Weeks 10-11: Austria!

For our final international trip, we took a 1.5 hour train to Salzburg, Austria. As both a Mozart and Sound of Music lover, I was very excited to be back.  

I have to give the girls credit, we’ve pushed them *a lot* during our time here and they’ve generally been great sports. But alas, they very much hit their limit for sightseeing in Salzburg. 

Terrors, gremlin, monsters, possessed… all words that come to mind as I recount that first day of exploring. Hadley planted her butt down on a busy sidewalk and refused to move for a solid 15 minutes. I genuinely wanted to ask the tourists who smiled at her as they walked by whether they’d be willing to take a turn to persuade her to move. Eden alternated through the following phrases: “my feet hurt,” “not ANOTHER church,” “who even IS Mozart?” and “what’s so special about a fortress anyway?”  Pictured: Eden eating a Mozart ball in front of Mozart's house. Most definitely used as a bribe.  

Our airbnb was very close to the Mozart house and the Salzach river. It amuses me how much the girls love the moment we first set eyes on our airbnb or hotel room. We stayed in a large studio apartment, which according to Eden was, “not our biggest or best, but still pretty great!” We laughed at the Mozart pillows. I suppose they were classier than Julie Andrews pillows? 

After lunch at a popular Austrian restaurant (with the exact style of food we get in Munich), we walked over to the Pferdeschwemme, a baroque horse fountain which is the location of a prominent scene in the Sound of Music. No joyful singing or guitar swinging from these kids!  

We took a horse drawn carriage ride to give the girls’ feet a rest and get to see more of the Old Town without kid whining . 

Recognizing our limits, we decided to plant the kids at the Salzburg Spielzeug (Children’s Museum) and alternate exploring the city on our own. 

We decided to do a quick dinner at a bowls restaurant. There are bowls restaurants all over Munich and apparently Salzburg too. Bowls of what, you ask? Anything you want! We had a very American moment where we asked whether they could put the various elements of the girls’ bowl onto a plate (because kids and foods that touch!). The woman looked so confused and said “we don’t have plates here, we’re a BOWLS restaurants.” Guess they don’t get many American toddler patrons! 

The next day the girls headed back to the Spielzeug while Jake and I took turns exploring the Mozart House nearby. We listen to Mozart many mornings at home and I often play the piano concertos while writing. We were excited to see the house and some of the first instruments he played, but were very glad the girls weren’t with us (Eden: “who cares about an old house?”).

In the afternoon we visited Mirabelle gardens and did the obligatory re-enactments of the Do-Re-Mi scenes from the Sound of Music. It took us about 20 minutes to persuade Hadley to get off this unicorn statue (who she named Lucy) and see the rest of the garden. She kept yelling, “Did Gretel ride this unicorn?!!” I’m sorry to all the visitors that day who have Hadley in the background of their pictures.  

We ended the day at the Augustiner Brau, the largest beer inn in Austria, which consisted of 5 different beer halls, several different food vendors and a large biergarten. Schnitzel and sausages on repeat for us. 

On Monday morning we took a train to St Johann in Pongau (about 45 minutes) and caught a taxi up to Grossarl, Austria to check into the Kinderhotel. The magic and ingenuity of this place blew us away. There are Kinderhotels all around the Alps and they’re kind of like family cruises on land, all in extremely glamorous locations. They are also very fancy with gourmet food options and high class amenities. 

Every *single* detail was considered to make it child and family-friendly. Adults ordered 3 course meals from a daily menu while the kids visited the buffet- genius! There were also play areas around the dining room so that kids could play while parents ate their fois gras in peace. Another detail I loved was the sliding glass door from the dining room out to the terrace that you had to be at least 3 feet tall to activate. Hadley was so confused and kept saying “I guess I just don’t know the magic word.” Sorry, kid.  

There were several pools and playgrounds on the property, including this massive one that we went to every day. Our kids may spend the rest of their childhoods complaining about the playgrounds in the US. We’ve seen some incredible playgrounds on this adventure, but this one took the cake. There were goats, bunnies, a car race track, ziplines, tunnels and this awesome raft water feature where the kids could pull themselves across a small pond. I wonder how many different languages of pirate play have occurred here? 

We met two other English speaking families, one from London and one from Holland, and spent a lot of time with them. Eventhough the kids were of varied ages (a 1, 2, and 4 year-old), both girls were *so* excited to hang with their new friends. Eden is the queen of making new friends on vacation, but the language barrier has been tough. I’ve also really missed getting to chat with other parents in these informal settings. We grabbed a happy hour most nights while the kids played (again, huge beautiful playground next to the outdoor bar…perfect). 

A major selling point of the Kinderhotel was the amazing kid programming (riding horses! petting alpaca! feeding bunnies! swimming, crafts, obstacle courses…basically kid heaven) which allowed us to drop the girls off for the day while we took an e-bike and hike tour up the mountain.  

Most of the Bavarian hiking trails have “huttes” towards the top where you can stop to eat and enjoy the view (and, of course, have a beer--people sure do embrace day drinking here). 

We made it to the top of Remsteinkopf peak, 6500 ft elevation and were delighted to find a tiny stamp and ink pad to commemorate our successful climb. Getting up the mountain was just fine for me, but riding back…I’ll just say that my hands were sore for two days from the death-grip I held on the brakes during the descent.  

We were all sad to head back to Munich at the end of our stay. On the taxi ride to the train station, Eden declare that she’d like to permanently live at the Kinderhotel. Me too! It was a wonderful vacation and fabulous end to our international travel on this trip. We have one last overnight coming up mid-July, but are otherwise rooted in Munich until we head home. 

Cultural Observations 

Rubber ducks: This is a silly one, but every city we’ve been to has had some type of rubber duck store featured prominently in the city center. Rubber duck pirates, wizards, knights, rubberducks in lederhosen, with crowns, etc. And of course, in Salzburg, Mozart ducks. Why? Who is traveling to these countries thinking, “I’d really love an expensive rubber duck to take home?”  

Germany/Austria: I don’t want to make sweeping cultural generalizations, but we did notice that Austrians were generally more friendly, open and laid back than Germans. One way this manifested was more openness to switch to English when talking to us, which the Germans (even in touristy areas of Munich) always seem a little annoyed by. The rules also seemed a bit looser (read: lots of jay walking!).  

Work took over for the month of June, but I will be back to writing updates more regularly until we leave. We hope everyone is having a great summer back home!