Rhinos, Reptiles and Reindeer

Out early and well wrapped-up in another frozen Austrian morning.  There hasn't been any fresh snow, but what had previously laid has not melted, the pavement slush of the previous evening now hard, shiny ice.  It makes for trecherous walking conditions (excluding the local Salzburg population, who seem to continue life like it was a warm spring day), but the two of us eventually make it to the bus stop, for the Number 25 to Untersberg.

Half an hour later, just outside the city and in suroundings that look and feel particularly Alpine, we step out.  The bus departs and we are left alone, as if abandoned at the side of a country road.  Beyond the fields, the singular, enormous mountain - The Untersberg - rises off the flat land, snow-capped, mesmerisingly beautiful.  Regional folklore is all based around this location; Emperor Frederick Barbarossa is said to be sleeping inside the mountain, attended to by dwarf-like creatures called the Untersberg Mandln.  Every hundred years he awakes, but on checking that ravens are still flying around the mountain, he falls back to sleep.  Myth has it that his long beard has grown twice around a table, and when it reaches its third loop, the world will come to an end.  At this time, Frederick will leave the mountain to commence the final battle of humankind.

The Untersberg

On the other side of the road, one of the best little zoos we have ever been to is open for business, although practically deserted in the pre-Christmas run-up.  Lizzie buys a bag of sheep food that costs almost as much as the ticket, and is quickly set upon by a variety of woolly creatures.  One sheep leads to two, and eventually she has nine or ten clamoring for pellets.

Lizzie and her sheep

The zoo runs along a narrow strip of land around a rocky formation, that forms a stunning natural backdrop.  Within the spacious enclosures are the usual animals - lions, camels, zebra, rhinos - as well as some of the more wintery variety; there are big-horned mountain sheep, snow leopards and, aptly, beautiful reindeer.  Perhaps the most popular exhibit, however, is the reptile house, where a few other stragglers have gathered for warmth.  In what is now freezing rain, the lives of tropical frogs, tortoises and iguanas become even more fascinating. 

At Salzburg Zoo

Rhinoceros

Salzburg Zoo lies in the grounds of Hellbrunn, a palace which would have made an excellent visit, if only it was open out-of-season.  Instead, we board the Number 25 back into the city, where the afternoon calls for some indoor activity, courtesy of the Natural History Museum.  There are various interactive exhibits in the human biology section, galleries of taxidermy from bygone days, fossils, minerals, and a space room with a life-size diorama of Neil Armstrong's first steps on the Moon.  On the lower floors, a sizable section is given over to snakes and reptiles, including an enclosure for inquisitive crocodiles, whilst on the ground level, a 36-tank aquarium completes the natural history experience beautifully.

Ammonite

Fabulous aquarium

Darkness has set in by the time we leave the museum, and cross the Salzach back into the New Town.  We have an early start in the morning, so the evening is a quiet affair spent at a little Italian pizzeria.  It is quite a place mind you - a seemingly one-man operation by a genuine Italian himself, who takes the orders, serves the drinks, cooks the food, and delivers it to the table with a big smile on his face.  It's not bad tasting either - onion soup for starters, followed by a chargrilled vegetable pizza, finished off with an ice cream crepe, and all washed down with a tall glass of Salzburg beer.  Delicious!