Dvorak and Dracula

It was my most memorable Halloween, when I was around 6. My family and I were at a family friend's house with loads of other kids, trick or treating parents at their tables with a plastic pumpkin head. Then it was time for a movie, we were told that it was a very funny one - it was the spoof movie of Bram Stroker's Dracula. But as I sat down with the other kids, the horror just crept up to me eventhough I've seen Dracula hit his head on the chandelier as he awoke from his coffin. I simply walked out of the room, I didn't dare watch the rest of it (the movie cost me many fearful nights, and had numerous nightmares for weeks!!!).
That night as we drove back home, Dvorak's cello concerto 3rd movement was playing on tape. I remembered that night very well, the smell of the leather seats, the occasional flashes of the orange street lights that shone into the car, and the sound of the cello which had a peculiar character of 'dracula' in it. Listen to it and tell me if it sounds like Dracula's entry theme song!

Austria - Salzburg, Hallstatt & Vienna

It was a holiday like no other. There was something familiar about these places, immediately an intimate relationship was formed, I never felt so at home in a foreign place in such a short period of time. There were hints of familiarity which surfaced occasionally..it was like a dream I had before..

Large mountain ranges with snow caps loomed around the airport as we touched down. Our long awaited holiday has finally begun!
We were greeted by a smiling bus driver who took us to the stop closest to our hotel. We got lost on our way to the hotel but finally arrived and dumped our bags at the lobby and head out for lunch (or shall I say dessert hah)

Chess players in Salzburg

Salzburg in the evening

We hailed a cab and it took us to dinner - a one michelin star restaurant. It was a merce we sat on and it reminded me of the one we had at home. The cab driver was a middle-aged man with a friendly face and a gentle, calm tone. We told him we were students from the UK and we then told him what course we were studying.
'Ah, chemistry! Neil Bohr...'
I just nodded politely and I thought to myself : I don't remember Neil Bohr was from these parts? The ones I can come up with was only Boltzmann. And I scolded myself for not remembering anymore (I should know that Schrodinger, Pauli, and Hess were from Austria too)
He then went on and told us about his really eye-opening story which changed the atmosphere that night, that how his teacher (who was also a Judo master) saved his life by implementing healthy eating habits to him (by eating raw food). I then wondered if dinner tonight would be healthy, but brushed that thought away immediately as we've been eating desserts as meals for the whole of the day. I had kavalierspitz (the shoulder part of the cow) and it was the best piece of beef I've ever had (it had to be because I paid 19.80 euros for that, AND that it's a one michelin star restaurant). I swear I gained some weight after that night, we went back feeling bloated.

my favourite animal statues - Mirabell Gardens, Vienna

The next day in Salzburg we went to Mirabell Gardens - the place where The Sounds of Music was filmed. Where they sang 'Do, Re, Mi'. All of the other songs were playing in my head while taking shots of the beautiful garden such as well...do re mi, my favourite things, so long, farewell.

A statue in Schonbrunn Palace gardens

Took a train to Vienna early afternoon as we couldn't go up this mountain in Salzburg (cable cars were under renovation).

Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna

Schonbrunn Palace - sunset

The fountain in front of Schonbrunn Palace

The next morning we got onto the 5.44a.m. train to Hallstatt. The young, blonde ticket agent man said to us 'Why take a train so early?? Don't you sleep well in this country?' haha!

On the way to Hallstatt

Didn't really sleep much on the train as the route was very scenic. Ooo-ed and aaah-ed alot as we got closer to our destination.

Hallstatt residence!

The only way to get to Hallstatt from the train station is to take a short ferry ride across the lake. I took tons of pictures of this quaint town but I can't simply upload them all.

soaking in the peace

Everyday life in Hallstatt

Boat houses in Hallstatt

cute soap!!

We only spent 4 hours in Hallstatt as we had to catch a Kissin at Muzikverein that night. It was mind blasting but Joshua said that Dvorak's 9th New World Symphony was even better. And I can definitely believe that, and I kicked myself alot for not going for that one. Sigh.
I saw a young man with a suit who stood up to watch the concert adjacent to me and Joshua. I can tell that he was really enjoying himself, one arm across his waist, the other rested on his hand with his elbow and had his fingers tapping his cheek to the rhythm of the allegro piano piece. I chuckled inside and turned to Joshua, wanting to share this with him, until I noticed that he was lost in his own world too.

Muzikverein Golden Hall

Belvedere Palace

On our last day we went to Belvedere Palace to look at Klimt's most famous art piece - The Kiss. Ever since I did the jigsaw puzzle with my sister I fell in love with it. When I saw it in real life, I found myself mesmerized by its splendor. The gold flicks of paint shone and brought the picture to life. My second favourite was the water serpents. It has the length of a computer keyboard but there's so much detail!

Klimt - The Kiss

Klimt - Water Serpents

Towards the end spent most of the time running around (literally!!) London to catch our train and coach back to Bristol. Very memorable. Sighh it was definitely too short a stay in Austria. 5 days has past now and I think my heart is still there. One week there would've been perfect!! 

In conclusion: my trip to Austria in 4 days - moutains, desserts, Haribos, peaceful, magnificent music, difficult names of places such as Attnang Pucheim and Kunsthistorisches, very helpful locals, lots of badass-looking guys.
Where next? Italy!! Hopefully will cover Rome, Florence, Pisa, Milan and Venice this summer :)

Now I'm back to studying for my finals in May. I am terrified. Wish me luck!