We slept in our first morning in Salzburg as we didn't have to be ready for our Ice Caves tour until 12.30pm. I managed to fiddle and fart around the whole morning and do absolutely nothing ( not even write my blog!)- well apart from try to sort out the situation that had arisen at home. So the day was not off to a good start, but I managed to get downstairs on time. We were collected in a minibus and taken to the big bus which was to transport us to the Ice Caves- the biggest disappointment of my trip so far. I imagined they were caves in a glacier carving its way through a valley floor. How wrong was I!
The bus had to drive part of the way up the mountain, and if that wasn't enough, we then had to walk up a mountain track for half an hour to an interminable ( but actually 3 minute cable car ride) to the restaurant, then another half hour walk to the mouth of the caves. I had had enough by this stage, as I knew I had still to walk down again but was encouraged by our guide Michael that I could manage the cave since I had come this far. I wasn't sure about Elizabeth though as her eyes had exploded like they do occasionally when she overdoes it, and she barely see anything at all. But we did it! I cannot say that we enjoyed it at all- just too much physical pain-1400 steps, some extremely steep and shaky, and all of this in the semi-dark with just weak kerosene lanterns to light our way. Stacey kept saying, "not far now" for about an hour- I don't think I'll ever believe her again. :-) We glimpsed a couple of ice features; a polar bear and an elephant are all I remember seeing as the guide was moving on by the time us tail enders arrived. I was struggling to breathe and I was afraid my throat might close over and I didn't have my medication with me so it was pretty scary. It wasn't until we were on our walk down that Michael explained we were 1775 metres above sea level, and the rarified air made breathing more difficult. On the way down, we had to repeat in reverse the trek on the way up except the cable car was much worse going down as I was crying too hard to count the seconds like I did on the way up. I have to get over my terror of these contraptions and I only know one way! Any other suggestions? I have always been a little scared but not absolutely petrified. The only plus I could think of at the time was that Santorini's steps are going to be a piece of piss in comparison. And I have to admit the views were the most majestic I have ever seen in my entire life, but it's hard to appreciate the view when you are either a) terrified or b) struggling for breath, can't swallow and think you are going to die of asphyxiation or heart attack or both! Anyway, I didn't actually die ( or I wouldn't be writing this right now), but I was actually too exhausted and overwrought to eat ( now THAT doesn't happen often!) so I had a long soak in a hot bath and climbed into bed and sang along with The Sound of Music singalong version until I felt better and fell asleep just after 8.
Today, we woke up early and actually remembered to have breakfast before we headed off on a bus to Berchtesgaden. I didn't know how I was going to manage it as my legs were cramped from yesterday's exertions and my knee cap had slipped out as well, but I donned walking socks and knee guard and set off. Elizabeth was in no better form as her eyes hadn't recovered overnight, the swelling had actually increased, and she was virtually blind. Talk about the blind leading the blind! :-) She still managed to spot the bus to Berchtesgaden which I had walked straight past. I just don't see things even when I am looking.
The bus took us along the banks of the River Salza ( not sure how to spell it). As we were going upstream, it decreased in width and became the most beautifully coloured babbling brook I have ever seen. Such a beautiful shade of green apparently caused by the salt but it reminded me of copper. We hopped off at Berchtesgaden and found the thermal baths whose recuperative properties are known world-wide, and I sure needed some of those. We signed up for 4 hours during which time I tried every pool: my favourite being the outdoor pool with waterfall, spas, and great huge bubbly things that erupted from the floor of the pool and lasted only for a few minutes during which time you had to try to keep your feet firmly planted and not lose your balance. I loved those! And the waterfall gave a strong shoulder massage and I even managed to hang onto the side and stick my feet under for a foot and calf massage- greatly needed! I finished up with the solegrotte ( fancy dark steam room with twinkly lights like stars on a dark ceiling) and the tepidarium (dry heat like a sauna but not as hot but had hot granite slabs to lie on to further aid my sore muscles. A day of rest and recovery after the most physically challenging day yesterday was just what we needed. Elizabeth's swollen eyes even started to improve though she still wasn't keen for a photo. (Don't worry Samantha, they are a lot better tonight.)
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| not bad..taken from a moving bus |
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| the view from Berchtesgaden |
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| more view |
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| can't get enough of the snow-capped peaks |
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| more mountains |
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| and now for some beer |
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| more beer |
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| and weiner schnitzel...yumbles |
As tempting as it was to leave our togs on, we completely re-dressed before heading off to find some late lunch/early dinner which we did at the local Hofbrauhaus where we drank the local beer (of course!) and ate a huge plate of weiner schnitzel and back on the bus home accompanied by some extremely loud Austrian kids. (We had escaped the thermal baths just as a multitude of them were entering!) We called in at the local shopping centre on the way home to buy a few essentials, had another long bath and washed my salty hair, drank the rest of the peach brandy so we don't have to carry it tomorrow. This seems to be our standard excuse for drinking! It didn't seem alcoholic though because I believe I have typed this faultlessly but there's probably a lot of funny things I've left out. :-) Off to Vienna tomorrow...
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