There is land in Ireland (and other countries) to the West of it, so it may not remain so, but this is currently the most Westerly parkrun in Ireland and in Europe. It isn’t actually right on the coast, but the wind is pretty unrestricted in blowing into your face as you step out of a car, holding the door carefully to avoid that banging open. The rain, too, is going to go with whatever direction the wind blows it. It rained before the start, stopped for most of the run, and threw it down while walkers were finishing off – by luck more than judgment, I was back in the car by then.
Erris parkrun route
As you can see from the route map, there’s a gap between start and finish. That short walk, up and over a dune, made it even luckier that I had made it back to the car before the rain really started again. Only when my teeth were chattering after a visit to a supermarket on the way back did I realise that the drizzle – probably horizontal, if unshowily so – I had been out in had made me pretty wet in any case. This was also my first run of the colder season in a hat. And I very rarely wear a hat.
Group photo at the start. Wind not pictured, but you get the idea.Me, attempting to look as delighted as I would on a sunny day
This being Ireland, I was given a warm welcome. And with it being a small group of people, almost all regulars, I was able to speak to many of the people there, even though we didn’t hang around long at the end.
There are many things worthy of mention about this parkrun. Parking is free, just find a spot next to the route. There are no other facilities at all. The views are great, and you are very exposed to the weather, whatever it may be. It’s Westerly. The people are wonderful – just for being there, but also for the warmth of the greeting that helps a visitor feel a part of the community. One thing immediately obvious as a contrast to England is that although this is in rural Mayo, and accessible down small roads, I didn’t hit a pothole. Not one, honestly. I know! 2022, and roads without potholes? No one will believe it possible in England.
That is also true of the route, which is run along the road around the lake. That road serves a few houses only, but looks brand new in a way I had forgotten is possible. It’s a great surface, and the only car we saw, pulling in just after we set off, turned out to belong to a park runner who started late and still caught many of us up, and so was very careful in picking his way through the runners and walkers.
The route mostly looks like this.Terrible photo, included because this is under 300m from the finish, but you can’t see it, at all.Brilliant volunteers shelter behind the car whenever people aren’t finishing.Never far from a reminder of the communityMe, finishingThe Finish line is easy to spot when you’re nearView over the dune, back toward the start. I’m constantly behind the man in yellow in these pictures, but actually finished ahead of him, and we found time to chat without me shouting from this far behindView of the finish from above. You can see how the road bends close to the finishWeather not great, views magnificent
Given this was autumn, I can only wonder at how ragged the conditions might be in winter, but this is a lovely event no matter what the wind throws at you. Just take some warm clothes, and change wet clothes afterwards rather than relying on a car heater to dry you off. I was still very glad I’d picked this run, as I’m sure the chat can’t be beaten, even if other places in Ireland might equal it. Completing it also marked my 10th event in Ireland, which means I’ve run at least 10 different events in each of 10 countries, a nice round number to hit.
Goffert parkrun route. Two anti-clockwise laps starting at the top right.
I thought I had the pronunciation of this city down, but my attempts to tell a Dutchman where I was headed proved it isn’t the case. At least you can’t tell on the page, and I learnt my lesson and didn’t tell anyone else where I was. I travelled to Nijmegen from Arnhem, which is under 20 minutes on the train, though I had a couple of miles to walk either side so had an early start. It’s a straightforward walk, so long as you don’t head straight up the elevated road you see when you turn right out of the station – it’s exactly where you want to go, but there’s no walkway, so just trust the maps app when it takes you on a slight detour from the shortest route.
The pavilion
I was in Nijmegen in March 2020, ready to parkrun here before Covid shut it down. I had it planned for December 2021, too, and again Covid shut it down – those coincidences made superstitious enough not to tell anyone I was coming here till the night before (I may even have said out loud “hmm, maybe I’ll get the train to Utrecht” despite knowing I had no intention of doing so). I was very glad when early morning rain stopped, the trains ran and my legs didn’t fall off or anything on my way to Goffertpark.
The event starts at the top right of Goffertpark, next to the pavilion. The course page suggests the pavilion is named on Google maps, but it doesn’t seem to be any more – so long as you’re at the top right, and the structure above is near, you’re in the right place. There’s a pin for Goffert parkrun in Google maps, and that’ll see you right. There were plenty of other exercise groups around the place, including a group running up the hill on the grass, so I felt like I was in the right place for some effort.
Leaves on the ground in (checks) August?
I arrived at 8:40, which was just a bit ahead of the event team – they were in the park, just not at the start/finish. I could see a few arrows off in the distance, though, so was pretty sure everything was happening. People arrived – on bikes, of course – over the next 20 minutes. Only 11 of us ran the course, the lowest attendance since June, which made for a nice peaceful run for most of us. Two chatted all the way round, and as soon as they had our attention in the finishing straight, started leapfrogging each other and generally cavorting joyfully, which was very entertaining.
The start line, seen form near the finish. Run right to left.
The course is fairly flat, so Strava tells me – it reckons on 2m of elevation. Yet there’s a distinct, cruel and short hill part way round the loop, and the finish is definitely uphill. Amsterdam was the same – 2m of elevation despite it definitely finishing uphill. I’m sure there’s a little more here, because of that cruel hill and then an uphill finish, too. You have the benefit of a downhill stretch after the cruel hill, at least, and none of the turns are taxing.
Run up here to complete a lap, then to finish
Afterwards we went to Buuv, a cafe very near to the park, though a little walk away. I mention the walk only because the others were kind enough to stroll with me despite having their bikes to hand, not because it was particularly long – it felt a smidge longer because of the mild guilt. Breakfast was delicious; avocado on toast for me, which means I can’t afford a house, or something. On the way I’d also looked at my kindle and decided not to read a couple of books before I chose one, which is enough to make front page news in the UK these days, so I had a morning of provoking the older generation.
Start of the second lap
The team at Goffert aren’t big on social media so there isn’t often a reminder on Facebook or Instagram that this event will be happening. But it will! They’re committed and were happily organising who was in charge for the next few events over breakfast. I was made very welcome and enjoyed the tour of the park that the route gives you – there is more to see, with events often held in the part of the park the route doesn’t cross. In a year without drought and a weird warm weather early autumnal leaf drop, there’d be lush grass to enjoy, too, but the place is pretty enough whatever the conditions. If you can stay in Nijmegen, it’s a lovely city with a relaxed atmosphere. Arnhem is, too, and The Netherlands very easy to criss-cross by rail, so you can cast your net pretty wide for somewhere to stay. It’s less expensive outside August – which you’d expect, but the difference for me between Germany and here was pretty stark, albeit totally worth it.
Rheinpark parkrun route. One lap, head North and away from the Rhine to start, under the bridge and on the path near the river before turning right and coming back down the long straight, under the bridge again and along the river to the start/finish
There’s plenty of public transport in Cologne (see the course page for more), and it’s very accessible given the 9 euro ticket, but I chose to walk to Rheinpark. I was based very near the other parkrun, Aachaner Weiher in the Hiroshima-Nagasaki park, but it was still only a couple of miles to walk to Rheinpark.
Welcome to Rheinpark
There are toilets 400m from the start, with a free urinal for men and a cubicle that’s €0.50.
The start and finish are in the same place, just beyond (if you’re approaching from the South) a covered part of the walkway in front of the Rheinterrassen Köln.
Chalk signs explain parkrun and guide you to the start
The start takes you right next to the river for a short while, before a right turn to head into a tree-lined loop. You’re very briefly taken out of the park, past a low concrete wall, before following the twisty route back towards the river. The top section of the course has two long straights, the first along a mud-packed or grassy path (depending where you put your feet or who is in the way), then back along a wide gravelly road. The latter seemed particularly long, perhaps because it was almost entirely in the sun on a day warming towards 34 degrees (but ‘only’ low 20s for the event).
Heading North
The course is very well marked, with arrows to point you in the right direction and red cones on either side of the correct path. Despite that, one runner ahead of me tried to head through a narrow gap as we headed back towards the river – we waved her back onto the path, but her mistake was understandable, as we were looking for the path by the river, and going through the trees would have taken her closer. That North section, then, is by the river, but not right by it, which is worth bearing in mind.
A potentially muddy path
Making the turn after the long earth path takes you onto a few cobbles and then that long gravelly section. Nothing much to do here but get on with it, as the route takes you past port workings and grass.
Heading back South, a long gravelled stretchHeading back under the Zoobrücke towards the finish
I struggled on the second half of the course, and was glad to see the bridge and some shade, before attempting a bit more of a gallop towards the finish. The Cathedral comes into view but by then I was more excited by the finish – from any distance, it’s easier to spot the complex that stands above it, and that covered walkway, than the parkrun flag, but you can’t miss the finish when anywhere near.
View of the Dom on the walk back
The whole event was well run and organised. There was no move to a cafe at the end, with people wandering off to do their own thing, and I made it back to the centre of town before it got really hot. There are a few cafes to the South of the route, which were opening up as I walked past, though they looked more focused on drinking, and I think I would have tried the West side of the river for preference if I’d fancied going anywhere. Instead, I enjoyed the sun and the warmth of the city before a well-earned shower back in Neumarkt.
The Suermont-Ludwig Museum in Aachen is housed in an 1800s mansion, which has been extended over the years such that it now covers the whole of its lot, where once there were gardens at the back. It’s a gem of a museum, containing art and some curiosities from Aachen collectors, that’s well worth a couple of hours to visit. There’s a lot of religious art and if that doesn’t interest you, you can easily knock an hour off. It is closed on Mondays.
Info leaflet in the cloakroom
Entrance is normally €6, €3 for concessions, but I went on a Thursday and had free entry. I hadn’t seen mention of that on their website, so it may not be every Thursday. I think the guard said something about all museums being free, so if you can find out which day it happens on, that would be a good day to make a museum day of it. There is a very reasonably priced 6-museum card for €14, though.
The entrance and cloakroom are on the ground floor, along with a small but well-stocked library – worth a look for the ceiling alone, but the quiet makes it a place not to stay unless you want to read in peace. Up the staircase for the sprawling galleries. Only the first floor was in use when I went, but there looks to be extra space on the second floor for more exhibits – perhaps only on paid days.
Room of curiosities – even the ceiling is an exhibitMedieval figures dance with deathThe oldest items here are a small elongated vessel (an alabastron from Rhodes 500-475BC) and a colourful bird, probably a handle of a vessel (Syran, c.800)They were just putting this painting back as I wandered through. Seemed to warrant a photoThe ceiling decorationChrist and the Samaritan Woman at the well, 1520-1530. Christ and the cocky Samaritan at the well, more like – she’s not even looking, and not spilling a drop!And while we’re talking about rocking an attitude, look at these genteel folk making music. Especially the one in a white silk(?) jacket
Exhibits are grouped first by their century – largely 15-1600 and 16-17 – and then thematically. There is a large selection of Dutch paintings.
Joost Cornelisz or Cornelis Droochsloot, Village with Drinking Peasants, c.17thPieter Vermeer, Dutch River LandscapeA married couple – it was a Dutch ‘thing’, apparently, to have separate paintings of married couples arranged in relation to each other.
The painting below is displayed on a screen, so the animation can be shown. The painting has been simply (in effect, probably not in practice) such that the bee that sits on the flower at top flies away, a dragonfly flies in to sit on the blue flower and so on. I found it mesmerising, and it brought the painting to life in a very interesting way.
Balthasar van der Ast, Flowers in a Shell and Snail Shells
There is free wifi in much of the museum, which is useful for looking up occasional latin phrases (perhaps I should have known that Ecce Homo means a representation of a scourged Jesus, bound and crowned with thorns. Equally, I would have ignored one, but by the time I was on the third, I had to check). I looked up the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, which is referred to in the painting below. Workers recruited early were offered a denarius for their full day’s work, which was a very generous offer. Through the day, more people were recruited, not offered a set amount but told it would be fair. At the end of the day, all were paid a denarius, to the complaints of those early workers. And this is like religion – devout all your life or not, the rewards are open to all.
Kopie nach Pieter Aersten (1508-1575), Market Scene, (with the parable of the workers in the vineyard)Ceiling decoration in the library – taken at an angle in an attempt not to disturb readers
A lovely museum, big (one of the largest provincial museums in Germany, the entry hall info board says) but not too big and with lots of beautiful things to see.
Heading North and wanting to make progress through Germany towards the Netherlands, I picked a place somewhere away from Munich. I ended up in Ulm, which seemed adventurous but it’s a big place (126,000 inhabitants) and right on the beaten track, in that I could get a train directly there from Munich. It also put me back on the shores of the Danube, which has been a nice recurring theme of this trip.
The parkrun is to the NE of the city, and the number 1 tram stops very close to the start. Despite that, and even though had got my 9€ ticket for August some time back, I walked the 2.5km from the centre, and walked back the longer route along the Danube, which was all very pleasant. Even more pleasantly, the weather had broken. Last week, I saw a sweaty mess just walking to parkrun; this week I wore a long-sleeved top for the wander there.
The start and finish were already setup when I got there at 8.30, while the event director was out setting up the comprehensive arrows on the course. The route map probably looks complicated, and there are plenty of places where two paths go in similar directions, but there are backup “yes, really this way” arrows in any place with ambiguity, and we really couldn’t get lost. The one exception might have been at a point where a sign had fallen, but it was still visible, and I and the other Brit there were following an experienced German runner at that point. One of the runners behind paused to put the sign back up, too.
There’s a toilet near the start that needs a euro for entry – my fellow Brit was not impressed by the state of what he found inside, but needs must. The start is by the Tiergarten entrance and looks over one of the lakes in the park.
Shortly after the start, go left, then right after the monoliths, round the field.
There weren’t lots of people there, but they were all friendly, with several English speakers. Nonetheless, we felt like visitors rather than a majority, as is sometimes the case, and that feels like a good way round.
The route is pretty flat, with just an occasional incline to test a different set of muscles. None of the turns are sharp, either, and that combined with the significantly cooler weather meant I ran significantly better than last week – a relief, to prove it isn’t just pizza retention slowing me down.
View from the start line – beyond the bollards is a bridge, then you emerge into the field, above
We were presented with watermelon as we finished, and there was lemon drizzle cake and some other biscuits – frankly they had me at lemon drizzle – to tuck into and encourage people to hang around. Not that we needed to wait for the finish, with the tail walker running to keep up with the people at the back and less than 7 minutes separating all the finishers. Clicking through previous results, that’s a rarity and walkers are as welcome here as anywhere else.
Trams will arrive on the left of this area. We picnicked on the grass at the finish afterwards
A cafe is listed on the event page but even on this cooler day, there was no movement that way, and we just lounged on the grass. I felt particularly grateful to be able to do just that, given my fellow Brit had a 10-hour drive to get back to Durham and had already left. Instead, I took a leisurely stroll over a bridge and along the South bank of the river to head back to town. The day warmed up, most of Ulm was about walking and cycling and I felt lucky enough to head to another small parkrun in a relatively remote (but populous) spot. The town is a natural spot to stop if you are heading back from Austria to a French ferry, and avoiding toll roads, so I hope they’ll continue to attract a small but privileged group of tourists.
Danube viewUlmer RathausUlmer Münster, world’s tallest 19th century church. I stayed near here. Do the bells still ring? Oh yes. Quite often.
On an extremely warm day in Trieste, I didn’t fancy going far, but anywhere cool was a real draw. This museum covered both bases, being a couple of minutes walk right in the middle of town, and mostly air-conditioned.
It isn’t hugely expensive, at €7. Reviews stress how beautiful it is, and sprawling, which is useful information. Even more useful is the irritation of those who weren’t told about the app (“Revoltella”) – download that, get the code from reception (it is on a card, but the card is filled with info and it’s easily missed) and you can read/have narrated extra information on any item with a number next to it. I found the narration interesting and very soothing, though towards the end of the visit I was reading them as tiredness hit. It gave for me the perfect level of background about the picture and, more importantly, talked through the techniques used. An art historian would be less enamoured.
A painting with a number. Giovanni Fattori; soldiers reading a letter in camp
The museum grew out of the collection of Baron Revoltella, who left his house to the city to house it. He left quite a bequest; the building, the collection and funds to expand it. He was a financier of the Suez Canal, among other things, and there is a whole room devoted to paraphernalia from his visit there.
The libraryGrand staircaseA drawing roomThis room overlooks the square, with a camera obscura in the corner to give the baron a preview
The Baron’s palace is itself a great exhibit, just strolling through the rooms looking at old furniture is probably worth the entry price. There are a few artworks here, some with narration, along with the Suez Canal exhibits. It’s worth knowing there are several more floors, so as to avoid feeling done once you’ve seen the lavish accommodation, ballroom and so on.
Suez CanalSuez CanalLorenzo Delleani, View of The Hague
It is a bit of a gear-change to then head to the floors containing just art, but I was soon into the run of it
The dining roomSculptures
The museum has actively sought to extend its collection with works, concentrating on artists from the region but not restricting itself to them. There’s a gallery of sculptures which then feeds into more art, before you climb the stairs to a couple more floors. On one of these I had very close attention from one of the staff, which became a game as I attempted to out-wait him on one piece, or tuck myself slightly out of view behind another. If I’d felt any irritation or sense of unwelcome, it was removed when he called me back to let me know I’d missed out the top floor. The stairway was part-way round the fifth floor and I’d forgotten all about it.
Carl Frithjof Smith, After First Communion, 1892.Rodolfo Paolo Anelli Thaler, Self Portrait, 1945Cesare Sofianopulo, Double Self-portrait, 1934Felice Casorati, Midday, 1923The top floor – modern art and sculpture
I thoroughly enjoyed both my visit and the chance to cool down in the building, though I was pretty tired by the end, from the walking, the reading and the concentration. I went through some areas more quickly than others, but always found something to grab my attention. It’s a gem of a place, whether you go to see the art, to experience the feel of the place or both.
Mensola parkrun route. 3 laps, anti-clockwise from bottom right
Mensola park is a (as of 2022) fairly new park to the East of Florence. I walked there from the centre, around 6km, but the number 17 bus goes very close. Buy your ticket at a tabaccheria. Firenze Rovezzano station is near (1.4km away), but trains don’t run there first thing in the morning. There’s a North and South part to the park, with the run happening just in the top section, North of Via della Torre. The entrance is past the football stadium (and museum), just past the Beach Volley & Tennis Centro. There are no toilets in the park.
It is known as being a bit exposed, and it certainly is that, but there is shade on a couple of lovely bits of the course, and at the meeting point. This Saturday was a little cooler than recent weather, but the temperature was still in the high 20s when we started, and was climbing into the 30s. This was their first birthday, so we celebrated afterwards. There isn’t a cafe nearby, so they usually bring something to eat and drink, but we may have been treated even more specially. There’s a Lidl en route (1.8km away) if you walk, and I was very glad I’d picked up extra food and drink. The run director had spotted me outside Lidl as she drove past, so I’m very glad not to have got lost which might have sparked the mystery of ‘what happened to the obvious parkrunner heading to our event?’
Looking through the trees at the meeting point
I bumped into a few other tourists on the way in – in a group of 6, there were English, Australian and Danish. The Australian had been walking to Firenze parkrun when he bumped into the others and it was lucky he did, as that event is not currently running and may not restart – the run director who was there when I ran in 2019 is now running this event and it’s much more convenient for volunteers.
Shown the way at the park entrance – you can’t see the start point from here because of the bank, but it is only a minute or two’s walkShortly after the start, so I’m still close to all these people, who finished far ahead
Although the ground is brown for lack of rain, the course is colourful, with the brown complemented by the beige of the gravelled path and grey stone, and offset by the green of plants and trees. The clear blue sky and bright sunshine helps that, too, though it meant I struggled on the actual run. The course is undulating and twisty, with gravel underfoot, so although you can’t really call it hilly, it isn’t the easiest. I’d have done a little better on a cooler day, though.
Runners spreading out on the routeExposed hereGreyer path with a left turn across the scrubLooking at the long private drive next to the start/finishThe bridge, run over in both directionsThe finish is round the curve here, by the trees
I had been amused to bump into a runner I knew last week, and even contacted a friend I met the same day, in Rome in 2019, saying she should say hello to him if he was back in Rome. He was not, he was here, so we again had a couple of photos together.
Luigi and me, in Florence (top) and Salzburg
Although I came from Certaldo, a 45 minute drive away, and he from Rome (c.3hrs), we had started our journeys around the same time. Admittedly, that is partly because I caught the 6:17 train not the 6:59, to allow more than an hour for the walk, but also Rome has much quicker and more direct trains. It’s a fairly straightforward piece of tourism either way.
The finish line. The course runs on the lower path, toward the camera, up a small hill then (on the last lap) turns left to the finish
The park was very quiet apart from us. One other runner joined us for a while, one other walked a dog and I saw a couple of people walking through the Southern section of the park. There was plenty of room, in any case, and would have been even with more than the 22 finishers we had. The volunteers were excellent, giving briefings in English and Italian and smoothly navigating us round the course. I had my 500 shirt on, so was encouraged with “Cinquecento!” – I managed to splutter that I felt like a banged-up old fiat in reply.
Gathered after the eventChatting after the event. The noticeboard reminded us all it was the event’s birthday
I absolutely loved this event, despite being a bit hot from the very start. The contrast between the dry park and the green hills in the distance is gorgeous, and it is overlooked by villas, enabling a heap of romantic fantasies. The event is slickly run and well worth the effort it takes to get there from Florence. If you run along the river it adds a couple of km, but allows for extra sight-seeing opportunities.
At €30 for one day, €39 for two and €45 for three, the Salzburg card gives access to public transport (not including the S-bahn) and (one entrance only for each) attractions across Salzburg. Even in one day, it can save a small fortune, but over three you can avoid a lot of expense, and head into attractions purely on a whim. I was in the city for a week, so a three day card made sense, though I waited till after two very hot days had passed. I bought the card online, and saved a screenshot of the QR code to my phone for use, though there are plenty of places to buy a real one, and everyone else I saw had an actual card in hand.
I am not much of a one for heights, so the cable car at Untersbergbahn (South of the city – get the bus) was a challenge as well as a quick way up the mountain. Full price – €28 both ways, €18 one. Some people walk up and get the cable car down, though there are also long walks signposted on the mountain if you want to spend time up there. I had a short walk and took a ride down through clouds. It is quite a dramatic ride up, heading towards a cliff face before rising steeply to crest it, then jolting over the edge to hang over a valley, moving on and up towards the next peak where it stops. Most of the car I was in audibly “oohed” at that first jolt – the sense of space opening out under your feet is quite something.
Cables from ground levelTrees and then a dropMe, trying not to look worriedMist rolling over
Having bottled even the shortish walk up the next peak – it apparently takes an hour or so, and much older people and small children took it on quite happily – I was soon on my way North to the Hellbrunn Palace. I hopped off the bus at the zoo, a stop before the Schloss, just because some other people did, and ended up popping into the zoo (normal price: €12.50). Several people commented later that it seemed an odd place to have a zoo, several km South of the city, but it grew out of the wildlife collection/facilities built for same by Markus Sittikus, one of the city’s archbishops. It’s dramatically situated, built right up against the rocky hill in the middle of the park, and with the Untersberg mountain visible as you look away from the rocks. Plenty of animals, and it made me smile. On a day with temperatures 30+, it didn’t seem quite so cruel to have some of them there.
Pink FlamingosI don’t know which animal was in here, but a good view of the mountainJaguars in their houseDwarf Caiman, incredibly stillDiana MonkeyLion enclosurePelicans and others
After the zoo, I exited at the South side which took me into the park. I walked through, heading up the hill for the added difficulty, which brought me to the “Little-month Palace”. Set on a hill, this now holds the Folklore Museum (Full price €3.50. Entry included with entry to the Hellbrunn Palace, but you can go straight in with the Salzburg card). It’s worth a look, and they do a good job of providing a variety of exhibits, with folklore on the ground floor, art on the second and an example of a Great Giant Samson on the top. It’s a lovely building with great views over the estate from the top floor. It gets its name from the story that it was built in a month, though that is referred to as a legend.
Folklore MuseumView of Hellbrunn Palace from the top floorHats for yer parades
Finally, I went down the hill to the main palace and the highly recommended Trick Fountains. At one time, all the posh houses had or wanted trick fountains, but when they fell out of fashion they were mostly removed, making these a stand-out feature. With a Salzburg card, you still need to head to the ticket office to get a timed slot for the fountains and you then use that ticket to enter the palace whenever you want to. I wasn’t initially keen – you’re given an audio guide, but then held in the first area. There is a reason for that, though; for one, they want to take your group’s picture and sell it to you later, but they also want to keep everyone together at a table surrounded by seats. And a lot of very wet concrete. The bravest, or most game, sat obediently at the table while the rest of us watched from the side, as a member of staff showed us what the hand-operated controls do.
The first areaTricky tableWet patches are obvious
Once through the first 3 items on the audioguide, you are free to walk at your own pace, with the audioguide talking you through each item and guiding you to the next. The whole thing won me over – the mechanisms are ingenious and very clever given their age, but also very naff (reminiscent of those jerking Santas in Christmas dioramas). It certainly invited opinion, I can’t imagine anyone thought “oh, let’s just leave it, it’s harmless”; nope, once this was out of fashion, it would have looked like the crappest thing in the world.
Deer head hide nozzlesRising crownPath to the grotto
But for all that, when someone is squirted by a nozzle they didn’t spot, a deer’s head catches you on the way out with water coming from its mouth and antlers, covering a large area, or people run toward a grotto as the whole pathway is given a ceremonial squirting, it is tremendous fun and funny. Some of the nozzles are under control of the staff, who will give you time to avoid the water if you want – or indulge the kids who very definitely want to get wet.
PondsRuin-effect grottoMechanical Theatre – impressive. And naff
I moved on to the palace, which has a very interesting exhibition about the life of Markus Sittikus, who built or inaugurated the Palace, Salzburg Cathedral and so on, despite not living to a grand old age.
The seat revolves, because of course it doesMyth and realityThe Palace
The next day I used my card in the city, using the lift (MönchsbergAufzug) to get up the mountain to the Modern Art Museum, walking back down and going to the Natural History and Toy museums
Cliff face in townBill Viola exhibit – a stream of people walk through the forestModern Art MuseumBits of my childhood, in a museum. Space LegoPlaymobil Pirate ShipMarstallschwemme – Pferdeschwemme
I took the funicular up to the fortress. Having seen a queue outside the day before, I was going to wait till later, given the fortress is open till the evening, but there was no queue at 4. Once inside I realised that even a long-looking queue is only in place while the gates are closed and should clear fairly quickly – the Salzburg card lets you jump the queue in any case, but I preferred not to. The fortress is large, with several museums inside; the state rooms are not included with the card unless you go up before 11, but there’s plenty to see. I picked an entrance via some steps, which took me straight into the fortress but I felt a little as though I was being shuffled through a tourist experience for a while. I’d recommend walking round the outside first and enjoying the views, before going into the museums – they start with the regimental history, while I was still wondering what each room was.
Panoramic view of Salzburg from above
On my final day I used the bus to get to parkrun and back, all included with the card (though no one asked to see it), took a river cruise – I booked ahead as I was passing the ticket office, asked for 5, he checked whether I’d said 3 or 5, and then I got a ticket for 4. I realised in time to make it back from the Salzburg museum, which is about 1km away. All these things were good, and I was happy with them all, but they also seemed a smidge overpriced without the card – a fantastic bargain with one. I highly recommend you get the card if you plan on doing more than one thing.
Painting of the citySalzburg MuseumA panorama taken as the boat spins at the end (showing off its ‘waltz’)
Hellbrunn parkrun route. Not quite three laps, starting at top right and ending at top left
Salzburg is hilly. Hellbrunn palace looks onto hills and a mountain. The parkrun course avoids all of that and has Dutch levels of elevation – 1m in total (there’s always a margin of error, but still).
The palace and gardens are 7km or so from the centre of Salzburg, which meant a bus ride was the best way for me to get there – the no.25 which starts at the main station (and elsewhere) leaves every 30 minutes, so I hopped on the 7.35 to be sure. As a result I was very early, and rode an extra stop to the zoo so I could wander back to the palace grounds.
View of the mountain looking away from the zoo.
I’d visited the zoo a few days before. I wouldn’t normally, but Salzburg’s attractions are all (I thought) slightly overpriced individually, but then a total bargain with a Salzburg card, which covers all public transport and entrance to everything I wanted to do, plus queue skipping for the funicular if needed. 30€ for the day seems steep, though you can easily save with that, but €39 for 2 days, and €45 for 3 becomes more and more of a bargain. I was never actually asked to show the card (digital, on my phone, for me, but real ones are easily available – e.g. at the souvenir shop in the main station) on the bus, but scanned in to other locations willy nilly.
As a result of that prior visit to the zoo and palace, I knew my way around, and strolled through the grounds – essentially, from the zoo bus stop, head left at the zoo and keep following that path. It’s even easier from the palace stop. There are plenty of toilets at the palace, all open around 8am (or earlier, I can only go by when I got there). I used the ones I knew, next to the Trick Fountains, but there are some on the main drive to the palace, and more even closer to the parkrun start, almost directly North of the meeting point, next to the Fürstenweg.
Main palace driveFacilities nearest the parkrun
The meeting point is by the small dipping pond – a neat circle on the map, East of the Palace – and that’s where the finish is. The start is further along the path from the palace and the route is nearly three laps. All the way round twice, then the third time, finish at four-way ‘crossroads’ of paths, on the grass. Signs wherever needed, a couple of marshals, and even I couldn’t get lost.
The finish line
We had a very international crowd. I even knew a couple of them – one I had met at Linz last weekend, and was expecting to see. And tail walking today was “the fast bloke” from Roma Pineto – when I saw his parkrun shirt with the name of the run on it, I recognised him. I ran Roma a few years ago, fresh from finishing first at Roma Caffarella the week before. I hoped for a repeat, but was rapidly disabused by the event director when Luigi turned up and, sure enough, he had a jog and beat me by two minutes. Today, with a sore foot, he walked at the back but I can’t exactly claim revenge – he’d still have beaten me at a jog. We had a photo together for the memories.
There were also runners from Germany (Westpark – another fond memory, as I bumped into a Ware Jogger I knew, and had been racing her son in law (he beat me, too), New Zealand, England and South Africa. The event director was Irish and one of the volunteers from the US, for good measure. To be expected, in such a tourist-heavy place, but still impressive in a field of 31.
Looking away from the finish line – the route comes up the path to the right, then make a sharp right to head along the path on the left. The start is at the end of the left-most path. This is the sharpest turn of the course.
I struggled a little on this very flat course. Partly a week of good food and drink in Salzburg, but also I think that despite the very flat course with only one sharp turn, the ground is gravelly throughout, which takes some of the thrust out of each leg strike. I certainly wouldn’t claim it’s a hard course, but it’s surprisingly un-quick for such a flat one.
There are views on the course, though I’d recommend a good walk around the grounds afterwards to see things properly. If you have a card, or are happy to pay, the Trick Fountains are both tremendously naff and equally good fun and the palace is interesting with a well-curated exhibition on the archbishop Markus Sittikus (show your card at the ticket office to swap for a timed-slot for the fountains; that ticket then gets you into the palace). Most of the participants headed off to the cafe nearby and ended up nattering till midday before hopping on the bus back home. It’s a lovely run/walk, but with the attractions of the palace and grounds on top, you can upgrade it to stunning.
The Lentos Kunstmuseum is right next to the river Danube and just a short walk from the centre of town. Entrance is €10 and the wifi is excellent – that wouldn’t normally be the first thing I noticed, but I had stayed in two places without wifi and had notifications to update.
The museum is in a distinctive glass building. The galleries are all upstairs on one long floor, with a couple of exhibition spaces in the basement, which also has cloakrooms and lockers (€1, refundable). That long exhibition space is supported by two feet – one has the ticket office and shop, the other the cafe. It’s described as a contemporary art museum, pointing to the majority of the main exhibition being modern art, but there are some older, more classical, pieces early on, too. Reviews vary in the amount of time recommended – I was there for an hour and a half, and that was a fairly leisurely pace.
Sapun Ghar, Iris Andraschek. About soap-making in Aleppo, and the main installation is soap blocks.
The special exhibition at the moment contains work by Iris Andraschek, in a variety of different media. I’d highly recommend finding the exhibition guide by the entrance, though there was only one copy in English when I went. It gave good descriptions and context for the whole thing.
Aquariums, Iris Andraschek 1992-2022
There is a Picasso and a Warhol, though in general the museum focuses on art from artists from the area, or with some link to it. That doesn’t seem to limit them too much in where people are from, or in the breadth of exhibits, and I enjoyed my stroll through despite knowing very little about what I was seeing.
Primary colours, seaLocal countrysideWomen, telephone, snake and scissors
Round the world tour 