If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 151

 SchafbergBahn, 1939

 Reverse

We did and saw so many things on our month long trip that it is difficult to pick and choose what to share.  One day we walked down the pedestrian only area in Salzburg, Austria and came to a shop called Nostalgie.  Outside the store the owners had placed tables with lots of interesting items including some shoe boxes full of old postcards.   Bob struck up a conversation with the owners while I started going through the hundreds of cards.  I bought a few cards and went back to this same shop several more times, even on one occasion taking my French friend who came to visit us from Italy.  Not a hardship since we share an interest in old postcards and stamps. 

The postcard above is dated 1939, showing a picture the SchafbergBahn a railway that runs from Sankt Wolfgang, in the Lake District located not too far from Salzburg, to the top of Schafberg.  The card has a divided back and is identified as a C. Jurifchek or Jurisschek* publication from Salzburg, Edile Photograhie.  This company produced many postcards of scenic Austria, some in color most in black and white or sepia tones. 

We took a day trip driving from Salzburg to the small village of Sankt Gilgen, once there taking a boat to Sankt Wolfgang and then getting on the steam engine train like the one on the postcard riding the cog or rack railway up the very steep mountainside for 5.85 km or 3.6 miles.  The end of the line is approximately 5,850 feet or 1,783 meters elevation. 

The railway started operation in 1893 and still uses the same type of push engine today although only a couple are steam powered the rest are diesel.  It is a bumpy ride to the top with the train stopping on a side rail part way up to let the down car pass.  The views are stunning all the way up and once at the top many lakes, tiny villages, mountains, and rugged scenery greet the eye.

Here are a few pictures of what it looks like in 2014.

First we took a boat like this one across the lake from Sankt Gilgen to Sankt Wolfgang.  The water is the most incredible green-blue color.

Sailboat on the lake

This is the end destination “Schafberg”

Church at Sankt Wolfgang

This is the steam train that will take us up the mountainside.  The engine pushes the two cars up the steep grade instead of pulling them so the cars cannot accidentally separate and roll back down.  It might also be more efficient to push rather than pull.

The train is attached to this cog or rack instead of a regular train track.

Views from the train window

Looking down on the train from the summit as it starts the return trip back to Sankt Wolfgang

Views from the top looking out to the lakes in the distance

Signpost with distances to other places

This is "The Sound of Music" country and we encountered several tour groups that were specifically visiting places from the movie.  One group of Japanese women began singing the "Do Re Mi" song at the top of Schafberg.  As the sound of their singing echoed around the mountaintop it was a good thing they had decent voices as all the rest of us were being entertained.  More about this cute group of tourists in a future entry.

For more information, please see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schafberg_Railway


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Note:

It is hard to tell from the small print on the reverse of the card whether it should be Jurifchek or Jurisschek (Jurißchek) and it appears both ways in listings of old postcards for sale, hence the confusion in identifying the company.