; therefore, there is no bedroom in Hellbrunn.' Thanks, Google.

The grounds have all kind of trick fountains-we got sprayed a few times! It was called watergames, or jeux d'eau. These games were conceived by the Prince Archbishop Markus Sittikus as a series of practical jokes to be performed on guests.

Above are stone seats around a stone dining table through which a water conduit sprays water into the seat of the guests when the mechanism is activated. However, the Achbishop's seat stays dry!

Lookong down from the stone table

The star fountain! The girls are all listening to the audio tour, which was so fun for them. I think it took us longer to take the tour since they needed to make sure that they got to each place and listened. It was super cute. And weirdly quiet.

There were lots of random hidden sprays-and beautiful different rooms to visit.

Magda, always waiting for her family.

Behind Lu is one of the rooms built to look like it was crumbling and cracking.

Magda and Moni!

Dashing through the arch of water!

And sturgeon in the ponds-so great!

There were some giant ones too!

Climbed up, up, up to see some great views.

And then did a 'cleansing walk' around this beautiful fountain.

So many flowers!

And a playground, so we had to stop here too.

That evening, we went to the Hohensalzburg Fortress for dinner and a 'best of Mozart' concert.

Going up the Fortress Funicular!

The Fortress was initially build in 1077 by Archbishop Gebhard. His successors were responsible for the further development, and so around 1500 was when the Fortress took on its current appearance. The original purpose of the fortress was to protect the principality and the archbishops from enemy attack. It has never been taken by foreign troops.

View from the Fortress.

Dinner!

Fancy dessert called Salzburger Nockerl-big puffs of merange with custard and fruit.

Heading up to the Golden Hall for the concert, but first, the views!

Can you spot Lu?

Good thing we bought a few skirts in Thailand for fancy dinners!

Enjoying Magda!

The Golden Hall.

It was a glorious concert, in such a great setting! I didn't think the girls would want to stay for the whole thing, but when I gave the option to go home at intermission they all wanted to stay! They played Mozart (of course), Strauss, and Vivaldi's Spring, which was so good!

Salzburg by night.

Down the funicular to go home!

Just after we took these pictures, a bunch of the orchestra players also joined our car-it was like sighting celebrities!

The next day we headed to Eisriesenwelt, considered the largest ice cave in the world with a total length of 42 km.

We met Magda's family (mom and dad came from Poland, and her brother and family live in Vienna-it was pick up for granparent camp for the grandkids!) for the tour as well-so great to see them again!!

As we were going to be in the cave for over an hour, we needed to bring warm clothes-but we also had a decent hike/cable car/hike route up to the entrance, so we all got hot and sweaty before we could cool off in the cave.

From the mouth of the cave.

Frankie, the light bearer.

The guide used magnesium strips to light up certain areas while giving the tour. Apparently you aren't supposed to take pictures, but he said (several times) that this was his last tour and everyone can take pictures. So....we took pictures!

More stairs!

So many fun formations, and the fantastic blue ice.

Hi Lu!

Moni and Magda-we stopped for a bite to eat-Josh got schnitzel!

Getting creative to stay out of the rain while we waited for the cable car.

More pretty mountains. So many.

The whole group! From left-Magda's dad Wiesław, sister in law Agata, mom Barbara, Kuba and Jasiek (nephews) in front of Moni and Frank, and Magda's brother Przemek at the end.

View from the cable car.

I can't help myself with the mountain views.

Or big castles perched on hills.

The next morning, we stopped at Magda's house for breakfast with the family, and then we will be on the road. It was a glorious morning!

Barbara and Jasiek are adorable.

Frankie and Kuba were fast friends-so incredible how well children transcend language barriers!

Till next time, Latka family! Thanks for such a beautiful time in Salzburg! We love you!

Once we left Salzburg, we headed south to go towards Lozzo Di Cadore, in Northern Italy, where my (Meg's) maternal grandpa's family was from.

Magda suggested that we drive through the Grossglockner High Alpine Road, and the views were amazing! Grossglockner is the tallest peak in Austria. We saw lots of snowy peaks and glaciers.

And these great cows!

You could hear these bells loud and clear.

We saw so many bikers! It made me worried for their safety with these switchbacks and small roads...

Leaving Austria! See you in Italy!