Having got the hang of our City Passes yesterday on the S-Bahn and U-Bahn, time to try out the trams. Romanplatz is a handy hub just a short walk from the hotel, and once we'd worked out the right direction on the Number 16 (which incongruously said 17 on the back), off we went to the old town.
We were aiming for the famous Marienplatz but once off the tram we made a colourful detour via the open air food market (Viktualenmarkt), with luscious fruits aplenty and fragrant flower-bedecked fountains - one dedicated to the local white sausage, as you do. Massive Marienplatz was strangely deserted on arrival but returning after a stroll just before 11 o'clock it was packed in readiness for the spectacle on the Town Hall's bell-tower, literally a Glockenspiel. Neighbouring bells started announcing the hour first, but necks were craned towards the double set of puppet-like figures as the Rathous bells also started to peal. Then came tinny music that sounded as though it could have done with being wound up a notch or two (and tuned), and it was a while before the figures showed any sign of action. But a collective sigh of satisfaction rippled around the square at the real start of the show, as first the higher group of figures came out to play - involving at its most exciting a decapitated jouster - then the lower tier twirled and twizzled a merry dance.
Football tourism next, which should have been an easy journey on the U6 up to Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena. However, in keeping with yesterday's shenanigans, works on the line meant an unscheduled ejection from the train 'alles aussteigen bitte' and onto a special bus. Touring the ground was worth it in the end, but was this turning into a dangerous theme? Lovely weather though it was here, yesterday's TV news showed Salzburg ground to a halt by flooding and a swollen Danube at Budapest completely devoid of river traffic. Would our route be navigable, or would the focal point of our holiday turn into a giant diversion?
We were aiming for the famous Marienplatz but once off the tram we made a colourful detour via the open air food market (Viktualenmarkt), with luscious fruits aplenty and fragrant flower-bedecked fountains - one dedicated to the local white sausage, as you do. Massive Marienplatz was strangely deserted on arrival but returning after a stroll just before 11 o'clock it was packed in readiness for the spectacle on the Town Hall's bell-tower, literally a Glockenspiel. Neighbouring bells started announcing the hour first, but necks were craned towards the double set of puppet-like figures as the Rathous bells also started to peal. Then came tinny music that sounded as though it could have done with being wound up a notch or two (and tuned), and it was a while before the figures showed any sign of action. But a collective sigh of satisfaction rippled around the square at the real start of the show, as first the higher group of figures came out to play - involving at its most exciting a decapitated jouster - then the lower tier twirled and twizzled a merry dance.
Football tourism next, which should have been an easy journey on the U6 up to Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena. However, in keeping with yesterday's shenanigans, works on the line meant an unscheduled ejection from the train 'alles aussteigen bitte' and onto a special bus. Touring the ground was worth it in the end, but was this turning into a dangerous theme? Lovely weather though it was here, yesterday's TV news showed Salzburg ground to a halt by flooding and a swollen Danube at Budapest completely devoid of river traffic. Would our route be navigable, or would the focal point of our holiday turn into a giant diversion?
