Dashing to Dover, Meandering to Munich and Staying in Salzburg
19th – 25th November, 2018
The original plan to my visit to Claire had revolved around the mad idea that I could leave Dover on the ferry and toddle across the Continent by rail or air and reach Salzburg in reasonable time and on budget. That turned into a gigantic joke as every connection became risky and each leg became from expensive. In the end I gave it away and all the was left was a great deal on a B and B.
It was going to be more expensive to stay in London than the train fares back to the cheap BA fare to Salzburg, so I picked up my bags on London morning after the first train from Plymouth, and went to Victoria for the trip to Dover. Had the weather been any good at all, things would have been fine – a walk along the cliffs, etc – but the heavens were unfriendly, so in the end it was a whole lot of nothing and I could have cancelled the lot and arrived in Salzburg a day earlier. But I did get to Dover and there were a couple of photos worth remembering. At least I could see the castle and the French Coast.
Thankfully, the rest of the week was much more successful, with the trip to Salzburg via Munich handled with only the minimum of language problems and a warm welcome from Claire. Wednesday was a great chance to share Salzburg with an expert tour guide while taking advantage of an excellent washing machine!
Having spent a little time here with Paula, there was much that was familiar, but I could fill in gaps. Wednesday afternoon gave me the chance to walk over the Kapuzinerberg while Claire lectured. Even though the morning was foggy, standing above the city provided a perspective on the geography, especially out to the Gaisberg. I’d never been out to the Nonnberg, but I could see from up there how it was close to the University and the old town.
The week ended up being a chance to see more than I expected and it was wonderful that the Christmas Markets – well, AdventMarkt more properly – opened on Thursday. A town that was surprisingly quiet on Wednesday and Thursday was transformed on Friday night and the weekend into Christmas madness, as busloads of out-of-towners and the whole population of Salzburg, it seemed, descended on the Domplatz to begin the preparations for the season.
In between festivities, we managed a wonderful trip to Wolfgangsee on Friday, and a really good look at the Dom’s Museum. The lake was just amazing, even though it turned into a really big day: the lake was placid and the Alps covered in mist, the gluhwein warmed us on a very cold day and and the markets were good fun.
The church in St Wolfgang itself turned out to have a significant Gothic altarpiece, which was a surprise to both of us and made the whole trip worthwhile. However, an unexpected highlight of the week was my first Thanksgiving, shared with Claire’s students and featuring Claire demonstrating a mastery of three languages! Even the kids couldn’t belive that she could switch dialects just by sitting down at the table with me!
It was a great few days, capped off by a wonderful mass in the Dom for Christ the King (the Kodaly Mass!). We both did some strategic Christmas shopping and even found an Irish pub in which to watch the Wallabies being put to the sword by the Poms. We were trying to think how long it’s been since we had so much time together – time is always so precious.
