Festung Hohensalzburg (Salzburg Fortress)...

What did I do on my lovely German catholic holiday on wednesday no work day? Walked around a fortress in Salzburg with Allen. And this being my first train ride to a destination outside of Germany, I had to take some pictures. So here's some shots of the train...

The train to Salzburg...

Countryside

This heat wave across Europe has not been the friendliest to say the least, as we arrived in Salzberg around 3 or so, no bags, just ready for the day hike. The train passed over a river that gave us a straight shot of the castle...I think we pretty much had the gameplan down after that. It was about a mile or so walk to get to the fortress, not many stores open, but regardless glad to be away from the train station, trash, and filth that surrounds it. We made our way through the city streets and started heading uphill towards the mountain. 9 Euro to take the tram up and down, 6 Euro to walk up it on foot, and then tram back down. So we went the cheaper route, and I got this sweet shot of the city...

City of Salzburg.

Castle action...look waaaay in the back.

Huge Fountain at the base of the Fortress...

I don't think you realize how big these structures are, just look at how small the people are. And to think this castle has been around starting sometime back around 1100 AD? it's madness. I was blown away by how far out you can see, and how clear it was. I don't think you could have asked for better weather, aside from the heat. Yet still I kept looking for the ring of smog around the city...oh wait that's in LA, sorry. But inside the tower was room after room of history, medals, wardrobe, paintings, weaponry, torture devices, cooking utensils, you name it. Pretty crazy to think that this was part of someone's daily routine, to wake up in a castle, walk around, eat, party, flirt with women, learn how to fight, etc. All the while this place had cannon's aiming out in probably every direction and people just on lookout for an invasion from neighboring Kings.

Amazing Church...never seen anything like it...

My first fortress experience...

highest point in the city...

Raw firepower.

Big 'ole cannon...

It was a truly memorable experience, nonetheless, so now I've got the travel bug. I think this weekend we will go to the train station, pick a location, and just go. Only cost 34 Euro to get to Salzberg, just south of Munich in Austria, and it was well worth it. Oh, and here's a sweet Alfa Romeo GT V that we saw on the road on the way out...

Sweet Alfa GT

Guten Tag!