The Commuter In Austria: The Charming Spittal an der Drau

Charming was indeed one of the first few things that came to my mind when my friends and I were given the chance to go around Spittal an der Drau. We didn't have to ride a train again nor go from one place to another by bus or taxi. Just a few blocks from our hotel, we come to the venue of the annual Internationaler Chorbewerb. It was a pleasant change from commuting by train to simply walking around. Aside from the Portia Castle, there is also the park, the churches, and of course, our own hotel looks like a charming, cozy, cabin set against a background of green and snow-capped mountains.

Our hotel in Spittal an der Drau

The side of the hotel

Interior of our room, three of us share this room. My friends are just getting settled on our beds.

The balcony outside of our hotel room

The river, bridge, and roundabout as seen from our hotel room

Close up shot of the roundabout

Schloss Portia

Interior of the Schloss, taken during the opening concert that officially starts the choral festival

The coat of arms

Exterior of the Schloss

The Tower

The Park, located beside Schloss Portia

Flags of the different countries being represented in the choral festival

Here is the Philippine flag, on a windy day like this, the flags get folded and twisted

That's me, enjoying the flowers. Didn't I say the place was charming?

The Crucifix within the church grounds of Sankt Maria

Interior of Sankt Maria, or the Church of the Annunciation of Mary

Trees and snow on the mountains

So that's the second installment of my trip to Austria. This is really a place that's good for walking and relaxing. Being a commuter, walking is a regular exercise. But as a commuter who goes to work, walking to work is truly different from a recreational walk. What's nice about a recreational walk is getting to commune with nature: the trees, the flowers, the bushes...they all offer a source of sanctuary from the usual busy, busy world. I was truly charmed by this place.

The Commuter In Austria: The Train Ride to Spittal an der Drau

In one of those rare occasions that I get to go out of the country, this blog shows snapshots I took on a train ride to Spittal an der Drau. To know more about this town, you may check out this link. I came to Spittal together with the choir, Novo Concertante Manila. This trip was taken in 2009. It was truly a wonderful experience for me that two years later, I really couldn't forget the places I've been, the people I've met, the walks to the park, to the castle, to the auditorium, to the mall... I said to myself that I would write about this trip in a journal so that I could read and reminisce those happy days. Sadly, I never got around to it...until now! As a commuter who appreciates the walks, the rides and the sightseeing, here is the first of three parts about my trip to Spittal an der Drau, Austria.

Experimental snapshot: The train was just leaving the platform. I was trying to get a shot without the flash to see if it would be clear. Apparently so...not for the glass window of the train though. So we are off to Spittal an der Drau.

 

I captured this thinking if it is actually a small town or village. It actually is a refreshing sight. If I'm going on a trip away from home, I might as well capture something I don't see everyday. This definitely fits that category!

Lush greens; full, dark mountains, set against a cloudy sky

Clouds covering the snow-capped mountain peaks

Rocky mountainsides, with a corpus of bushes and trees

I think this is a river, the name of which I never really got to find out. Bodies of water such as these makes me feel relaxed.

When I saw the river turn into a corner like it's coming or going in between mountain slopes, I knew I had to capture this. I don't get to see something like this often.

Following the same river as it flows under the bridge

Hmm...I really have no idea what this is. But it's amazing that I got the snapshot on a moving train. My camera wasn't really that good with moving shots.

This is a hotel in Salzburg: Stieglbrau Hotel

Here is our stop! From here, the choir will be taken to our designated hotel. More on this on my next blog...

The train ride started from Munich, Germany. I forget how long the train ride was, but according to a resource I gathered (the distance calculator over the Internet), the distance between Munich, Germany and Spittal an der Drau, Austria is 207 km. Moving on, I was also conserving the camera's SD card capacity. So that ends the train ride. In the second part, I will reminisce the sights and sceneries of Spittal an der Drau.