Where Are The Powells?: Austria, Slovakia and Brno (Czech Republic)

From Munich we headed to Salzburg, a UNESCO World Heritage place and the city where W. A. Mozart was born. It is also known as the filming location for "The Sound of Music". I visited many years ago with my mum and we did the Sound of Music tour then so I didn't subject Mark to that this time :)

First stop was the Mirabell gardens

Many churches, old buildings and squares

Mozart square

Looking up at the Fortress

St. Peter's Abbey

Inside the abbey

On day 3 we decided to walk up to the Fortress rather than take the funicular. We went for an urban country walk along the ridge line and got some spectacular views of the city

At the end of week 6 we headed to Vienna, another UNESCO World heritage site. Over the next few days we learnt a lot of history in the seat of the Habsburgs and the capital of the Austro Hungarian empire - apparently it was a big deal back then. In 1440, Vienna became the resident city of the Habsburg dynasty. It eventually grew to become the de facto capital of the Holy Roman Empire in 1437 and a cultural center for arts and science, music and fine cuisine. Vienna has been called the "City of Music" as many famous classical musicians such as Beethoven and Mozart called Vienna home. In addition, Mark says if he ever hears the 'Blue Danube ' again, he will not be very happy as it was played over and over again on the hop on/hop off bus commentary

St. Stephen's cathedral

Inside the cathedral

Burgtheatre (National theatre)

Parliament building

Votive church

National theatre

City hall

Karlskirche (catholic church)

Inside

Into the museum quarter

The palace (now various museums)

St Stephen's cathedral (again)

Rather than driving to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, we decided to do a day trip and take the train as it was only an hour away.

Presidential palace

Michael's gate

St Martin's cathedral

Old city wall

The castle

Primate's palace

The Blue church

After Austria, we headed north into the Czech Republic and Brno, the second largest city in the country.

According to Wikipedia, in the 19th century, thanks to the developed textile industry, Brno earned the nickname "Austrian" or "Moravian Manchester. The city also became famous as the venue for large motor racing, the tradition of which dates back to the 1930s. The Grand Prix of the Czech Republic , part of the World Motorcycle Championship series, was one of the most important races at the nearby Masaryk Circuit.