Travel to Austria - Sat, Sept 13 (UK trip day 32)
Ferienclub Schloß Grubhof
Grubhof 2, 5092 Sankt Martin bei Lofer, Austria
Google maps have been a great help on this trip, just put in desired start and end locations, date and arrive-by time, click the Bus icon and it maps out public transport. Amazing! This 6 hour trip will be bus, train, train ending with a 1-1/2 hour bus ride.
After breakfast we:
> Re-traced our arrival by taking the 9:28am bus to Fussen and boarding the 10:06am train that arrived in Munich at 12:05pm.
> This gave us time to buy lunch and find the correct Track# to board the 1:34pm train that arrived in Salzburg at 3 pm.
PROBLEMS: Now is when we had problems discovering WHERE to catch the Regional #260 bus. All the city buses were just outside the train station but we needed the Regional bus. We did follow the exit sign for "Depot D and 200 buses" but then the signs ended. We went back inside the terminal asking at the Information center, went to the city bus area and asked and looked outside the Forum 1 shopping area and finally asked someone on the street who pointed to the "H within a circle" sign jutting out from the building on the other side of the street. Now to go back to Forum 1 for a Starbucks coffee and relax before heading back out into the light rain to catch the bus. Finally it was time and we were at the front of the growing line waiting for the 4:30 pm Regional bus #260 which thankfully picked us up on time.
INTERNET ACCESS: Thanks to the sim cards we'd purchased in the UK from "Three" we have internet access on our iPhones because "Three" has reciprocal agreements with several European countries one of them being Austria. (but NOT Germany.) SO nice to be able to use Maps and Safari.
BUS RIDE: As the bus twisted and turned down the road (during the 1.5 hour journey), the names of the stops flashed in the red display at the front of the bus. They seemed more like street names than villages. The scenery was breathtaking with the Alps towering all around and above us as we sped by agricultural fields of corn, possibly lettuce or cabbage and livestock, mostly cows and sheep with a few horses. We'd asked the driver to let us know when Grubhof stop came but we watched in the printed schedule and could tell when we were close. Jim was concerned that we would miss it as the stops suddenly started changing very quickly - every minute or 2 - with several all having the same time on them.
At least we had made up for the earlier ten minutes we were behind schedule so he had calmed down about not making the 6 pm check in time. He had his finger in the stop button when suddenly Grubhof appeared on the overhead monitor and I swear the driver glared at us when Jim rang the STOP buzzer.
WHERE IS IT! - Yup we were set down almost in
the middle of a field and didn't see a castle anywhere and it was now
5:55pm. (fields on our side of the street and thick rows of trees across the
street) "Putting me down in the middle of nowhere again?" said Jim
sarcastically.
I'd thought to see the castle as we approached on the bus or at least after alighting from the bus. A few minutes of consulting the map and the printed directions then taking our lives in hand we proceeded to cross the highway. Not easily accomplished as the traffic sped by in both directions at 80klm. Spotting a break we ran across as quickly as our backpacks let us. Finally a street sign, but as you know not all street signs point exactly where you need to go. So still confused, we saw a large stone entryway and gate, with no sign mind you, and proceeded up the long curved driveway and around to the back of the fantastic white building to find the entry hoping we were going to the correct location. There it was! Huge, big and beautiful, hiding from the road behind a forest of ancient chestnut trees and a huge green lawn.
We had to ring the bell, but the girl promptly came and let us in. After she quickly checked us in - It was clear she wanted to leave as close to 6 as possible - and took us to our room, she left the property.
WOW! The double glass doors at the end of the lobby opened to a salon area rivaling castles we'd been visiting. Not as much gold, but high ceilings above columns and a huge crystal chandelier with antique furnishings. Our door was to the right of this area.
We'd booked a Studio but WOW this room was huge and beautiful. The high ceilings were decorated with molding and gewgaws. Lighting was from a central crystal chandelier with crystal lamps on the bedside tables as well as on the walls. A small studio kitchen was just inside the doorway and the bathroom to it's left was a separate room built within the larger room and had a bidet and a claw footed tub. All the furnishings were antique with 2 throw rugs on the wood floors. The double bed was very low - close to the ground. At the end of the room was a 3 cushioned sofa with 2 matching side chairs around a circular table. The whole far wall was a glass double door with high half round windows above the door covered by iron sculptures. When we opened the door it was VERY heavy and 7" thick plus the whole thing opened - door and upper window section. And of course they opened up onto a large patio surrounded by a low hedge then a huge grass lawn surrounded by tall trees and the Alps in the near distance. Fantastic!
Quickly putting down our packs and freshening up we left to check out the surroundings. We found the path back to the Campground and it's restaurant then returned to our room. Heading out again 1/2 hour later, decked out in rain gear, the pathway that was earlier covered in puddles was now almost a lake. But we'd practiced puddle navigation in the maze at Leeds Castle back in Sept so had no problem. It was after we'd successfully managed to keep our feet dry and were standing reading a sign about the local pathways that I jumped out of my pants. Something brushed up against my leg and curled around it. I'd managed NOT to scream very loudly but was relieved when Jim and I saw the black cat that uncurled itself from my leg and sprinted away. Eeks!
Dinner was excellent although they spoke no English. At least "bier" is pretty standard and I thoroughly enjoyed the pork Jager-Schnitzel.
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This is a veal or pork schnitzel topped with a burgundy-mushroom or a creamy-mushroom sauce. Traditionally, this schnitzel is prepared without flour, egg, and bread crumb coatings. However, you will often find a breaded schnitzel (made according to the Wiener Schnitzel method - "Wiener Art") topped with the sauce. |
SHORT HISTORY of Schloss Grubhof:1325 The fief of Heinrich Gruber of Grub is first mentioned in the chronicle of the Abbey of Berchtesgaden
1413 The Grubhof is shown as a Salzburgian manorial estate
1537 The possession comes to Baron von Ritz's family
1539 Ludwig von Ritz begins alteration works on a major scale, in true aristocratic style
1708 The castle comes thru marriage to the baronial von Motzl family
1751 The Georg Anton, Baron von Motzl of Grub, has the castle improved, involving great sums of money
1828 Grubhof Castle is transferred together with all accessories and land to the Baroness of Rehlingen
1829 The Bavarian King purchases the seat as "Grubholf Castle, Bavarian Headquarters". (2nd King of Bavaria, Ludwig I, Mad Ludwig's grandfather)
1868 The castle is sold to Josef Faistauer
1889 The German industrialist Hermann Schmidtmann buys the castle and surrounding terrain. Enlarged tower side & added new facade.
1919 Schmittmann's daughter, Florence, inherits the property, including the 41 farmers' cottages on the estate. She was married to the German General Arno von Poser and Grossnadlitz, who died in 1940; she herself passed away in 1963
1964 German Johann Wilhelm Zepp and his family acquire the castle and restore it at extreme cost over a number of years.
1970 Andreas Schullers family, from Munich, continues the improvements, deeply conscious of the historical design. Grubhof Castle becomes a castle to international hospitality and a renowned hotel sanatorium.
1983 The Alpenbau Company (construction company) takes over the estate and develops it to it's present condition.
1986 The Freissle TimeSharing Company takes over the property and transforms it into an exclusive timeshare property.
Now for the "good" stuff. This video includes all pictures we took of the Castle during the week we were there.