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Salzburg on two wheels

I was a small child when I first went to Salzburg and have very fond memories of this elegant Austrian city, though mostly of getting a soaking from the trick fountains at Schloss Hellbrunn on the outskirts of town.

The trick fountains of Hellbrunn; this one still caught me out!

Since then, most Christmases I’ve had a virtual revisit courtesy of the film The Sound of Music, which was partially filmed on location in the city. On a whistle-stop detour from Italy whilst working for Trainline Europe, I was fortunate enough to have just enough time to fit in Fräulein Maria’s Cycling Tour.

Rupert provides the words in case you’ve forgotten

Founded by Rupert Riedl back in 1999, his passion for both Salzburg and cycling was infectious and I was excited about joining the tour. He also signed off his emails “so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye” which meant I couldn’t wait to meet him.

Rupert’s bikes

Rupert was just as charming in real life and so was our guide Elise, a warm and friendly ex-pat Brit whose encouragement and enthusiasm helped to make this tour so thoroughly enjoyable from shaky start to racing finish. The bike, it has to be said, took a little getting used to; wider handlebars and a different style of gears to that which I’m used to had me wobbling around like a beginner and cornering in a panic. It didn’t take long before I’d got the hang of it, and with plenty of stops, it was a manageable and fun tour.

Rooftop views of Salzburg’s many churches made the climb worthwhile

I’m not super-fit (I’m not even fit) and was a little apprehensive about going uphill. Elise was quick to let us all know that she’d be walking part of the way up the steepest hill so we shouldn’t be embarrassed if we needed to do the same. She was also very partial to pastry and so her suggestion we stop by the beautiful cathedral for a bretzel was most welcome also.

Delicious bretzels, just the thing once you’ve worked up an appetite

The tour began at Mirabellplatz and headed straight into the Altstadt, the old town of the city where vehicles are banned. We parked our bikes in front of several recognisable movie locations including the Pferdeschwemme, where Maria and the children skip by singing “My favourite things” and the Felsenreitschule, now an open air theatre but in the movie where the Von Trapps perform on stage before their daring escape.

Residenzplatz

Residenzplatz with its beautiful fountain, the backdrop for “I have confidence”, was also a backdrop for one of several group photos which Elise took as a memento of our tour. It’s a thoughtful touch, and a bonus souvenir once downloaded from Facebook.

Some stops aren’t actually in the movie; the quaint cemetery at Sankt Peter’s abbey provided the inspiration for a set which was recreated in a Hollywood studio. Climbing up past the funicular to the hilltop fortress, we had some splendid views of Salzburg’s imposing fortress, its many churches and the mountains beyond.

The views are worth the uphill ride

At the Nonnberg, not only did we see a nun at the nunnery where Maria decides she’s not suited to the job, but we also saw the dodgy weld in its gate, the result of the film crew needing to film through a gap too small for the camera. It’s details like these that made me glad I was on a tour – I’d never have noticed it on my own.

The dodgy weld at the nunnery

Freewheeling downhill was a blast, and as we cut across the cycle path out of town, Elise put the soundtrack on and unleashed a whole tour group full of Maria-wannabes, some more in tune than others. We made for the Leopoldskron Palace and lake. It’s where Maria falls into the lake and where the film crew discovered to their horror that the young actress playing Gretel couldn’t swim. Fortunately, none of us fell in but we did play along for a photo.

Leopoldskron Palace and lake

With the music blaring and the breeze in my hair, this was my favourite part of the tour. As we belted out Lonely Goatherd, several passing walkers gave us a cheer and a round of applause, thoroughly deserved of course!

Outside Frohnburg Palace

Stopping at Frohnburg Palace, where Captain Von Trapp tears down the Nazi flag, there was plenty of time for more photos before a flat ride to Schloss Hellbrunn. Our stop there wasn’t for the fountains (though it’s an easy bus ride back) but instead for the gazebo where Liesl sings “I am sixteen going on seventeen”. Elise told us that during filming, the actress playing Liesl slipped off the marble benches and twisted her ankle.

The famous gazebo, now located at Schloss Hellbrunn

The filming schedule, already running late, didn’t permit any more delays, so she performed with a bandaged ankle. It was later retouched, but, this being the 1960s, it’s apparently very noticeable in the film if you know to look. Well now I know, I’d say that’s a pretty good excuse to put the film on one more time…

To book Rupert’s Fräulein Maria’s Cycling Tour, visit his website at http://www.mariasbicycletours.com. The tour costs 30 Euros, which is a bargain given how much ground you’ll cover and what a fantastic introduction it is to the city of Salzburg.

Posted by juliamhammond | June 5, 2015 | Categories: Destination information, Europe, Travel guides | Tags: Fraulein Maria's Cycling Tours, Salzburg, Sound of Music | 1 Comment

Eating Italy food tour – the highlight of my time in Rome

When I was invited to join a Twilight Trastevere Tour in Rome last week, I had an inkling it was going to be good. I just didn’t know how good.

Trastevere is a charming neighbourhood

Having been to Rome before, I was keen to ditch the fake Roman centurions down by the Colosseum and the crowds of people sitting on the Spanish Steps. The former working-class neighbourhood of Trastevere, in English meaning “across the Tiber”, buzzes at night and has a restaurant almost on every corner. Knowing where to start was the problem, and with limited time, I was keen to join Eating Italy’s tour so they could show me around. The tour takes in around eight to ten stops in an eclectic mix of delis and eateries, rounded off with a lesson in how to identify real gelato from the fakes. It would be the perfect way to spend an evening, I decided.

Da Enzo’s trattoria

Sebastiana, our knowledgeable and very entertaining guide, half Italian and half American, had the cultural knowledge and understanding to bridge both the places we were visiting and the largely American clientele who made up the tour group. She was effervescent, bubbling away (in a good way) like a chilled glass of Prosecco and just as welcome a companion on a sunny evening. Our first stop was to a tiny trattoria called Da Enzo al 29. Getting a table here is difficult, but we beat the crowd for a glass of Prosecco accompanied by a delicious starter of prosciutto, melon and a delicious cheese called burata. Here we were introduced to “aperitivo” – an Italian ritual firmly based around the understanding that one should never consume alcohol without food, something I should bring back to the UK with me, I felt.

The wine cellar at Spirito di Vino

The second stop on the tour took us underground and back in time. The Ristorante Spirito di Vino was once a synagogue, as evidenced by the Hebrew lettering on its stonework. There, in a wine cellar dating from the first century BC, we tried taster portions of three scrummy local favourites: frittata, a kind of spaghetti omelette (far tastier than that sounds), followed by Maiale di Mazio, a slow-roasted pork dish and favourite of Caesar, no less, and finally a whipped cauliflower and cheese dish. Iliana, the chef, clearly knew her stuff and if I hadn’t have been leaving on that evening’s night train, I’d have begged her for a table for dinner.

Innocenti’s

Afterwards, we strolled through the backstreets to a family-run biscotti place so local that it didn’t even have to have a sign outside. I’m not a nut fan, so passed on the hazelnut brutti ma buoni (it means “ugly but good”), but judging by the reactions of the rest of the group, I’d say I missed out on something good. The Innocenti family have run this place for years, with recipes little changed in half a century, and sell by weight. If you have a sweet tooth, this would be the place to hang out. Another neighbourhood “celebrity” was Signore Roberto who ran the nearby Antica Caciara, a cheese and meat deli that was our next port of call. Over a century of trading makes this a real gem of a place to sample the deliciously salty Pecorino Romano cheese made in the traditional way by Roberto’s uncle. Sebastiana taught us how to order: un etto being 100g and due etto, 200g. Now what was half a kilo, again?

Signore Roberto

From there, we moved on to meat, porchetta to be precise, at La Norcinera, named after Norcia, an Umbrian town where this pork comes from. This wasn’t like the tough, dry supermarket pork that we are forced to endure in the UK, its goodness sucked out by the healthy eating do-gooders. This was juicy, fatty, melt in the mouth pork, hung from hooks on racks on the ceiling to tempt even the most fastidious of dieters to fall off the wagon. Served on pizza bianca, I didn’t stand a chance.

Delectable porchetta

When Sebastiana described suppli’, our next offering, I have to admit, it didn’t sound as good. It was nothing to do with her skills as a host, but more to do with the fact that suppli’ are deep-fried and, despite skipping lunch, I was beginning to feel very full indeed. These fast food treats of rice cooked in tomato sauce and stuffed with cheese are to Roman nights out what a kebab is back home – except that they taste amazing! In spite of myself, I wolfed mine down in record time and could quite happily have gone back for seconds.

Suppli’

The penultimate stop was at Enoteca Ferrara. An enoteca is an Italian wine bar but remember, Italians never drink without food; here we had a private table in the al fresco dining area out back, where we prized delicious ravioli away from Sebastiana (it’s her favourite) and feasted on gnocchi and cacio e pepe, a kind of square-ish spaghetti, literally translating as “cheese and pepper”. Rich but not overpowering, it was a lesson in how pasta should be served, and utterly more-ish.

Sebastiana’s favourite ravioli

But there was one place left to visit, and the one for which no one wanted to be too full. Fatamorgana makes real gelato – not the fake stuff – but with an originality of flavours that sets it apart from its competitors. I couldn’t resist the zabaglione flavour, a dessert that Mum used to serve us years ago, while the more adventurous could opt for flavours such as rosebud and black sesame, pear and Gorgonzola cheese and even pink grapefruit with ginger, horseradish and preserved lemon peel.

Fatamorgana’s artisan ice cream parlour

And how to tell the real thing from the imposter? Well, you’ll just have to take the tour yourself to find out…

To find out more and to book a tour online, head to Eating Italy Food Tours in Rome here: http://www.eatingitalyfoodtours.com/

Posted by juliamhammond | June 3, 2015 | Categories: Destination information, Europe, Travel guides | Tags: Eating Italy, Italy, Rome | Comments Off on Eating Italy food tour – the highlight of my time in Rome

An unexpected trip up Mount Vesuvius

Its top shrouded in cloud, the great hulk of Mount Vesuvius looms over the Bay of Naples, an ever present reminder that the residents of this area could one day face an unimaginable disaster. But the last significant eruption of Vesuvius was way back in 1944, and of course, its most famous eruption in AD79 wiped out Pompeii and Herculaneum before they knew what had happened.

Vesuvius won’t let you forget it’s still active

Definitely worth the hike!

I’d come to Ercolano Scavi station on the Circumvesuviana train from Naples’ Garibaldi station, itself buried under Napoli Centrale, to see for myself what Herculaneum looked like. As I exited the station, a sign advertising Vesuvius trips by bus caught my eye. Having spoken to the charming and very helpful Agostino, I was invited to join them as a guest on the next tour and I jumped at the chance to step onto a volcano I’d previously only read about.

Erculano Scavi station on the Circumvesuviana railway line

The company, Vesuvio Express, usually operate tours on a very comfortable coach, but as there was extra demand, the company laid on an eight-seater minibus for some of us. It’s worth asking if you are a large party whether they might be able to do this for you. The 15km trip up to the ticketing area, about a kilometre below the crater, took less than half an hour and our accommodating driver paused for us to get some photos of the Bay of Naples, pointing out the island of Capri and lava flows from 1944.

View over the Bay of Naples with 1944 lava flows in the foreground

At the top, it was a moderately tough climb for someone who lives in flat Essex, but manageable. Some people found it easier to hike up with the aid of a wooden stick, bought from someone about to finish their hike for a going rate of a Euro. Don’t be afraid to ask someone to sell one on! Fitter souls would manage the hike in around 15-20 minutes, but it took me just under half an hour to reach the crater rim, having stopped countless times to take photos.

Not surprisingly, this is a volcano that is very closely monitored!

The cloud was low, good hiking weather, though not great for the views back down to the bay, though that made me focus on the closer scenery, such as hardy flowering shrubs and a huge lava bomb by the side of the path.

A typical scene on the slopes of the volcano

Lava bomb in front of lava from a different eruption, hence the different colours

The volcano is impressive, with a large crater that puffs sulphury smoke. You’ll notice the smell of rotten eggs if you get downwind, but it wasn’t too strong.

First look at the crater

The gravel path alongside the crater leads to some steps; go up these and follow the trail to a second crater for a wow factor end to your climb. Coming down was faster, though I did skid a few times on the gravel. The trouble with a surprise hike is that you aren’t wearing your hiking boots!

The gravel path back down to the parking lot

Vesuvio Express charges just 20 Euros for this fascinating trip, half for the ride up and half for the ticket onto Vesuvius’ high trail. School groups receive a discount. They allow a generous 90 minutes at the top, which is ample time for even slow walkers to have plenty of time to absorb the views. Pre-booking isn’t essential. Tours begin around 9.30am daily and depart approximately every forty minutes. They’ll even store your bags in their office if you need them to. I definitely recommend this as a trip if you’re in the area.

The Vesuvio Express bus

Posted by juliamhammond | May 26, 2015 | Categories: Destination information, Europe | Tags: Circumvesuviana, Hiking, Italy, Vesuvio Express, Vesuvius | Comments Off on An unexpected trip up Mount Vesuvius

Rome under wraps

If you’re planning a first visit to the Eternal City, you should be aware that a number of Rome’s main tourist sights are currently under renovation. You can still visit, of course, but you’ll need to rely on your guidebook or a postcard vendor to see the view you’ve missed out on. Here’s what it looked like when I visited at the end of May 2015:

At the Spanish Steps it’s business as usual, but its pretty church, Trinità dei Monti, is currently covered up.

All you’ll get at the moment is a glimpse of the Trevi Fountain as it’s being extensively renovated. Save your coin for another time.

The lower level and much of the rear of the Colosseum is undergoing repair, though it’s still open to visitors.

In preparation for Italy’s Festa della Repubblica on 2nd June, when a parade will pass, temporary grandstands are being constructed along the streets alongside the Roman Forum.

Know of any other tourist attractions currently undergoing repair? Add a comment and let us all know, thanks.

Posted by juliamhammond | May 26, 2015 | Categories: Europe, Travel advice and guidance | Tags: Italy, Rome, Tourist attractions | Comments Off on Rome under wraps

To Florence, for some sunshine!

Beautiful Florence never looks more charming than it does when the sun is shining. Here are some of my favourite shots from this trip. The sun was reluctant to make an appearance at first, but when it did, wow, what a show!