Paul:  LouAnn finally took the chance to sleep in on Saturday and have a leisurely breakfast with the kids at Bloberger Hof instead of rushing up to the hospital early in the morning. I felt pretty good Saturday. Up, showered, walking around, spending time resting and reading. LouAnn and the kids came up around noon, and visted with me and Tasso for a while. I was BEGGING them to take the afternoon to go do something fun. The kids had not been out and about in several days and Salzburg was waiting. So they decided to go spend Saturday afternoon at Hellbrunn Palace, the amazing summer palace built by Salzburg’s Prince Archbishop Markus Sittikus von Hohenems (everybody remembers him, right?) It’s an amazing place. He was quite a jokester, and designed his palace with lots of fun in mind!

LouAnn: With kids loaded in the car (which thankfully was equipped with a navigation system,) my trusty Austrian Siri guided us to Hellbrunn Palace and Wasserspeil. It is a gorgeous drive out there…past open meadows and mountains.   As we got close, I was able to play “Sound of Music” tour guide and point out some location spots to the kids.   We drove through the trees that the Von Trapp children were hanging in as the captain and Elsa drove by, we walked down the sidewalk by the yellow wall that Maria walked beside, swinging her suitcase and guitar as she was singing “I Have Confidence.” Also located on the grounds is the gazebo used in filming “Sixteen Going on Seventeen.” The film producers gave it to the city of Salzburg after filming, and it is located on the palace grounds now.

We decided to do the Wasserspeil tour first.   It is a tour of the beautiful garden surrounding the palace.   It was built in the 1500’s and is unusual in it’s design because it is built into the varied natural landscape, instead of on a neatly designed grid.   It is unpredictable, with grottos, caves, fountains, all following beside the natural flow of the river.   Markus Sitticus von Hohenems created these gardens to entertain himself, as well as his guests. Using only the natural water power from the river, he had built many, many hidden fountains and waterspouts.   Undetected by his guests, he could secretly turn them on and douse his unsuspecting guests at any point along the way! The methods have been virtually unchanged since it was built in the 1500’s. It is amazing! So creative in it’s design. He also built many 3-D moving scenes along a small stream. These were powered by the water and all moved… man chopping wood, knight saving victim from dragon, etc.

Our tour guide was getting quite a kick out of spraying us all! When we’d least expect it, arcs of water would come spraying out of the seats around a table (yes, making guests look like they’d wet their pants) out of the ground, out of the side walls or ceiling of the grottos, out of the horns of mounted stag heads. Nowhere was safe!   The archbishop delighted in entertaining his guests, and it quickly became THE place to be invited to a dinner party.   During it’s time, the grounds also contained many wild and exotic animals, which could also be spotted as one walked around.

The kids all squealed with delight every time they were sprayed. Georgia got soaked!   It seemed like the tour guide was after me, too, as my shorts were dripping by the end of it!

We toured the palace after that. I am really enamored with ancient things. Loved touring this place and seeing how beautifully constructed it is.   We listened to the audio guide and found out all sorts of neat things! We LOVE audio guides! It’s so cute to watch the kids listening to them as they walk around. They’ve discovered they DO NOT like the kid versions…”too baby”…and request the adult ones every time.

By the end of our time there, we were starving but the kids wouldn’t leave without playing in the park. They spotted a zipline (which seems to be the thing to have at these parks) and made a beeline for it.   The setting here is so beautiful! I wish Paul could have been with us.

On the way back to the hospital, we stopped at McDonalds. (cringe!) I know, I know… but there are NO fast food restaurants other than this, and it’s hard to find a place to eat sometimes. It’s still hard to get used to NO ICE with our drinks. It’s such a let-down to get a cup, go to the soda machine and there is no lever for ice! What’s with these people??

Paul was excited to see all of our pictures when we got back. He had been before, but loved hearing the kids excitedly tell him all about it. We stayed and visited with him for awhile that night. He was feeling a bit better- was able to sit up more, so we gathered around his bed and played cards with him while his roommate was gone for a bit.

It was a good day! It felt good getting back to being a tourist. On Wednesday we had suddenly gone from being tourists – viewing Salzburg through tourists eyes, being excited about “what’s next” on the sightseeing schedule…to living there.   Shuttling back and forth between home and hospital – doing day-to-day, utilitarian things instead of touristy things. I’m glad we went to Hellbrunn! The kids loved it!

Sitting up for lunch!

Gee, thanks for including this one, LouAnn.

The trick dinner table – water would squirt up through the seats!

Jack looking appropriately amazed.

Sound of Music gazebo!

Ah, they found a zipline….

Sound of Music trees!

Time to go back to the hospital…..

….for Liverpool Rummy!