Random Italy 1

And so with full hearts, we returned to the States. It was a really rough set of flights for Hyrum, who slept a total of half an hour during the almost 24 hours until the last flight into Ithaca from NYC. We had one sad, miserable boy with us. But I finally got him to sleep on that last flight and KEPT him asleep through the airport, into the car, and back home into his bed. Now THAT'S Dada Magic! (Speaking of Hyrum, he is currently sitting mesmerized by Grandma Boo's screensaver of an aquarium with noisy air bubbles and some swimming fish.)

If you want to know more about anything from our trip, you have only to ask and I can put up a lot more. Here, as is my wont, is a random set of pictures from all over the trip - the kind of images that might flash before our eyes as we go to sleep, dreaming of our wonderful once-in-a-lifetime trip three months ago.



Little Anna, the fairy









Cameos displayed in Venice.








St. Mary of the Miracle Church in Venice, another view.



A road through the Dolomites. On the other side on the left is the start of the waterfall trail.







The cafe of Castle Grad, Lake Bled, Slovenia







The Old Man and Lake Bled. From the top of the castle. Go, camera zoom!







At the Salburger Dom, there's this giant golden ball with a mannequin standing on top of it. From here, it looks very real.






A bird pond at the zoo near Verona.

Pilgrimage: The Silent Night Church

On leaving Salzburg, we had one more stop in Austria before we made our way home: the Silent Night Church in Oberndorf, half an hour north of Salzburg. On this site on Christmas Eve, 1818, Joseph Mohr (priest, bottom right) and Franz Gruber (deputy organist and schoolteacher, bottom left) gave the world Silent Night for the first time. The original church was torn down due to flood damage around 1900, so they built this little chapel to commemorate it from 1924-1936, complete with stained glass windows of the pair on either side. Across the walkway is a model that gives you a better shot of the perspective than my earthbound legs can.

Gruber, who learned how to play the organ in only three months, retold how the song came about as its popularity was growing. I found it interesting that his rendition did not mention any mechanical problems with the organ, one of the parts from the traditional retelling that always caught my ear; only that Mohr asked him to write music to the words he had written (perhaps two years earlier) for two solo voices and guitar. Wikipedia tells me the first mention of the broken organ came from a 1909 US publication.

There are three more verses than you know. We have verses 1, 2, an 6. Here the rest are in English as clearly as I can render them without getting them in tune and time:
3. Silent Night! Holy Night!
That brought the world healing
From Heaven's golden heights
Out of the Mercy-fullness let it be seen:
|:Jesus in mortal form.:|

4. Silent Night! Holy Night!
Where today all might
Of Fatherly love poured forth
And, as our homaged brother, embraced
|:Jesus the people of the world:|
(note: Jesus is the one embracing)

5. Silent Night! Holy Night!
Long before were we planned for,
As the Lord freed from the wrath
of the fathers' first-terrored time
|:All the world was promised protection:|

If you want words that go with the music, I have some of those too. You lose a little in the next step of translation, but not much.

I'm very thankful we were able to go there. It was one of the primary reasons I wanted to head north to Salzburg in the first place, having learned about it from Elder Wirthlin. It turns out the German border is right across a bridge in Oberndorf. It has some impressive decorations, so we crossed the border several times. We then drove through a corner of southern Germany, enjoying the Kuhdorfs (Danglisch for cow-villages), pastoral land, and woods.

Not to mention some interesting town markers.

Along the way, we found a fellow whose trailer had overturned on a sharp curve on the sluck roads. We pulled off just ahead and I went back to help. He was carrying hundreds of glass beer steins to a market display to be held Sunday and lost more than half of them to the crash. He was uninjured, thankfully. I helped him move things around, separate the good from the bad, talked to another friendly motorist who stopped and the police. Even though we had been in Austria for a few days, so I had warmed up my German, this was southern Germany and the northerners I lived with told me that the southerners speak such a strange dialect that it's not even German. I understand a little better what they meant. Even though we both spoke in high German, he was really hard to follow, and when other natives came up, I caught the sense of what they were saying, but that was about it. I really wanted to say something like, "This act of service brought to you in part by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Next time you see our missionaries, think about letting them in, k?" At the time, though, the words completely failed me. It's made me ponder a lot in the last several months how I'm doing in my missionary efforts and if I'm actually prepared.

We cut back through Austria again and into very northern Italy. There I had the shock of shocks: they speak German in northern Italy. For 2-3 hours of the drive, the signs were in German and not Italian, the gelateria worker in the pictured village preferred German to Italian, the newspapers were in German, the architecture was Germanic. It took a long time to find Italian again. It was on this trip that we found some of the best gelato, one here at this village and one we caught at 10pm as he was going to bed. I explained to the fellow how much my wife really wanted to find another place for gelato, and he answered that, with love, all things are possible.

That drive in pouring, heavy rain over hairpin and switchback roads of the Alps (yes, I took the scenic route) was something I have not yet had nightmares about. It can only be a matter of time. Steep roads, dense forest, expecting deer and other animals to dart in frnot of me every moment (thank you, Ithaca), the windshield wipers weren't working... it was something else. I was thankful for a GPS system that could warn me of turns. We made it out okay, though, and came home to our sleeping baby who was happy to see us in the morning.

Random Acts of Salzburg

I took nearly 500 pictures and videos of Salzburg, so I turned on my randomized screen saver to give a few more views of this wonderful city before we leave it. In case you can't tell, Salzburg was probably the highlight of the trip. Thank you SO MUCH, Mari, for watching Hyrum! And loaning us your van. And the water. And a place to come back to. And ... everything.



The archbishop sticking out his tongue and rolling his eyes, from the model in the palace.









A random thermometer/barometer on one of the streets leading up to the Salzburger Dom (cathedral). Or is it a picture of a nice elderly Austrian couple? Or maybe I was really interested in the design of the cobblestone.








You gotta pose with the artillery, man.








A castle turret (Festung Hohensalzburg)




Remember that picture I took for you of the serpentine horn? This is what it sounds like: "The crude and loud serpent."





Carvings inside the castle chapel.









Looking down on the cathedral from the castle.





We left the castle along a winding, steep, hilly trail along the in-skirts of the Altstadt (old city), past the original fortifications, and through some lovely scenery to get to our car parked on the other side of the hill. We were on our feet 3 hours in the castle then another hour getting back to the car and were BEAT by the time we made it. Got some lovely views though for our troubles.




The cathedral from the side.










View of the castle from the roundabout walk back to our parking spot








Another shot from inside the cathedral.






Okay, that should do it for Salzburg for now. There's plenty more to show, but I would like to get the monkey off my back that tells me I've been home for two months and haven't finished yet. Next stop: Silent Night chapel, Germany, and Germano-Italy, then on to Verona, an awesome safari zoo, and Trieste. And our trip will finally be done. Boy, it was great!

Some more Hellbrunn fountains

By popular request, here are some more videos from the Hellbrunn trick fountains.

The golden crown


One of four miniature vignettes in the hedge.


One room in the palace was designed as an underground grotto. Water was sent through different tubes to make birdsong. And to get people wet, of course.

Hohensalzburg: the Castle

Perched on a hill overlooking Salzburg, the Fortress (Festung Hohensalzburg) High Salzburg guarded the area and the archbishops for hundreds of years. Each of the archbishops added to the defenses over time, making a very impressive, impregnable fortress. I'm not sure if it's really impregnable, but it was never impregnated.

The cable car up from the cathedral where the archbishop worked every day was significantly faster than the Untersbergbahn. The archbishops were driven there, either by horse carriage or else carried by retainers, so they didn't have to hoof the up and down of the hill every day. We only did it once and were quite winded.

We only intended to pop in, see the castle, and pop out again on our last day in Salzburg, but ended up staying for three hours. There was a LOT to see and do. They really did an excellent job with it.




The current chapel of the castle. We also toured the excavated site of the original chapel. Lots of rocks and some rough outlines where things used to be and the hint of a flavor of color that used to be discernible. This is more impressive.





The upstairs is lavishly painted, with coats of arms of nearby allies all over. Art as a sign of power.







I mean, even the doors upstairs are incredibly ornate! The downstairs ... not so much.








The Bull of Salzburg is the mechanical organ in the tower. It chimes the hours with music, including a very loud, long F that resounds at moments important for the working day (get to work!). It apparently sounds like a bull.





They had a display of old Austrian musical instruments, including the ever-popular Glockenspiel and this "Serpentine" horn.












Build your own Festung Hohensalzburg! Fun for the whole family. (Grown up child not included.)







As we said, fun for the whole family.









Joy says, "I loved the puppets."




Downstairs was a marionette museum. They do full-length, very professional movies of great classics. We considered buying Mozart's Magic Flute (right) for Hyrum, but realized it was over 40 bucks and thought better of it. On the left are some devils from the Wizard of Oz. "But if we ever come into our own, we could probably buy it online some day."




The view around the castle. There were literally dozens upon dozens of mosquitos flocking those of us brave enough to be at the top of the castle that day. I got 5 bites just taking this video. Please enjoy it.



They also had a WWI museum. I hadn't ever really studied WWI - focused more on the second war. And even then, my studies were on the Battle of the Bulge with France and England against Germany. The first war, though, was the one that broke up the Austro-Hungarian Empire, so it was pretty important for Austria.

Seeing it from an Austrian perspective was very interesting. It's not the version they'd tell you in the US, let's put it that way. This painting, for instance, is of the worshiping of the beloved Kaiser.


In addition to the displays of WWI memorabilia, they had a fascinating art display of medieval weapons and armor arranged as if they were a small army preparing to charge the unprepared tourist walking through the door. The lights and shadows on it were quite impressive. There was a movie display on the wall facing the army depicting Pythonesque actors fighting back.

The castle is a bit odd. Joy was just saying that she was confusing which castle was which. The reason is that most of the museum lets you wander wherever you like, but they have a guided tour through the part with the mosquitos and the organ and the torture chamber. There was a lot to see. Pack a lunch.

Salzburg: Untersbergbahn and some more Hellbrunn

Update: A lot of folks come here looking for either the address or the opening hours for the Untersbergbahn. Here is the link with that information. It costs (at the moment) 19 Euros and is free with the Salzburg Card. We now return you to your regularly scheduled blogpost:

One of Joy's favorite things from our honeymoon was a trip up a mountain in a two-person cable car (and back down in one-person ski lifts). So when we saw they had something similar at Untersberg (Under the Mountain), we had to try it out.

It takes you, relatively slowly, up not quite 1 mile in the air to the top of Untersberg. Because it's nice and slow, you really get the chance to watch the house next to you fade into nothingness and realize just how bad your vertigo is.

"It was really a different experience from our honeymoon because it wasn't in the open air. The honeymoon was funner even if we weren't on the same ski lifts going down." Agreed - too many people in the cable car.

The Austrian Alps.

And on the other side ... Mordor.

Gorgeous.




They have a nice little shop at the top where Joy got a coin purse in the shape of lederhosen. The view of Salzburg, the Alps, and rustic Alpen cottages was thrilling. A little dizzying too. They give you some good time to stretch your legs before the cablecar is ready to take you back down the mountain.




Palace Hellbrunn is in between Salzburg and Untersberg, so we caught it on the way there. I already told you about the trick fountains. You leave the trick fountains into his other gardens, across the pond from the palace. Why are all these palaces yellow?

Down the walk was a playground where children were happily occupied and the Sound of Music gazebo I posted earlier.

The palace is now, what else, a museum. The Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, Markus Sittikus von Hohenems, was a great collector of rarities, with many of the rooms decorated with pictures of the strange and unusual animals and plants he claimed to have amassed.




There were the usual South American birds, sunflowers, and white stags.







He also owned an eight-hoofed horse from Arabia and a unicorn.

Interestingly enough, since the palace was only a summer palace and quite close to the real castle in Salzburg, there are no bedrooms in Hellbrunn.








But they do have an oven. Joy really liked the oven at Hellbrunn. There was another like this we saw at the castle in Salzburg, done up in guadier, brighter colors. Joy likes this one better.

"I think it would be cool to cook in an oven like that. I mean, I'd probably prefer if somebody else was putting the wood in it, but... I'd really feel like I was doing something artful. People would say, 'Look at this great pastry!' and I'd say, 'Yeah, do you want to see the oven?'" *lol*





Then there were the muraled galleries for dining and concerts. Goddesses, nymphs, courtesans, and other noble and decorative ones are depicted on the ceiling, visiting the company.




In the "music room" - which is an octagon with amazing echoes - he has painted a number of virtues representing or paying homage to himself. This one on the left includes him courting a fair maiden. Now, this is still an archbishop of the Catholic church we're talking about here.

Joy and I each did a little solo in the music room to test out the acoustics. I sang The Music of the Night, while Joy favored us with Miracle of Miracles, both of us slowing it down to relish the bathroom-squared effect. The various statues painted in the ceiling in the video represent his virtues.

Salzburg cont.: Hellbrunn Trick Fountains

Just a little south of Salzburg is the palace Hellbrunn (Clear Spring), owned by the Prince Archbishop Markus Sittikus von Hohenems, a fellow with a sense of humor. He installed a set of trick fountains in his gardens so he could soak his guests for laughs. I gotta say, after touring king's castles and archbishops' places, I think by and large the archbishops had a lot more flair and taste and sense of decoration.

"We were a wee bit tardy for the tour. But had Hy been with us, we would have been tardier."

The tour starts at a stone table with stone seats all around it, all of which get thoroughly soaked by some water jets except the head of the table, where the archbishop would have sat. Oddly enough, though, the controls for the fountain are not at the head of the table, but at the side where a lackey would turn it on or off. The table is surrounded by an alcove full of Greekish statues. The archbishop was very keen on Greco/Roman mythology, and there are scenes from it throughout the garden.

"They were fun, and our guide obviously had a good time getting people wet."

He had a nice, mischevious smile on his face most of the time.

"He was kind enough to warn people when they were about to get wet, but there was always water on the ground too."

Water would hit you from deer statues, from water fountains pointing the wrong way, "from above and below," from the sides, from stairs, "through the grates on the ground." You name it.

He had also had them carve an intricate miniatures scene with over 200 figurines, most of which move, all powered by water. "It was an impressive sight." Then there were smaller water-powered tableus along the way, with scenes from mythology.







We can highly recommend the attraction. "I was kind of sad when it was over."









The mask in the center of this picture was one of the archbishop's favorites. Every few seconds, the tongue sticks out and up as the eyes roll back. The archbishop would greet his guests in the same manner.






In the castle, they show you a copy of the mechanism, which is your basic Japanese relaxation fountain. Water pours into a weight, and when enough has pooled, it pulls the levers to move everything else.






Slaying Medusa

More paganism.
A little paganism is a good thing in an archbishop, right?

As always in this tour of Italy, more pictures and videos are available of everything. If you'd like to see more or have a request, post it. We like comments!