European Capital of Culture 2009

With this magnificent cathedral outside our door, it was clear where to begin our exploration of the city.

For me, it was the beautiful, modern stained glass which made it so special.  I loved the picture panels, the richness of colour and the lovely, realistic portraits of the people depicted.

I also rather liked the pixel-like patterns on the very modern windows towards the altar, which replaced some damaged during WW2. 

Our next stop was the Postlingberg, from where we could see a grand view of the city - so much larger and more industrial than our short walk had suggested.  We reached the summit via the tram, said to be the steepest track railway in Europe - and very popular too.

We hopped off the tram at the ARS Electronica Centre - a rather fascinating mix of science, art and technology.  The 3D journey through the universe was rather mind-boggling (for me at least) but the more creative exhibits were fascinating, particularly the small, quiet machines which didn't attract the attention of every ten year old in the building! 

This structure, made from a network of plastic tags and feathers wafted gently in a man-made breeze, lit from several points against a black background.  So effective and so gentle.  Other small machines were equally fascinating and somewhat captivating; Edward in particular, loved Theo Jansen's Strandbeest films.

The attractions of this city of culture are quite tiring, even for us, the most enthusiastic of visitors, so we returned to the Hauptplatz for ice-coffee and a little light window shopping - well, I had seen a wool shop on the way out this morning!

This evening, we've enjoyed a second night at the Klosterhof, this time out in the beer garden where the sun shone until well after eight and the leberkaese was as tasty as ever.  We were "welcomed back" and felt rather at home there.

Oh dear...time to move on!  Salzburg tomorrow.