Sea World-Orlando

The light house at the gate of Sea World in Orlando has sketches of Shamu, the killer whale and the anticipation  of actually seeing an Orca  killer whale  starts the thrill which stays with you till you come out of the Shamu stadium.

Sea World Lighthouse, Orlando

 Having obtained the passes for the Shamu show ,we had 4 hours to kill and went around the Sea World.

Dolphin Tank, Sea World ,Orlando 

The most interesting was the Dolphin  Enclosure and we could see the Dolphins actively and briskly going about their antics. Occasionally trainers would come with fish, whistle (soundless) some commands which would be dutifully followed and the performers would get their fishy reward. 

Dolphins At seaworld,Orlando

The tanks in Sea World are transparent and upon going underground you can watch the Dolphins closely. For some reason one gets the distinct feeling that the Dolphins are actually watching you and sometimes come close to the wall to have a closer look at some person who interests them. maybe it was my imagination running wild.

Laziest Marine, Sea World,Orlando

In sharp contrast to the frisky dolphins was another marine animal who just eats from birth to death and grows in weight and size to more than 4 tons. This one dislikes,no,  just hates making any kind of movement at all.

Penguins at Sea World, Orlando

We moved on and entered a dark building which was the home of the Penguins.  The conditions inside the glass enclosure are maintained exactly like the south pole where the penguins have their natural abode.  The flightless birds are actually quite playful -i think Happy Feet is not too much of an exaggeration -and one can spend hours just watching them.Since the enclosure is brightly lit and the viewers are in darkness, the Penguins are oblivious to the viewer's presence and behave naturally, sometimes playing pranks on each other.  By now it was time for our Shamu show and we proceeded to the Shamu stadium.

Shamu Stadium,Sea World,Orlando

The stadium was huge with a massive glass tank in the middle. We were offered  blue parkas but we declined, much to our regret later. Soon Shamu the orca was entering the tank and a collective gasp went up. One cannot imagine the sheer size of the animal which weighs 6000 kg while the trainer would have weighed a maximum of 60kg. It is indeed remarkable that humans  can control an animal 100 times their weight. The show started with the trainer standing on the nose of the Orca which was swimming under water-we could see them because the walls of the tank were transparent-at a high speed, the trainer's long hair trailing behind her. After one speedy round Shamu came up to the surface, the standing  trainer slowly emerging from the water, slowing down, and Shamu carefully and gently  tossed her on to the side of the pool . Suddenly all of Shamu's gentleness disappeared and he jumped up in the air to crash  back in the water with 6 tonnes of water(equal to his weight) being splashed on to the spectators properly drenching their clothes . We understood what the blue parkas were about. By now there were several orca in the tank each performing various tricks and getting rewarded with fishy treats. In one particular trick two orca came half out of water resting their front halves on a small ledge. The trainer broke out into a jig and the Orca pair followed suit to the accompaniment of suitable music. The trainers were by education Doctorates in Marine Psychology and through years of experience could understand the  moody and temperamental Orcas. In fact there seemed to exist a special bond between the Orca and their handlers. However in 2010 we came to know that one of the trainers had been dragged down to the bottom of the same tank and not released till she died. We could recognize her picture. After the incident  the handlers and orca do not enter the same tank together.

Our particular show ended abruptly with the Orcas not responding to the calls and whistles of the handlers. The handlers apologized for the abrupt ending ,at the same time explaining that the Orca is by nature  moody and once they decide not to perform, no amount of enticement can turn them around. Punishment of course is out of question because, besides being unethical, where would you find somebody  who would administer it.

Fulseck Dorfgastein

A walk of 3 KMs from the Bus Stop brought us to the Cable Car taking people to Fulseck. The 4 KM climb to 7000 ft is covered in 2 stages in 6 minutes. After roaming around on the mountain top in the chilling breeze for 1 hour we felt we had earned ourselves a hearty lunch and proceeded to order one each at the Montain Top Restaurant. The lunch consisted of a foot long sausage , a good 2 inches in dia and equally big piece of bread. With some effort the meal was finished,rounded off with Eskimo Ice Cream. Somehow the logo of Eskimo was very close to that of our our Walls ice cream.

We visited the mirror lake, but could not figure out why it was called so. In the Ski season the water of the Mirror lake is used to manufacture artificial snow which is showered on to the Ski Tracks to ensure a good skiing experience for the tourists.

We took the Cable Car back to the valley and thereafter the Postbus took us to Bad Gastein. The people all around were excited and frequently looking up a the dark clouds which were beginning to cover the mountain tops. We asked and were informed by the girl at the Hotel Reception that the seasons first snowfall was expected that night. Our excitement also shot up upon hearing this and we quickly reconfirmed the same from the Weather Channel on the internet. The air was getting chilled and the walk to the Chinese Restaurant , later that night was quite chilling-literally and figuratively.                                                                       

Dorfgastein

We boarded the  PostBus from the Bahnof, purchased our discounted tickets using the Gastein card and were on our way to Dorfgastein.  Dorfgastein is another part of Gastein area where there is a  medieval castile/fortress the kind which used to dot Europe in the middle ages. A visit to the castle does give an idea about the kind of life in the middle ages. There are some wonder full Ski Slopes with a Mirror Lake and Fulseck mountain top or hiking in Summer and Skiing  when there is snow. It is again an Alpine valley town devoted to tourism and Ski Sports.

After getting off from the bus there was a 2KM walk with a stiff gradient to Klammstein castle. The owner purchased the Klammstein castle and converted the same into a tourist destination. At the same time the interiors have been maintained as close as possible to the original although there is a good restaurant in the lawns surrounding the Castle. The owner is extremely enthusiastic about his Fortress and  on the slightest encouragement launches into a detailed  colorful description of the articles inside the 4 floors of the fortress. In German. But the pantomine accompanying the monologue is quite graphic and one can have fairly good idea. There was a box with VI  Ghast written on that. We thought there was a ghost inside the box. The enthusiastic guide told us to look inside the box. With apprehension we opened the box and found a mirror inside which showed our faces. It was indeed amusing becoming ghosts in Klammstein because somehow  the whole atmosphere was such. Later on we found out that Ghast means Very Important Guest and not Very Important Ghost. We could not find any toilets on any floor of the Fortress.

• 

Salzburg -Sound Of Music City

One more of the innumerable  statues, paintings and structures of the old city . Each has its own story from the period it was made and installed, and the inscriptions give a fairly good idea about the goings on at the time. I once saw a statue of Henry  Havelock (next to and below Nelson) in Trafalgar Square and was amused and surprised that he was honored for his role in suppressing the Indian Mutiny of 1857.

At one time or the other we have all seen this house and let us see if you can remember/ recognise it. This is  the house, lake and the swan where Sound of  Music was filmed decades ago and made the city all the more known and popular. We were informed that the Swan and its family was the same which was in the Sound of Music. Besides Sound of Music , Salzburg is also famous for its Stiegl beer which was first brewed in the 1400s. The same brewery still stands next to the latest present day ultramodern brewing facility on the outskirts of Salzburg. Of course the omnipresent Salzburg fortress can be seen from every where in Salzburg. It is set on a high daunting hill top but there is a small train going to the top from the center of the old city. The train back to Bad Gastein again took 1hour 20 minutes and we refreshed  from the tiring day with the help of the Hot Coffee and Snacks served by a stewardess ,pushing an aircraft like snack trolley on the train. She completed the length of the train by the time the train reached Bad Gastein in 1 hour 20 minutes

Salzburg -Sculptres and Architecture

Artistic Sculptures from the Roman Era to the latest times dot the  Old City of Salzburg. Once inside the walls of the old city one is transported into a another world of another time. The imposing buildings of the Church and also other old government buildings loom large above you . The quality of the detailed  sculptures and paintings makes one wonder how could all this be done in that time when computers and machines were out of imagination. It is indeed wonderful. What remains when empires collapse into dust are the architectural wonders created in the era and studying them closely can give one a taste and flavor of the kind of life which existed in that period. Our own Taj Mahal , Red Fort etc are themselves prime examples. 

So are the sculptres and the architecturally wonderful buildings of Salzburg. However there was no concept of toilets in old  Austrian buildings. Old paintings show people doing  the thing in the living room or in the open. 

Bad Gastein-Holiday destination for the Rich and Powerful

Gastein derived from the Indo Celtic word Gastuna which means a white/grey stream of water. Bad of course ,as in Hindi, means a body of water, a spring, or spa. The hot springs in the  area  had remarkable healing effects and soon the area became famous for the curative effects of the hot springs and started drawing people in search of cures. The Emperor of Austria  Franz in the 1800s and the Archbishop of Salzburg contributed through land donations and royal funds to develop the area and soon Bathing Houses sprung up along the river flowing through the centre of the city.  The Kings and  Emperors  of Europe  started coming to Gastein to take the water treatment  and then meetings and conferences between kings and emperors taking place in  Bas Gastein . At that time Austria was the biggest empire in which the sun never set. Bad Gastein became the holiday destination for Europe’s rich, powerful and the famous.



The picture on the left shows how the water treatment was taken in those times. It was required to spend at least 90 to 100 hours in the water to complete the treatment. The ailments for which the treatment was effective were rheumatism, arthritis, various skin ailments, blood pressure etc.  In the 15th century a new branch of medicine called  Balneology was developed which dealt with treatment of disorders by the use of water and hot springs. The hot waters of Gastein with the Radon Gas were perfectly suited for balneology and on the left is an illustration of patients undergoing treatment. Please note the waterfall in the picture.Water

In the 1950s effective  Medical Treatments started coming up for the disorders which Balneology was treating and Bad Gastein started losing its visitors and importance. To take care of the issue  Bad Gastein was developed into a Ski Resort and the Cable Cars, Chairlifts were installed along with artificial snow making infrastructure and today bad Gastein is one of the top Ski Resorts with "After Ski Nightclubs , Discotheques, Restaurants ,Pubs” and the Bathing Houses (like Bellevue Mondi” also, were converted into luxury hotels and resorts.

The Wasserfall (Waterfall) through the centre of the city  . It is the same as shown in the old painting in which patients are taking the water treatment of Bad Gastein.

Bad Gastein

The Bad Gastein Railway Station at the city centre. As guided by the Jagger Haus Bavarian waitress we went up and up and up almost a 500 ft steep  early morning climb over 500 yards and reached the city center of  Bad Gastein. Being a Sunday the grocery store was closed so we decided to explore the town on foot.

The Stubnerkogel Cableway  Station came into view which takes hikers and skiers  to the Stubnerkogel at a height of   7400 feet. Bad Gastein  itself is at a height  of 3000 ft. feet. The sight of cable cars ascending into the mountains was irresistible and within 15 minutes the tickets(using the Gastein discount card) had been purchased  and we were waiting to get into the next car.

The cable cars seat 6 people ,are very comfortable while giving  a breathtaking view  of the Austrian Alps as they  climb to Stubnerkogel. An Austrian Engineer once travelled in one of the  Indian cable cars and declared upon coming out that one day the Cable car would fall. Six months later it failed and the Indian Air force had to pluck the passengers from the cable car suspended almost 5000 feet above the ground.

The view from inside the cable cars. There is a midway stop for hikers to get out and hike  up or down hill. The Alps are a beautiful sight and suspended from the cable car we had a 360 degree view as we slowly climbed into the mountains As we ascended the vegetation changed from tall pine trees to shrubs to grass and finally bare mountains and in the distance we could see the snow covered mountains.

The  Stubnerkogel  Chairlift which follows the ski slopes and operates only during the Ski Season. Along the way there are poles which spray artificial snow to maintain the  level of snow. When  snow fall takes place and the skiing season is at its peak, the chairlift runs 24 hours taking the avid skiers up into the mountains from where they ski down again and again unmindful of the cold temperature.  Skiing through clumps of trees requires a much higher level of skill as compared to just skiing down a plain slope. Smashing into a  pine tree trunk at 40 Kmph may not be too good for health and comfort.

Flight from Vienna to WA Mozart Airport

DASH -800  Austrian Arrows

The aircraft taking us to Salzburg was Dash 800 a twin engine turbo prop and the passengers could all it into one  bus.  After flying in jets the propeller driven aircraft did not inspire much confidence but there was no choice. The engines started one by one with lot of fluttering noise and soon the plane was speeding down the runway. The take off was smooth and slowly the fear of flying in a small aircraft went away even though there was some turbulence in the morning air .

Inside DASH-800

The flight was of 45 minutes duration with flying time of 30 minutes. Shortly after take off the plane headed into the mountains-eastern Alps of Austria which looked magnificent in the rising sun. Off and on we could see some snow capped mountains and we were wondering whether we would be able to reach the snow and touch and feel it. Hot coffee and cold drinks were served quickly before the captain announced that the plane was landing at WA Mozart airport at Salzburg. 

Barely Visible Alps Between Clouds

The Roast- Fresh Coffee

The Roast-Vienna Airport

The Roast near our departure gate No 44 was serving coffee with freshly roasted and crushed coffee beans and the smell of coffee was refreshing after the disturbed sleep on the flight and the cool temperature of the airport lounge. The crowd at Vienna Airport was about 10% of what we see at our own T3 at IGI, but probably because it was Saturday morning. After a hearty breakfast topped with freshly roasted/crushed coffee we were ready to board the aircraft for Salzburg.

 Austria has a very small population of 18 Million people and it was evident because there was nobody to check our boarding passes. The process was fully automated with machines reading our boarding passes. We boarded a bus which took us to the aircraft parked about 500 M away. The temperature of 7 deg C was slightly chilling. Remember there is no such thing as bad or good weather. We are simply improperly dressed.