ice, ice and salt

I was getting excited even during the drive into salzburg - we were heading into alps country!  It was really beautiful and Salzburg itself is lovely to wander around.  The Mirabell gardens and abbey are 'Sound of Music' famous.  They have a beer hall that a bunch of us visited on the first night.. practice for oktoberfest of course!

The next day consisted of ice caves and ice hockey.. absolutely brilliant!  It was a beautiful day and the bus ride to the ice caves afforded some magnificent views.  We then went up the steepest cable car in the world and walked up to the largest ice caves in the world.  It was quite warm outside, but the temperature inside the cave is always cold.

  After the tour inside the cave, the bus dropped us back into town... just in time for the first ice hockey match of the season.  Our team, Salzburg, played a great game and we were rather excited when they won 5-1.  Go Salzburg!  Who would've thought a group of aussie tourists would get so excited at the ice hockey?!!

I also visited a salt mine, which is a family tradition.  Mum and dad went first, then Nicola, and now moi!  The best part was going down the steep slides into the cave.  It was like a ride at an amusement park!

Also went to Hellbrunn palace, which is a short bus ride from Salzburg centre.  It's quite famous for its trick water fountains.  The guy who designed the gardens would have all his guests sit down at an outdoor table.  Custom at the time was that the guests shouldn't move from the table unless the host does.  So, the host would get one of his servants to flick a switch, and suddenly water would be squirting from the tables and chairs!  It would get everyone soaked, but the only place that would remain dry was the seat of the host.  What a charming guy!