Linz

Autumn 2021. In theory we could travel to other continents, but destinations we had in mind such as Japan or the United Kingdom were impossible to plan ahead. Instead we organised a rail trip to Eastern Europe, travelling to Berlin, Gdańsk, Wrocław, Karlovy Vary, Pilsen, Bratislava, Poprad, Vienna, Linz and Salzburg. By travelling to Germany, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Austria, we explore an area which was in the (not too distant) past bonded together by the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation and by Austria-Hungary.

Linz is the capital of the region or Land of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube and 30 kilometres (19 miles) south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846.

It’s quite forgotten by tourists. In 2018, Germans were the most frequent guests from other countries, followed by tourists from the People’s Republic of China, including Hong Kong and Macao, making Italians 3rd in comparison with the years before.

We went to Linz for the Pöstlingberg using the Pöstlingbergbahn.

Linz Castle Museum

After our mountainous excursion, we climbed another Berg, the Schlossberg or castle hill. Schloss Linz or Linz Castle houses the Schlossmuseum Linz or Linz Castle Museum. An institution of Upper Austria. The region id proud and you see OÖ, short for Oberösterreich everywhere.

“On over 10,000 m² of exhibition area the Schlossmuseum provides comprehensive insight into the natural, cultural and art history of Upper Austria from the beginning of life into the 21st century”, the website says.

“There is a wide spectrum of permanent exhibitions in the historic castle and in the new southern wing. They range from geological to contemporary history and bear witness to diverse and extensive special areas. The permanent exhibitions are flanked by diverse special exhibitions on current international and regional, as well as cultural, natural and contemporary history topics.”

In practice, the museum consists of three parts: the technology exhibition, the regional heritage exhibition and the nature exhibition. That last one focuses on taxidermy.

Not every sector in the museum is bilingual, so you need to understand some German. We did not stay too long. The museum is not worth a detour.

City centre

After the museum, we just wandered around the city centre. As often, the historic centre is relatively compact and easily walkable.

It was Friday night and there was a fun vibe. People enjoying the late summer, the return to more COVID-19-related freedom and Feierabend in general. Feierabend or free evening is the free time after work. In a more strict sense, it’s the free evening before a full free day.

We had dinner at Jack the Ripperl, a quirky burger restaurant mixing the Ripperl tradition with modern ideas on gourmet burgers.