The Mountain

with all the talk of the lakes and the rivers, I almost forgot the mountains, which surround each lake and give it a wonderful colour and setting...

The river

The Traun river....
Sat around the shores of the Lake and this river. Went swimming twice. It was a warm day...30 degrees in the shade. Went to two places we visited in happier times and had a cup of coffee each....
All in all....I had a good time

...the lake and the river

A clear, quiet end of the Ausseer See ....
Roamed around the Ausseer See (Lake Ausse) and visited two lovely communities on the shores of this pretty body of clear water.

The Traunsee...

One of the largest lakes in the salzkammergut is the Traunsee ( Lake Traun ) It is, as this picture will tell you, a paradise for sailors.

The Traunsee, as most other lakes in this area, is surrounded by Mountains. A road leads along the shore line and you had better stop gawking: There are more curves than you can count.

Tomorrow I will visit Alt Aussee...This is probably the nicest of them all. I'll bring more pictures to bore the hell out of you. Oh, well, there is always the switch to turn it off.

On an island in the Traunsee there is "Schloss Ort". A castle built around 1050, many times renovated and lately used as a setting for films and TV shows. It is almost breathtaking in its beautyful fit on this island, which is connected to the main land by a sturdy bridge.

Rent a Boat....

You may rent a sail boat, you may rent a row boat, you may even rent a boat with an electric motor. Ask for an outboard motor boat and they would look at you as if you had just gone cracy....the lakes are pure and beautiful...

More Sankt Wolfgang

...another view of the church of Sankt Wolfgang.. There is unfortunately no way to duplicate the charm of this place in a picture, irrespective of the obvious superb quality of the photographer.

The church from another angle. Perched dangerously on the edge of the cliff. It's been hanging there for many hundreds of years and hasn't fallen yet.

The Church in St. Wolfgang

The main Altar of the church of Sankt Wolfgang. It is a lovely old church with great art on the main- as well as on its two side altars. While I photographed this, a service was in progress and of course i had to tread carefully...without a flash...















The painted and arched ceiling of the organ loft.


















I really wanted the three girls in their native costumes....( Dirndln) but did not have the heart to tell the one in the blue shirt that I did not want her in the picture. So here they are. Four lovely ladies from the town of Sankt Wolfgang....in front of an arched opening of the church outer wall, with the lake and the mountains in the background.

the little town of St.Wolfgang

Hilde obviously enjoys the lovely weather, the great view and the anticipation of a good glass of wine...











Some views of the quaint narrow streets of St.W.

In the "Salzkammergut"

The "Salzkammergut" is an area in Upper Austria, overlapping into the Province (Land) Salzburg. It contains several lovely lakes, (I'll count them later) and rivers which are well suited for Cayaking. The Lakes are surrounded by mountains and are skirted
by the most charming towns and villages imaginable.









Here is part of the town of St.Wolfgang, on the shores of the Wolfgang See (Lake Wolfgang) The church, seen here, lies on a promontory, and has a lovely interior. Maybe I'll post a picture later.









Mountains and Lakes make a wonderful combination. Just remember Lake Louise.

Our lovely hostess

Ingrid, our lovely and vivacious hostess....

just another party

Theo and Herwig discuss the menue; and whatever they talked about...the dinner was delicious. There was barbequed lamb, chicken and sausages, the most wonderful potatos and most imaginatively prepared salads.
















I almost forgot: There were also great wines: Gruener Veltliner, red and white....Ingrid was the Sommelier....she knows how to open a good bottle....














There is a trick to barbequeing .... you have to know the proper dance steps....

















The end result: a marvellous meal enjoyed by: ( l to r ) Herwig, Christa, Ingrid, Theo and of course, the photographer....

Bad Reichenhall

Just across the border from Austria to Germany, minutes from Salzburg, lies the lovely town of Bad reichenhall. Following an ancient custom, they erect a tall "May-Pole" on the 1st of May and on this occasion, as on any other occasion which offers itself, they have a party....

The Golden Arches of McDonalds

Even the golden arches of McDonalds have to fit nicely into the general pattern of good taste and popular wrought iron art.

...you wanna buy?

Intricately fashioned Trade Signs advertise all manner of businesses in the famous, narrow Getreidegasse.

Soccer-crazy Salzburg

Even the roof of the Cathedral sports a banner, advertising "Euro Cup 2008"
Down, on the square of the Cathedral is the "Fan Zone" A band stand, flanked by two giant TV screen, on which the games are shown live, provides intertainment (Rock Musik) every evening. The young crowds whoop it up until well after midnight.

Everybody who knows me, is aware that I am a huge Soccer Fan, as well as a pationate lover of Mozart....somehow, the two don't seem to mix. That's why I will come back to Salzburg at a later date.