Kaiservilla, Hallstatt, and Melk
Day 5-6
"While other nations do battle, you, lucky Austria, you wed."
~ Maria Theresa
Day 5: After leaving Salzburg, we traveled to Hallstatt via Bad Ischl, home of the Kaiservilla. This was the favored summer home of Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife Elisabeth ("Sisi", who was, as far as I can tell, the Princess Diana of Austria - beautiful, tragic, and now almost mythically beloved). Evidently, the current Archduke of Austria still lives here, but we didn't get any celebrity sightings. Schade! (Too bad!)
Then we apparently rode our bus through a portal and ended up inside a postcard, otherwise known as Hallstatt. Rumor has it that this was one of the inspirations for Arendelle in "Frozen".
We began Day 6 by visiting the Abbey of Melk. It is still in use as a religious institution and local school, as well as a museum of the abbey's history and impact on the religious culture of Austria. This visit was followed by a relaxing afternoon river cruise down the Danube. This day was the epitome of what a tour can do - I would never have known to check these things out on my own!
