O Tannenbaum - A tour of German Christmas Markets and other spots

[OZDUCK]

Continuing on our island tour

The gardens were were well and truly covered in snow



Final view of the palace



This is the one photo I have 'played' with the brightness etc. The contrast between the white snow and my wifes dark jacket seemed to affect the picture definition.




An orchard I think?



The amountof snow on these cars gives an idea how much had fallen



These horses didn't seem too concerned by the cold snowy conditions



A couple of the islands inhabitants positively revelled in the conditions

 

[Seat0B]

Just beautiful!

 

[Pushka]

Oh. We knew there had been snow somewhere.

 

[OZDUCK]

On the way back to the jetty we passed by the monastery on the island







And just to prove that it was still snowing





The waiting area for the ferries



It must have been fun pushing this around



The jetty was even more snowbound than when we arrived

 

[OZDUCK]

A picturesque chapel near the monastery that I had forgotten to put in earlier





You can see how bad the conditions were



The monastery



The lakeside chapel





Crossing the path of another ferry



Approaching the mainland




Our return tickets - it was about 15 minutes each way.

 

[OZDUCK]

A quick video demonstrating the conditions around the palace. I don't see why those German workers let a light sprinkle of snow deter them from coming to work.

Back on the mainland it wasn't much better.



A nice day for a ride



We walked about 1.5 km to get something for lunch. As you can see the railway track had completely disappeared. We were on the bike path.



I have to admit that I was getting a bit chilly by now.







Even though the train wasn't running the diesel engine went past.



And then to my delight the steam engine appeared



Although it was still very cold you could forgive a lot for scenes like this.

 

[OZDUCK]

The food here was perfectly fine but nothing special. However sitting in the warm and looking outside did make it feel special. The phone is out for google translate. I can usually read German menus but there are occasional words that catch me out.



The outside of the restaurant





We have seen YouTube videos of the ride around Chiemsee in summer and it looks great. Not so many bikes here today.



A swan blending in



I rather like this photo of me. Luckily it avoids my worse features.





The next morning was bright and beautiful and we thought all our adventures were behind us but ----!!! Da Da Da Duumm

The rails had even re-appeared. That yellowish building was our hotel





Free E-bike charging station

 

[OZDUCK]

The ferries still appeared a bit snowbound





We knew that there were mountains nearby but this was our first view of them. The low angle of the sun made photography a bit difficult







Looking across to Herrenchiemsee. The palace is at the end of the gap in the trees just to the left of the flagpole



The palace - still no sign of life.



A memorial to King Ludwig II



This car park was full of tour buses on our first day. They come from as far away as Italy to visit the Christmas Market. We were talking to a lady on the ferry to a woman from Nuremberg who had got up at 04:00 to catch the bus. She didn't expect to get home until around 22:00

 

[OZDUCK]

We were worried about how we were going to get back to the mainline station to catch a train to Salzburg. But about 10:00 the Chiemsee Bahn started running again. And even better the steam engine was hooked up as the motive force.



We got the best view in the house





Below are some videos of our ride.

Firstly a great view of the steam engine

Next a couple of views from the carriage while leaving the station with all the associated noises.

Going past our hotel. You can see how close it is to the track

Passing through town

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One I like very much - except for my excited remarks at the start. I still think its got a bit of the Dr Zhivago feel about it.

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[OZDUCK]

We arrived at the main station



And walked onto the platform to be confronted by this scene. The snow was nearly up to the edge of the platform





The station was unattended but there was an electronic arrival board that showed that trains were due to arrive - even if delayed. Being inexperienced in matters of snow on German Railways I naively assumed that a snow plough was opening up the line. We decided to have a walk around town to pass the time.


It is actually quite a pretty place









The Prien River



We decided to have something warming to eat - basically a vegetable soup with rice.

 

[OZDUCK]

The small Christmas Market was just beginning to open.








We walked back to the Bahnhoff and it now became obvious that no trains were running. We later learnt that Munich HBF had became completely paralysed with points frozen and trains immobile. All of our possible trains passed through there. The rail company blamed the unexpected early arrival of winter - on 3rd of December!



Our accommodation in Salzburg had already been paid for and the free cancellation period had expired. No buses or any other form of transport was running so we decided to take a cab that was waiting at the station. The driver estimated that it would cost between €155 - 170. It was on the meter and it ended up costing around €165 for a 70 km trip. This is the dearest taxi trip I have ever taken. It was a worthwhile decision as the trains didn't run for another couple of days. It would have cost us just as much for double payment of hotels and we would have lost some time in Salzburg. We decided to treat it as a sort of guided tour. In fact the views from the autobahn were much better than on the train. The driver was very chatty -- maybe because he had a nice juicy fare but so what.







The German/Austrian border. Fuel was about 8 - 10 a litre cheaper in Austria.





Made it - crossing the Salzach River in Salzburg

 

[Katie]

Darn, I miss Germany at Christmas time. Maybe next year.

 

[OZDUCK]

Darn, I miss Germany at Christmas time. Maybe next year.

We really enjoyed it. However the long grey days eventually began to wear us down on the last few days.

 

[Pushka]

We really enjoyed it. However the long grey days eventually began to wear us down on the last few days.

Agree. Sunrise at least as late as 8.30 am and skies darkening for sunset from 4pm just isn't good for the mental well being for us Aussies used to so much more sunlight even in winter. We were ready for sleep around 8 pm just to get the dark over with.

 

[OZDUCK]

Continuing on with Salzburg.

First another sight along the trip there



When we arrived in Salzburg the sun was shining brightly but there had obviously been a lot of snowfall there. We had the taxi drop us near the Central Station as our flat was only a 10 minute walk away but with lots of one way streets..



We stayed at the Master Mirabell Suites Serviced Apartments. These were almost brand new as they had only opened for guests a couple of weeks beforehand. They were very comfortable. This was the only time we had trouble with our 28 Degrees Card as they claimed that they couldn't get it to work and I had to end up using my 'normal' credit card and swallow the fees. I had no problems anywhere else with this card.

One amusing feature of our apartment was that it had a nice modern laptop safe. Unfortunately the safe was not secured to anything and thus would have made a nice easy carry bag for any thief. I reported it on checkout and they promised to fix it.

We were only a couple of hundred metres from the Mirabell Palace and we paid €735 for 5 nights. Entry to the building and room was by PIN.







There was a mini fridge and a dishwasher in the 'kitchen'.



Almost a car park view but looking a lot nicer under the snow.



In the basement there was large common area with free large washers and dryers.

 

[OZDUCK]

We set off to the Mirabell Palace Gardens.

On the street - Rainer Strasse





And then into the gardens - though not particularly lush at this time of the year.







More than one person came to grief on this path as it was solidly iced over. In fact we saw lots of falls in Salzburg but fortunately neither of us fell.







And for those who think this garden looks slightly familiar. It is possible that The Sound of Music might have been filmed in a slightly different season.

 

[OZDUCK]

More of the gardens



A slightly whimsical snowman/snow alien

​

The Hohensalzburg fortress in the background



By the time we got to the river night was falling and the city was being to look extremely beautiful. The snow certainly added a bit of allure to the riverside.

 

[OZDUCK]

I had a bit of play with my camera (not the phone) settings and quite like this one.



I think the red light on the fortress is a rotating aircraft warning light. The airport is a few km behind the fortress.





I was continually dropping my gloves, beanie etc and on occasions my mouth seemed the safest place for them.



Statue of the conductor Herbert von Karajan

 

[VPS]

We set off to the Mirabell Palace Gardens.

On the street - Rainer Strasse

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And then into the gardens - though not particularly lush at this time of the year.

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More than one person came to grief on this path as it was solidly iced over. In fact we saw lots of falls in Salzburg but fortunately neither of us fell.

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And for those who think this garden looks slightly familiar. It is possible that The Sound of Music might have been filmed in a slightly different season.

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Were you wearing some cleats or something on your shoes or just good grip shoes

 

[Pushka]

Were you wearing some cleats or something on your shoes or just good grip shoes

We did see snow on our post cruise, at Mt Titlus. It was wonderful and we walked around a lot. In my case, in cheap boots Id bought from Spendless, that look like upscale Ugg boots but more fake fur lined than sheep skin, black and with a fancy button. They had an excellent grip on the snow, I never slipped on the ice at the chalet. I was going to chuck them before coming back to Oz but they kept my feet so warm just with socks, I've brought them back. I'd waterproofed them multiple times prior and they kept dry. Reckon they cost - $30?