I typically pleasure myself on being a strong speller and grammaristicianizationer. I’ll fortunately admit, nevertheless, that ‘spontaneity’ is a kind of phrases that simply by no means seems to be fairly proper, regardless of if it’s spelled appropriately or not.
Each time I plan journeys, there must be a component of “epicness” to them, or else I received’t go. There must be one thing that compels me to both the journey or the vacation spot. Spontaneity may be very compelling, particularly to a spot that has your coronary heart.
The Sound of Music Tour
Let’s rewind the clock a number of years, to the summer season of 2010. My candy mom and I had been taking a grand tour of Europe. We began in Frankfurt, hit the Nurburgring, Munich, Fussen, Salzburg, Hallstatt, Vienna, Prague, and London. It was a particular journey with a woman that could be very particular to me. One of many issues we did in Salzburg was the Sound of Music tour. I occurred to be in my highschool’s manufacturing of it my senior 12 months, so I’ve at all times loved the music and exquisite setting of the movie. The Sound of Music tour is tough to beat, and also you don’t must be a fan of the music to take pleasure in it. It was largely filmed in Salzburg and the encompassing Salzkammergut space, so whether or not or not you’re a fan of the film you’ll completely love the surroundings.
On the tour you’re taking a big touring coach up a windy street into the Salzkammergut/Lake District. You go teal blue lakes which might be attractive, randomly see the worldwide headquarters for Crimson Bull in your proper, then abruptly you’re confronted with a mountain lake village referred to as St. Gilgen, which is throughout the Wolfgangsee from the extra well-known St. Wolfgang. After I noticed it for the primary time, my coronary heart exploded in marvel and awe. I had by no means seen such an ideal place in my life! My mother even commented that she may inform my breath was taken away once I noticed it.
That is the image I took that day
From the greenness of the grass to the onion-domed steeple, to not point out the attractive alpine lake surroundings, I used to be shocked. We had been overlooking the city however for a number of moments earlier than we needed to get again on the bus and depart, so, oddly sufficient, I by no means truly acquired to enter the city that I cherished a lot.
Again to the Weekend Jaunt
I landed in Munich (from Barcelona) not content material with the concept of staying in Munich and simply going to the Hoffbrauhaus (though that’s by no means a foul plan). I needed to see if I may make it again to St. Gilgen. I had two probabilities to make it occur (a fats probability and a slim probability) however I knew I may report again to you that the try can be epic both means! My unique plan was to lease a automotive Saturday morning and drive from Munich to Berlin in time to verify right into a hostel and head out for the CrossFit Invitational. So mainly, be in Berlin by 4PM. My go-to rental firm in Europe is Sixt, on account that I’ve at all times skilled flawless customer support and a straightforward expertise renting high-quality autos, so I sauntered all the way down to the Sixt desk and spoke with a stunning German lady. The best way the reservation turned out working was I made a 24hr reservation and wasn’t truly going to select it up till effectively into the 24hr interval. My flight landed in Munich at about 4:30pm on Friday. You see the place I’m going, proper? I defined my state of affairs to the Sixt agent and requested if she couldn’t may probably assist me make just a bit change to my reservation and choose it up now? Her response, “In fact. Zere shall be no cost, and I hope you make it in time to take pleasure in it!” There’s no means it may very well be that straightforward, may it?
It was. She handed me the keys to an Audi A3 and I made a beeline for the rental automotive storage. The one who had it earlier than me had very selfishly left the satnav system in German, so it took me an excellent 10 minutes to hit sufficient random buttons till I discovered the setting that switched every part to English and hit the street! I’ve truly pushed from Munich into Austria thrice now, sufficient that components of it started to look acquainted, which made me actually grateful for the blessings to expertise this a number of instances.
As a pleasant reminder, I’m from Texas, the place it’s sometimes fairly scorching. We don’t actually have seasons that regularly become one another, somewhat it is going to be a balmy 13 billion levels after which the following week winter will punch us proper within the climate and it’ll be freezing or beneath. We don’t actually have that actually unbelievable and colourful Altering of the Leaves that’s loved by, effectively, many of the remainder of the world. Sort of right here in the future and the following they’re all in everybody’s gutters. So the joy of driving on the autobahn towards St. Gilgen was solely enhanced by a few of the views alongside the street.
The leaves altering colour
Extra leaves
I additionally made just a little Instagram video of it right here. I used to be making an attempt to outrun the solar in an effort to get to St. Gilgen earlier than it was fully darkish and had a really gratifying journey down by way of Bavaria into Austria. I finally handed by the Crimson Bull headquarters, and I knew I used to be shut. The anticipation was palpable because the second approached. I came visiting a small hill and noticed the roadside cease from which I took the image in 2010. At that very second, one among my favourite songs of all time got here on from my cellphone (have a pay attention right here, it’s epic) and a tear rolled down my cheek to the massive smile on my face. I didn’t fairly beat the darkness, however I may inform, within the silence and serenity of that hill, that St. Gilgen hadn’t modified a bit.
I joyously drove right into a largely closed city. It wasn’t the vacationer season (St. Gilgen doesn’t get extremely busy even in the course of the vacationer seasons, not like St. Wolfgang throughout the lake) so I figured it’d be straightforward to discover a room, and certainly it was. There have been fairly a number of B&Bs with indicators saying Zimmer Frei on them, which my data of German (I do know six phrases) informed me that meant “rooms out there”. I went and met the proprietor of the institution, was quoted a really affordable 65EUR for the evening, and went as much as my room. It was a fairly large constructing that was not very crowded, so it type of felt eery, the silence, however the room was precisely what you’d count on from a B&B like this: good clear sheets, snug mattress, free wifi, first rate TV, and never a lot else. I instantly referred to as my mother by way of FaceTime to inform her the place I used to be (she was so glad for me, you must’ve seen her smile!).
I walked across the village with an unlimited smile on my face. It was a sleepy little city with a great deal of Austrian appeal.
City Corridor
After a stunning stroll by way of the crisp mountain air, I went again to the B&B’s restaurant to take pleasure in a basic Austrian meal: wurst, bier, and schnitzel. I then went again to my room to face the truth of the following day.
Distances and Hours
You’ll recall that my rental automotive was due in Berlin the following day at 4pm. This was simply doable from Munich.
Munich to Berlin
Plotting backward from Berlin, that’d put me a few 10am departure. The one drawback was that I had simply pushed about 2 hours within the fallacious path earlier, so my route can be just a little longer from St. Gilgen.
St. Gilgen to Berlin
This put my departure time from the B&B at about 8am, to be protected. Dawn the following morning was scheduled for: 7:42am. Not a lot time to see this metropolis of which I’ve dreamt. I truthfully wasn’t positive it’d be sufficient time, however I used to be positive it’d be an epic try!
Magnificence
The following morning I arose at 5:45am with a begin. I showered and made preparations for the journey forward (learn: drank a BUNCH of espresso). Already resigned to not a lot time with daylight for footage, I ate my breakfast early after which went out to the lake to catch the primary glimpses of daylight. The pre-dawn stillness supplied a pleasant (if not melancholy) background for some footage.
Leaf-strewn pathway
Native schoolhouse
As dawn acquired nearer and nearer, I made my means all the way down to the shore of Wolfgangsee (Lake Wolfgang, in German), hoping for some good water photographs. It was a kind of mornings that no photographer may screw up! Because the solar exploded over the encompassing mountains, autumn colours burst throughout the water and hilltops!
Dawn over Wolfgangsee
St. Gilgen
St. Gilgen
I made my means from the waterfront and turned my lens in the direction of the city itself.
The onion-domed cathedral from the very first image
Up shut
Cemetery with autumnal colours within the background
Lakeside road (hope you want orange!)
My cellphone’s alarm went off and I regarded down. It was 8:30am. That solely put me about half-hour behind. I hurried again to the B&B.
Gasthof Kendler
I hopped into the A3, set the vacation spot for the Sixt workplace in Berlin, laughed once I noticed the estimated arrival time (5:38pm), and put my foot down as I scampered out of city. However not earlier than visiting my favourite hillside yet one more time.
St. Gilgen, Austria