1936 On the Continent

however, that you may not be recognised in the Traube or in the Kaffee Bazar or anywhere in Salzburg as a “Greenhorn”—note that it is a disgrace to be in Salzburg for the first time—and that you may receive the nimbus of the experienced, you must get yourself dressed at Lanz’s. Lanz is the maker of the “Dirndl” (peasant costume; the word means “young girl” also, but is an untranslateable Austrian expression) and the national costume, and there any woman can get herself transformed into a smart Dirndl and the most withered old man into a dashing hunter. You can be sure of getting good advice from Lanz, and he will not let you leave the shop looking like a caricature. Salzburg will live long in your memory forits Austrian cakes, the so-called “Salzburger Nockerln,” and also on account of a casino, the like of which cannot be seen elsewhere, in the marvellous Mirabellschloss.
    In Salzburg wine is drunk less than beer. There are a great many most original Kellers where you can drink marvellous beer, set on the table in great tankards by a cheerful friar. Here are the names of some of them: Stiegelbräu, Augustiner, and the Peterskeller, which lies in the middle of a lonely cemetery, which may at first seem rather grim to you but which you will find quite pleasant when you have two or three tankards of beer inside you.
    Of the Festival I need not tell you much. Toscanini, Bruno Walter, Weingartner, Pierre Monteux and Arthur Rodzinsky conduct, Max Reinhardt designs the scenery for “Faust” and for the performance of “Everyman” in front of the cathedral. No town on the Continent is more festive by nature than Salzburg, and none is more naturally theatrical.
The Salzkammergut
    Do not fail to visit the Salzkammergut; your visit, thanks to excellent transport, may be either short or long. The Weisse Rossl on the Wolfgangsee is doubtless already known to you from plays, films and records. It is really enchantingly beautiful, as indeed most of these places are. Small, clean houses bask peacefully in the sun, looking like toys when you see them from the summit of the Schafberg, which you can reach comfortably by the railway. On a clear day you can see from there a mighty panorama of mountains, and in the valleys the beauty of about seven lakes, blue and shimmering. You can also stay on the Schafbergalpen which is 1,365 metres high. Below in the village I might mention the Hotel-Pension Försterheim and the Parkhotel. Dorf St. Gilgen is charming, a favourite summer resort, and famous for its sailing regattas. In the ancient town of Hallein there is not only a salt mine but a glorious and lavishly fitted swimming bath. The Hotel Blaue Stern is cheap and good. At Ort Mondsee on the Mondsee, you must see the locally made ceramics, and do not forget to eat Mondsee cheese. It does not smell much but nevertheless tastesgood, which is seldom the case with cheese. The Mondsee lies, as nearly all these lakes, in a beautiful world of mountains. Every one of the lakes has many fine modern bathing places and sports establishments. I recommend Gmunden if you are fond of a cool lake. The Traunsee, on which lies this small town, is charming and is a favourite with the Viennese. Ischl swarms with mementoes of the Emperor Francis Joseph, and you will find there what is left of the old Austria-Hungary: Kaiservilla and the numerous Kaiser lanes and Kaiser bridges and Kaiser oaks—only the “Kaiserschmarrn” is not an Ischler institution, although you can of course eat it at the Kurhaus Helios in a distinguished, and at the Goldenen Ochsen in a homely, setting.
Badgastein and Hofgastein
    In the Salzburg country also there are the sulphur baths at Badgastein. This is a very feudal, somewhat expensive, but healthy and beautifully situated spa, which is visited not only by invalids but by the healthy. The air is fresh and full of fragrance from the woods. The good hotels are rather dear and are almost without exception patronised by rich and well-connected people—the Kaiserhof, the Hotel Germania or Pension Alpenrose. The Hotel Münchnerhof is cheap and good. Hofgastein, the sister-spa, is even more beautifully situated than Badgastein. It is more countrified, quieter, less mundane and also a little cheaper. At the Grand Hotel you may satisfy your more ambitious requirements, at the Alten Post and the Pension Edelweiss you will be very well looked after, both as regards board and lodging. In no case must you omit going