But before going to Discovery Bay, my sister told us that we should experience Yum Cha in Hong Kong, so she brought us to the Federal Palace restaurant at Citygate in Tung Chung for our brunch. Yum Cha was really great and I thought that we should do it again.

After Yum Cha, we went to Pacific Coffee Company for a coffee. Actually, a chocolote drink for me. We just stayed and relaxed at the coffee shop as we still had a lot of time before going to Discovery Bay.

When we finally decided to go to Discovery Bay, we just took the bus at the Tung Chung bus terminal under the Food Republic at Citygate. Travel time from Tung Chung to Discovery Bay was probably about 20 minutes. Tung Chung and Discovery Bay are both located in Lantau Island.

Discovery Bay is a community almost complete with everything. Discovery Bay has a different approach in its community. It is primarily residential and a lot of expatriates are living in the area. Aside from the other amenities like shopping areas, Discovery Bay has its own hospital, college, international school, golf course, racquet club, and ferry pier.

One thing remarkable about Discovery Bay why so many expatriates live in this place is because visitors and residents alike are not allowed to bring cars inside the village. If you would like to go there, you can only commute via buses and boats.

Some residents are using the cars provided by the village if they need one especially during emergency cases. The mode of transportation for residents going around the village is a golf club car.

Discovery Bay has almost the best of everything, the forests, the mountains, the beaches, and the bays. It is almost covered by greens, by the forests on the other side, and it has beaches and bays on the other side. Lantau Island itself has a lot of green spaces.

After going around the area, we went back to Discovery Bay Food Plaza and decided to grab a bite at the Caramba Mexican Cantina. There were several good places to eat at the Discovery Food Plaza but I wanted to eat something Mexican at that time so we went to Caramba Mexican Cantina. We ordered some shrimp salad, nachos, and enchilladas. It was indeed a good choice when it comes to Mexican food.

It was actually dark already so what we ate at Caramba Mexican Cantina was already our dinner. We stayed in Discovery Bay until after dinner, so we have seen Discovery Bay during the day and during the night.

Discovery Bay is a quiet place at night despite having a lot of people at the Food Plaza. I should not forget that when we went to Discovery Bay Plaza, there were also a lot of children playing on the grounds but still quiet.

Discovery Bay is not really a tourist area but people are starting to notice the place. Despite the influx of visitors, it remained a cozy place to go to if you do not like the chaos of the city.

We left Discovery Bay at around 8:30pm after our dinner and went back to Tung Chung. We did not stay up late for our trip to the Philippines the next day was in the morning.

See you then in the Philippines!

Related Links:
Caramba Mexican Cantina Hong Kong
Discovery Bay, in Wikipedia
Lantau Island, in Wikipedia

• Hong Kong-Philippines-Macau Vacation in Spring 2009
  It was on May 08, 2009 when we flew from Zurich going to Hong Kong via Paris. We flew
• Victoria Peak Hong Kong at Night
  After our Lan Kwai Fong Night Out in Central, Hong Kong, we went to Victoria Peak the next day.
• Lan Kwai Fong, Central, Hong Kong Night Out
  It was past 5:00pm on May 09, 2009 when we arrived in Hong Kong. My sister J fetched us
• Back from HongKong-Philippines-Macau Vacation, Surprise Gift from Google
  I am back from three weeks vacation in Hong Kong, Philippines and Macau. Sorry, blogger friends in the Philippines
• Pandan Bay Sunsets
  Pandan Bay Sunsets. These photos were taken about 50 meters away from the back of our house in Pandan,

Discovery Bay Lantau Island Hong Kong Tour

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Copyright © Sofie Estolloso Hofmann. All Rights Reserved.

Along the way, we saw a lot of Filipinos. Chater road was even closed so people could move around freely all day long. My sister told me that Chater road is always closed every Sunday. We especially passed by Statue Square to see if we have some town mates there but since I did not inform anyone about our trip, we did not see any familiar faces. I then took some photos of the Statue Square, the Cenotaph, the Legislative Council Building, and other buildings dominating Central, Hong Kong.

From the Statue Square, we continued walking going to Garden Road, passed by St. Joseph’s Church until we arrived at the Peak Tram. From the Peak Tram, we took the tram going up to Victoria Peak. As it was almost 7:00pm and quite dark already, we missed the beautiful scenery while riding the tram.

The Peak Tram is one of the emblems of Hong Kong’s history. It started its service on May 30, 1888 and became the first funicular railway in Asia. It is about 1,350 meters connecting five intermediate stations.

Victoria Peak is one of the most popular attractions in Hong Kong located in Hong Kong Island. Locally, Victoria Peak is plainly called The Peak. It has an altitude of 552 meters or 1,810 feet and the highest mountain in Hong Kong Island but not on the entire Hong Kong. The highest mountain in Hong Kong is “Tai Mo Shan” literally means “Big Hat Mountain”.

When we arrived at the Victoria Peak, we went up first to the Peak Tower. We did not go up to the highest point of the Peak Tower as we decided to go down and transferred to the Lookout Point.

From the Lookout Point in Victoria Peak, we admirably look at the panoramic view of Victoria Harbour, Kowloon, and almost the entirety of Hong Kong at night. Some lights of the other buildings that we saw from Victoria Peak were “dancing” and changing after a few minutes. The view from Victoria Peak at night was simply spectacular.

After enjoying the fascinating view of Victoria Harbour, Kowloon, and Hong Kong, we decided that it was time for dinner. There were several restaurants in the area especially at the Peak Galleria but we decided to eat at the Peak Lookout restaurant formerly known as the Old Peak Café.

The Peak Lookout is a restaurant and a historic building located near the summit of Victoria Peak. The building is a 19th century building and is a Grade II historic building, a building of special merit in Hong Kong.

We just finished our dinner at the Peak Lookout, then left Victoria Peak, and went down to Garden road via the Peak Tram back to Central, Hong Kong. When we were already down and while passing along the Garden road, we could not resist not taking the pictures of the skyscrapers and streets of Hong Kong.

It was already past 10:30pm when we arrived at the Hong Kong MTR Station. We left the place and went back to my sister’s place for another day the next day.

See you in Discovery Bay!

Related Links:
The Peak Hong Kong
The Peak Tram, in Wikipedia
Victoria Peak, in Wikipedia
The Peak Lookout, in Wikipedia

• Discovery Bay Lantau Island Hong Kong Tour
  On our third day in Hong Kong, after an enjoyable Lan Kwai Fong night out on the first day, and
• Hong Kong-Philippines-Macau Vacation in Spring 2009
  It was on May 08, 2009 when we flew from Zurich going to Hong Kong via Paris. We flew
• Lan Kwai Fong, Central, Hong Kong Night Out
  It was past 5:00pm on May 09, 2009 when we arrived in Hong Kong. My sister J fetched us
• Back from HongKong-Philippines-Macau Vacation, Surprise Gift from Google
  I am back from three weeks vacation in Hong Kong, Philippines and Macau. Sorry, blogger friends in the Philippines
• Interlaken, Switzerland
  We had a sightseeing tour of the lake of Brienz on November 04, 2006 and part of it was an

Victoria Peak Hong Kong at Night

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Copyright © Sofie Estolloso Hofmann. All Rights Reserved.

Once we arrived at my sister’s place, we called up our cousin A and we decided to meet up. We just rested for a while, then changed, and then left to meet my cousin A and her dearly beloved K at Four Seasons Hotel in Central, Hong Kong.

After our dinner at Four Seasons, we decided to meet up at Lan Kwai Fong instead of Four Seasons because my sister already planned to bring us to Lan Kwai Fong. My sister said that it was better to go to Lan Kwai Fong at that time because it was Saturday.

We walked from Four Seasons Hotel passing by the Central Market, then the Central-Mid-levels escalators, the longest escalator system in Hong Kong, to Lan Kwai Fong.

The Central-Mid-Levels escalator(s) in Hong Kong is the longest outdoor covered escalator system in the world. The escalators in total are 800 meters long with a vertical climb of 135 meters. The total travel time is twenty minutes but most people walk while the escalator moves to shorten the trip.

We did not go up to the highest point of the escalator. It was already night time and we just wanted to go to Lan Kwai Fong for a night out.

Lan Kwai Fong is a small square of streets in Central, Hong Kong, and is very popular among expatriates for drinking, clubbing and dining. It is like Temple Bar in Dublin, Ireland, maybe like Royal Mile in Edinburgh, Scotland, and probably like Malate in Manila, Philippines.

We met A and K at Bit Point along D’Aguilar street. Bit Point is a friendly German bar and restaurant. After a few drinks at Bit Point, we then went to Balalaika and had a few shots of vodka. Balalaika is a Russian bar and restaurant, also along D’Aguilar street. It has a popular vodka room with a temperature of about 20 degrees Centigrade.

After Balalaika Bar, we were supposed to go somewhere else. But we were stopped by some friends of A and K from Marlin Bar. Marlin is another bar along D’Aguilar street where the popular signage of Lan Kwai Fong is very visible. A few more drinks at Marlin and I got really super tipsy. Ok, ok, drunk!

We stayed longer at Marlin than planned and had the chance to see people dancing on the street in front of the Lan Kwai Fong Tower where Hong Kong Brew House, Balalaika, and The Cavern are.

The Cavern is said to be Lan Kwai Fong’s premier music club and bar with live music. According to my sister it was at The Cavern where Arnel Pineda used to perform.

I hope you know who Arnel Pineda is. If not, Arnel Pineda is a Filipino artist who got discovered via YouTube. Arnel Pineda is now the lead singer of a popular band called Journey.

The night was not yet over. We left Lan Kwai Fong and went to Sticky Fingers in Tsim Sha Tsui. Sticky Fingers is a disco, bar and restaurant located at the Tsim Tsa Shui Centre along Mody Road.

The place was quite full when we arrived but A and K knew a lot of people in that place so we never had problems. Our table was just waiting for us. The bottle of the wine had their names too. And a Filipino band was performing. We surely had a lot of fun.

It was probably past 2:30am when we left Sticky Fingers. We went to A and K’s place instead of going home to my sister’s place. We did not want to take a risk taking a cab and losing our way considering that we really had quite a few drinks.

We left A and K’s place the next day back to Lantau passing by the Tsing Ma Suspension Bridge which is connecting Tsing Yi and Ma Wan islands. Tsing Ma Suspension Bridge is the world’s seventh-longest span suspension bridge.

We just rested the whole day. We went out quite late in the afternoon and only because we went to Victoria Peak.

Well then, see you in Victoria Peak next time!

Updated: Added a Map on November 15, 2009.

Related Links:
Lan Kwai Fong
Lan Kwai Fong, in Wikipedia
Central-Mid-Levels escalators, in Wikipedia

• Victoria Peak Hong Kong at Night
  After our Lan Kwai Fong Night Out in Central, Hong Kong, we went to Victoria Peak the next day.
• Discovery Bay Lantau Island Hong Kong Tour
  On our third day in Hong Kong, after an enjoyable Lan Kwai Fong night out on the first day, and
• Hong Kong-Philippines-Macau Vacation in Spring 2009
  It was on May 08, 2009 when we flew from Zurich going to Hong Kong via Paris. We flew
• Back from HongKong-Philippines-Macau Vacation, Surprise Gift from Google
  I am back from three weeks vacation in Hong Kong, Philippines and Macau. Sorry, blogger friends in the Philippines
• Bahnhofstrasse, Zurich
  We went to Zurich on Monday, November 20, 2006. We left the house at past 12 nn after we

Lan Kwai Fong, Central, Hong Kong Night Out

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Once we arrived in Paris, as we were in Terminal 2G, we took the bus and transferred to another terminal. There was no fare at the bus. Buses were available to passengers who needed to transfer from one terminal to another terminal. The bus ride was at least 20 minutes from Terminal 2G to the other terminal.

Air France took off at around 11:35pm from Charles de Gaulle (CDG) Airport. We arrived in Hong Kong the next day, on May 09, 2009. The plane landed at around 5:04pm at Chek Lap Kok Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong.

We stayed in Hong Kong for 3 nights only but we were able to go to several places like Lan Kwai Fong, Victoria Peak, and Discovery Bay aside from frequenting the MTR Hong Kong Station and MTR Central Station commuting from Lantau Island.

On May 12, 2009, we flew from Hong Kong going to Manila with Cebu Pacific Air. So far, the flight was fine. Cebu Pacific Air took off 4 minutes earlier than its estimated time of departure. Cebu Pacific Air left Chek Lap Kok Hong Kong International Airport Terminal 2 at around 10:56am and landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 at around 12:41pm.

We spent our time in Manila playing golf during the day, and met some friends during the night. After 4 nights, we went to Bohol. We spent another 4 days and 3 nights in Bohol. Then went back to Manila just for a night, and then went to Boracay the next day. We stayed in Boracay for 3 days and 2 nights only. Then we went to Pandan, Antique for another 5 days and 4 nights.

We went back to Manila on May 26, 2009, stayed 2 nights there, then flew back to Hong Kong on May 28, 2009. Our schedule was so hectic so we were not able to meet a lot of our friends in the Philippines.

We again stayed in Hong Kong for 3 nights. We wanted to make sure that we will not miss the plane from Hong Kong to Zurich in case the flight from Hong Kong to Manila will be delayed with Cebu Pacific Air. Luckily, we never had problems with the international flights of Cebu Pacific Air.

Another reason why we went back to Hong Kong early was because we wanted to go to Macau. We went to Macau on May 30, 2009 for a whole day tour of Macau.

The next day, we left Hong Kong via Paris back to Switzerland. Air France took off at around 10:33am from Chek Lap Kok Hong Kong International Airport Terminal 1 and landed at around 4:45pm at Charles de Gaulle Airport Terminal 2E in Paris. We again took the bus and transferred from Terminal 2E to Terminal 2G. We again flew with City Jet which took off at around 7:10pm and landed at around 8:08pm at Zurich Airport. We were back in Switzerland on May 31, 2009.

This is just a summary of what we did in Spring 2009.

Come back again, and virtually travel with us in Hong kong, Philippines and Macau.

• Back from HongKong-Philippines-Macau Vacation, Surprise Gift from Google
  I am back from three weeks vacation in Hong Kong, Philippines and Macau. Sorry, blogger friends in the Philippines
• Lan Kwai Fong, Central, Hong Kong Night Out
  It was past 5:00pm on May 09, 2009 when we arrived in Hong Kong. My sister J fetched us
• Victoria Peak Hong Kong at Night
  After our Lan Kwai Fong Night Out in Central, Hong Kong, we went to Victoria Peak the next day.
• Discovery Bay Lantau Island Hong Kong Tour
  On our third day in Hong Kong, after an enjoyable Lan Kwai Fong night out on the first day, and
• Spring 2008 Vacation in the Philippines
  This spring season I went to the Philippines for a vacation. I left Switzerland on April 13, 2008 and

Hong Kong-Philippines-Macau Vacation in Spring 2009

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I did not really attend the meeting because I was not and am not even a member of the club. I just normally went with Hub every time the club had a meeting. It was always an opportunity to see other places so I always went with him.

While Hub was attending a meeting, I was out along Lake Constance busy taking pictures and enjoying the view of the lake. I only went back to the group when the meeting was finished.

Constance (Konstanz) is a historical town with a population of around 82,000 people. Constance is located on the shores of Lake Constance and the Rhine River in the south-west of Germany bordering Switzerland. Lake Constance is actually a lake on the Rhine river at the northern foot of the Alps.

Lake Constance is the largest lake in Germany with a surface area of about 536 square kilometers and a volume of about 48.5 billion cubic meters of water. The lake is about 63 kilometers long and about 14 kilometers wide. The deepest part of the lake is about 254 meters.

Lake Constance is known as “Bodensee” in the German speaking countries such as Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. Lake Constance is partly Germany, partly Switzerland, and partly Austria.

After the meeting, we had our dinner inside SEA LIFE. It was past 8:30 in the evening when we left Constance, Germany. Travel time from Constance, Germany to Weggis, Switzerland was about an hour and 40 minutes.

Related Links:
Konstanz
Konstanz, in Wikipedia
Lake Constance, in Wikipedia

• The Dancing Stingray of SEA.LIFE in Constance, Germany
  Have you seen a stingray dancing? I actually saw several stingrays dancing playfully last Saturday. The Swiss Sea-Angling
• Dancing Stingray Video, SEA LIFE, Constance, Germany
  This is another attempt on videography. This is the first time that I use Mac's iMovie. The
• Trip to Geneva, Switzerland
  We went to Geneva, Switzerland last week. We stayed there for a night and were able to visit some
• Brienzersee Sightseeing Tour
  We had a sightseeing tour of the lake of Brienz or "Brienzersee" on November 04, 2006. We had two
• Trip to Lucerne, Switzerland
  We went to the city of Lucerne, the tourist capital of Switzerland, on November 02, 2006. We just rode

Lake Constance, Constance, Germany Day Trip

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It was in Autumn of last year, November 08, 2008, when we visited some friends in Bern, Switzerland and went up to Mount Gurten for a walk and grandest panoramic view of the whole city of Bern, the capital of Switzerland.

We first drove to Wabern and took the Gurten Train called “Gurtenbahn” going up to Mount Gurten as private cars are not allowed to go up to the mountain.

Gurten Train, the cable train going up to Mount Gurten became the fastest funicular in Switzerland after its reconstruction in 1966 and one of the fastest funiculars in Europe.

Once we arrived in Mount Gurten, we took our lunch first, then went for a walk admiring the panoramas surrounding the mountains and valleys.

Mount Gurten has walking and hiking trails around the mountain-top restaurant but we just went for a walk neither for a hike nor trek.

Mount Gurten Park is so near the city. You probably would not believe that there is such a mountain park 864 meters above sea level which lies in the midst of nature so close to the city.

As usual, I did not take a lot of pictures. We just enjoyed the place and that was it. Before we knew it, it was time again to go home. We brought our friends M and M back to their place and we went back home to Weggis.

Related Links:
Gurtenbahn, Bern
Gurten – Park im Grünen
Bern, in Wikipedia

• Pilatus, The Dragon Mountain
  Today, November 19, 2006, at already past 12:00 nn, we went up to Mount Pilatus via Kriens with the aerial
• Cousin Annie visited us in Switzerland
  I got a surprise call a few days before Annie travelled to Europe. She said she was going to
• Trip to Lucerne, Switzerland
  We went to the city of Lucerne, the tourist capital of Switzerland, on November 02, 2006. We just rode
• Manila Vocal Ensemble Switzerland Tour 2009
  On April 30, 2009, Thursday last week, Cherry invited us to the Manila Vocal Ensemble concert held at the Kapuzinerkloster
• Weggis in Winter… Heavy Snow in March…
  It was snowing the whole night on Saturday, March 4, 2006, until Sunday afternoon. You can just imagine how our

Mount Gurten, Wabern, Bern, Switzerland Day Trip

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Kyburg Castle was first mentioned in 1027. Its original name was “Chuigeburg” (Kühburg) which means Castle of Cows.

We went to Kyburg Castle on October 26, 2008 to meet Mr. Rene Tongson and some of his martial arts students.

Rene Tongson is a martial artist and one of the two most senior Masters of IMAFP, the International Modern Arnis Federation – Philippines. Rene Tongson was a former student of Arnis Grandmaster Mateo D. Estolloso and is the inheritor of the Abaniko Tres Puntas style.

Mateo D. Estolloso was the the originator and founder of the Arnis style called Abaniko Tres Puntas which Rene Tongson inherited.

The reason why we met Mr. Tongson was because he would like to meet some of the relatives of Mateo D. Estolloso, the brother of the father of my father.

It was an opportunity to meet a person like Mr. Rene Tongson so we went to see him at the Kyburg Castle.

Kyburg Castle was the ancestral castle of the Kyburg family. After the death of the last Count of Kyburg in 1264, the castle was claimed by Rudolf of Habsburg as a family inheritance.

At the beginning of the fifteenth century, the city of Zurich acquired the castle. It became the “Landvogtie” where the noble Zurich citizens called the “Landvogts” (Governors) resided, reigned and judged.

Later on, the castle was auctioned and the new owners turned it into a museum.

In 1917, the city of Zurich bought the castle back. It is now called Museum Kyburg Castle and it is being maintained by Verein Museum Schloss Kyburg.

According to the information written on the board which you will find in the museum, the Iron Maiden was not a medieval instrument of torture for three reasons:

The contemporary chronicles make no mention of this shocking method of torture or execution, because it was unknown.

The material used is not from the Middle Ages.

In theory the 14 spikes were so arranged that they would pierce the eye sockets, chest and lower abdomen – am impossibility with a figure the height of 2.37. Including the pedestal, this would mean that the eyes were at a height of ca. 2m!

For more information like price of admission and opening hours of Museum Kyburg Castle, please visit its website, Museum Schloss Kyburg.

Related Links;
Museum Schloss Kyburg
Kyburg (castle), in Wikipedia
Kyburg, Zurich, in Wikipedia
Rene Tongson, in Wikipedia

• Manila Vocal Ensemble Switzerland Tour 2009 Video
  This is another experimental video. It is not too polished yet with regard to changing scenes but I
• Scotland Golf Vacation in Summer 2008
  It was early in the morning on July 07, 2008 when we left Weggis, Switzerland for a summer golf vacation
• Leeds Castle, Maidstone, Kent, England Side Trip
  On July 18, 2008, we left Colchester, England at around 1:00pm and arrived in Leeds Castle, England at around 2:36pm.
• Inveraray Castle, Inveraray, Scotland Side Trip
  We left Oban, The Little Bay in Argyll and Bute via Kilmerford, Lochgilphead, Furnace going to Inveraray on July 16,
• First Day, Edinburgh City, Scotland
  You might ask now, how many hours did we travel from Weggis to Edinburgh? I could not possibly remember

Kyburg Castle, Kyburg, Switzerland Day Tour

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Copyright © Sofie Estolloso Hofmann. All Rights Reserved.

We were talking about how to look younger than our age and how come we look younger than our age. Most of my friends and relatives really look younger than their age. Along the conversation, they wrote and I agreed that we look younger because we always laugh and smile.

That is exactly what I have been telling people every time they ask me why I look younger than my age and as if I did not change at all. That is because I always laugh and smile even in a worst situation. Even when I am crying, I can still afford to laugh and smile. I do not worry if people would comment that I am getting crazy. It does not bother me at all because I know myself.

Along the conversation, I wrote spontaneously the one below. I copied exactly what I wrote there.

We have two choices:

To laugh or not to laugh.

To smile or not to smile.

What would you choose?

Is something going to go wrong if we laugh alone?

The answer is no.

If we frown, is something going to go wrong?

Yes, we will feel unhappy. Not good, right?

What would you choose?

To feel unhappy or to look younger?

The choice is yours?

Yes, the choice is yours!

The choice to laugh and smile is yours.

It is your decision and yours alone.

No one will decide to laugh and smile for you.

It is a decision that is yours to make.

It is a decision and choice to feel happy and look younger.

What would you choose?

To laugh or not to laugh.

To smile or not to smile.

The choice is yours!

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  I have been watching Filipino films online for the past few months. One particular movie that I would like
• Privacy Policy
  Privacy Policy We do not collect any information from any visitors to our page. It is your option to leave messages
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  We had our vacation in Mallorca a few weeks ago. Mallorca, a popular tourist destination, is the largest island
• Boracay Island White Sand Beach
  Boracay island has been voted as the best beach in the world a long time ago. I can't give
• Our summer vacation in Ireland
  It was Saturday, June 30, 2007 at 5:34 in the morning when we left Weggis for our trip to Ireland.

We have two choices! What would you choose?

Post from SofieHofmann.com » Sofie Hofmann dot com
Copyright © Sofie Estolloso Hofmann. All Rights Reserved.

St. Veit im Pongau is a market town which is part of the district of St. Johann im Pongau. The district of St. Johann im Pongau is part of Salzburgerland or the state of Salzburg. St. Veit im Pongau is more or less 64 kilometers from Salzburg city.

So after talking and chatting, we decided to go to Salzburg city. Travel time from St. Veit im Pongau to Salzurg city was only about 50 minutes. Once we arrived in Salzburg, we just parked the car and then ate another traditional Austrian food for lunch before going around the city.

After our lunch, the first place that we visited was the Mirabell Gardens (Mirabellgarden) and the Mirabell Palace (Schloss Mirabell). We did not go inside the Mirabell Palace though.

It was enough for us to see the Mirabell Gardens where some parts of the movie “The Sound of Music” was filmed. It was partly in Mirabell Gardens where Maria, played by Julie Andrews, and the children sang the “Do-Re-Mi” in the movie.

After enjoying at the Mirabell Gardens and the Mirabell Palace, we went to see the residence of Mozart, the “Mozart Wohnhaus” along the Makartplatz where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart lived together with his family. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a very famous and influential composer during the Classical era.

From the house of Mozart, we went to the shopping area passing along Schwarzstrasse (street) where Hotel Sacher Salzburg is located. Our friends told us that it was in Hotel Sacher Salzburg where the former Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos stayed when she went to Salzburg, Austria.

From Schwarzstrasse, we crossed the Staatsbruecke (bridge) going to Rathausplatz to the shopping area and eventually reached the street where “Mozarts Geburtshaus” is located.

We saw the “Hagenauer House” at Getreidegasse 9 where Mozart and his family lived before transferring to the house in Makartplatz. It is in “Hagenauer House” where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born, on January 27, 1756. The “Hagenauer House” is presently called “Mozarts Geburtshaus” which is also a museum.

From Getreidegasse, we just continued our city sightseeing tour. I did not take a lot of photos anymore. We just wanted to enjoy each other’s company. We just chatted and enjoyed the city admiring the view of the Salzach river especially from the several bridges we crossed while going around.

We probably left the city of Salzburg just before 4:00pm. Our friends, L and J, went back to St. Veit im Pongau and we went back home to Switzerland.

There are a lot of things to do and a lot of places to see in Salzburg but we did not have much time because we did not have any intention to stay overnight in Salzburg. But I promised to myself that one of these days, I will go back to Salzburg.

Related Links:
Market town, in Wikipedia
Sankt Veit im Pongau, in Wikipedia
St. Johann im Pongau (district), in Wikipedia
Salzburg (city), in Wikipedia or Salzburg, in Wikipedia
Salzburg (state), in Wikipedia or Salzburgerland, in Wikipedia
Salzach, in Wikipedia
The Sound of Music
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

• St. Michael im Lungau, Salzburg, Austria Trip
  September 18, 2008, Thursday... I just had an idea that we were going to Austria. I did not know
• Back from HongKong-Philippines-Macau Vacation, Surprise Gift from Google
  I am back from three weeks vacation in Hong Kong, Philippines and Macau. Sorry, blogger friends in the Philippines
• Scotland Golf Vacation in Summer 2008
  It was early in the morning on July 07, 2008 when we left Weggis, Switzerland for a summer golf vacation
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  As I was saying in my last blog entry, we followed the Scottish Borders Tourist Route via A7 to Edinburgh
• Inveraray Castle, Inveraray, Scotland Side Trip
  We left Oban, The Little Bay in Argyll and Bute via Kilmerford, Lochgilphead, Furnace going to Inveraray on July 16,

Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria Side Trip

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I knew we left our place early but could not exactly remember what time did we leave. After several hours, we arrived at around 1:59pm in Sankt Michael im Lungau in Salzburgerland. We already had a hotel reservation at Landhotel Stofflerwirt or Stofflerwirt Country Hotel. We checked in at the hotel just a few minutes after 2:00pm. The owners of the hotel were really accommodating.

Stofflerwirt Country Hotel was fully booked at that time because of some sort of a regional golf tournament around the area so we knew that we will be getting a suite for a room. Hub particularly chose Stofflerwirt because it has a Wifi connection and Golf Club Lungau is just almost across the hotel.

We just brought our luggage up in the room and after that we had our late lunch. After lunch, we went to check Golf Club Lungau. We could have played nine holes but decided to just play golf the next day because we really had a long trip and we needed a good rest. We just enjoyed the area. Hub had a cup of coffee and I had a cup of chocolate with whip cream. Delicious!

After chilling out at the restaurant of Golf Club Lungau, we went back to the hotel and had a nice four-course menu dinner, soup, salad, meat with “spaetzli” for main course, and dessert. Along with it, we ordered a good bottle of Juliana Wieder Cuvee St. Leonhard Austrian red wine.

During that long weekend vacation, I was not able to take a lot of notes so I could not remember what we ate. I just remember that the food was typical Austrian food and it was great.

The next day, Friday, after breakfast, we played golf at Golf Club Lungau. Our green fees were discounted because Landhotel Stofflerwirt is a partner hotel and a charter member of the golf course. That is a requirement every time we book a hotel so that we could play golf with discounted green fees.

The weather was really great. The golf course was a little bit flat but not really easy to play. It was not really so forgiving. But we had a good time. After the game, we just relaxed at the golf course. I ordered a bowl of salad as my light lunch and to my astonishment, the bowl was really big. I really had a difficult time finishing the salad.

After that, as we still had a lot of time, we went around the town of St. Michael im Lungau. I did not take a lot of pictures though. I just wanted to enjoy the place and that was it. We went back to the hotel and enjoyed another nice four-course menu dinner with a bottle of St. Laurent vom Steinfeld Johanneshof Reinisch Austrian red wine.

The next day, Saturday, there was a golf tournament at Golf Club Lungau. We went to that place to enjoy and play golf. We did not want to waste our time, so we joined the golf tournament. The weather was quite a surprise because it was cold and windy when it was just so sunny the day before that.

I did not take any pictures on that day. I just had no time to take photos. Even during the awarding ceremony and dinner, together with all the other players, I did not take any pictures at all.

The next day, Sunday, our last day in St. Michael im Lungau, we did not play golf anymore. After breakfast, we left St. Michael im Lungau at around 9:22am. We went to St. Veit im Pongau to visit some friends and afterwards roamed around the city of Salzburg, Austria.

Note:
Salzburgerland is the Austrian state of Salzburg. Salzburgerland can be called as Salzburg only. But I prefer to use Salzburgerland instead of Salzburg so as not to confuse you with the city of Salzburg.

Related Links:
Landhotel Stofflerwirt
Golf Club Lungau
Weingut Juliana Wieder
Weingut Johanneshof Reinisch

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St. Michael im Lungau, Salzburg, Austria Trip

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