Syon House to Strawberry Hill - 18 June 2006

It was summer: it was sunny; so a stroll from Syon to Strawberry seemed a suitable scenario. After a look around the opulence of Syon House, the London home of the Dukes of Northumberland, we set off along the Thames path walking upstream, away from London.

After about 4 miles we arrived at Strawberry Hill the home of Horace Walpole, son of Britain's first Prime Minister. He, and his 'committee of taste' revived the Gothic look, well before the Victorian gothic era.

Although he built on the cheap and said it would not last, the house is still going strong and being restored by a dedicated group of enthusiasts. One example of his money saving which has turned out to be quite propitious is his use of papier-mache to create the ceiling details. In other stately homes such detail is carved wood or plaster work. If plaster details come loose and drop to the floor they will shatter, papier-mache bounces and can be glued back in place.

Transport for London kindly laid on a bus, the 267, to take us back to Syon House to collect our car.

The Queen turns 80 - 17 June 2006

Well, she didn't really, but the official celebrations are held in June and marked by the Trooping of the Colour. Rather than watch from Horse Guards Parade this year, we elected to position ourselves at the Buckingham Palace end of the Mall to see the 80th-birthday-balcony-wave.

We arrived in time to see Her Majesty leave the Palace on her way to Horse Guards and stayed for the fly-past, ended as usual with the red, white and blue of the Red Arrows

Berchtesgaden and the Eagle's Nest - 9 June 2006

Friday was another great day, and we spent it over the border in Bavaria. We first visited 'Eagle's Nest', the mountain retreat built for Hitler's 50th birthday. The building and access road were constructed in an amazing 13 months. The buses can drive almost to the summit of the 1835m peak and after walking 120 metres along a granite-lined tunnel into the mountain, a stunning brass-lined lift takes you the final 124 metres.

The local mayor campaigned to save the retreat from demolition after the war and it is now a restaurant. The mountains are so close around you: it is aptly named, and well worth visiting.

Our visit to the local Berchtesgaden salt mine was an anticlimax after such a brilliant morning, but the town itself was a good way to end the day.

Hallstatt - 8 June 2006

Inspired by a beautiful scene on a calendar last year and the fantastic day which dawned on Thursday, we took a bus to Hallstatt: a UNESCO World Heritage site.



They have ensured this beautiful village on the lake edge will be preserved, even to the extent of putting a tunnel through the mountain behind the village to provide a traffic bypass. The lake, Hallstattsee, was like glass and the boat trip which circles the lower end of the lake was a good way to see the village.

The wealth of the village came from their salt mines, which can be toured. We choose to visit the German equivalent on Friday.

Unique to this village, and forced on them by a lack of space to expand the church-yard, was the practice of exhuming skeletons after a period and storing the bones in the charnel house. This in itself is not particularly unusual, the twist here is that the skulls were painted and named so your dearly departed was quite identifiable.

Hellbrunn and Untersburg - 6 & 7 June 2006

Tuesday was wet again, so we took a 2-day Salzburg Card. This is excellent value, especially for filling in a wet day, visiting museums. By mid afternoon we were at the impressive fortress, and the sun was actually shining while we were surveying the view from the roof. Just perfect for a few photos then, just after we were safely back in the fortress, the heavens opened once more.

Wednesday dawned with the possibility of the cloud lifting so we took a chairlift up the Untersberg, the 1800m mountain overlooking Salzburg. Unfortunately, the cloud did not lift sufficiently but we did get glimpses of Salzburg and the surrounds.

Back in the valley the day was pleasant, and we particularly enjoyed our tour of the gardens at Hellbrunn. The Palace was built by a Prince-Archbishop in 1613 as a summer holiday home. He obviously had a great sense of humour, as he installed trick fountains that are still working, and which were demonstrated by a guide. They were designed to drench his unsuspecting guests at an outdoor eating area and also in and around various grottos. As it was not permitted to stand in the presence of a seated archbishop, and, naturally, his seat (near end of the table) did not have a water jet. His poor guests were not so much ‘caught between the devil and the deep blue sea’, as caught between the archbishop and a thorough soaking.

A cruise on the river wrapped up the day, all courtesy of the Salzburg Card.

Werfen - 5 June 2006

The weather on Monday was a much better, so we took a train trip to Werfen, to visit the ice-caves. These are the largest ice-caves in the world and well worth a visit, provided you attach yourself to a tour that is offering an English as well as a German commentary, as it is a very interesting trip.

The town of Werfen itself is also pleasant to visit, surrounded by snow-covered mountains and dominated by the fortress of Hohenwerfen.

Salzburg - 3 - 11 June 2006

Salzburg in the early summer is beautiful, except when it rains!!
We arrived in Salzburg late on Saturday 3rd June, and fortunately had just reached our hotel, when the heavens opened: we looked out from our balcony in amazement at the torrential rain. It was still raining next morning, so our efforts at sight-seeing were rather hampered and we identified with the little damp cherub we encountered.

We felt we couldn't visit Salzburg without doing 'The Sound of Music Tour', so on our final day found time to fit it in. It was rather fun, and brought back happy childhood memories, although we definitely were not in the same league as the person sitting in front of us, who had seen the movie 25 times!!