Salzburg

So it’s time to start the Spring Break posts. I still have a few trips to catch up on, but I’d rather do Spring Break while it’s fresh in my 

mind. Once I extract some photos from my little brother, I’ll post about London and Oxford while Michael and Mom were visiting.

But for now, let’s start with my trip to Salzburg.

Salzburg was so great, I loved it a lot. From the first moment on the train and we crested a hill and I could see the Alps clearly, to the last morning when I left Salzburg with a little longing. 

When I first arrived around 12:30, the afternoon was clear, bright, and hot. I found my hostel quickly, checked in and got settled in and went to explore the city, map in hand. The first place I ended up were the gardens they used in the filming of the Sound of Music. They’re right across the River Spree from the historic center, and they’re absolutely gorgeous. I easily spent an hour just wandering around and soaking in the amazing beauty. 

It was in these gardens that I saw my favorite sight of perhaps my entire trip, because of how perfect it was.

Bruce, you’re with me everywhere I go. 

After a wee bit more wandering in the gardens I headed across the river Spree to see the historic side of town. The historic part of Salzburg is almost all pedestrian streets, and everything is very “clean” and “neat”. So therefore it ends up having a very safe and closed in feeling, but not in a bad way. It was a really easy city to walk, I’m not sure why tourists think they need to use the tram and bus systems, it’s seems entirely needless to me, unless they’re taking one of those “Sound of Music” tours I guess. I skipped. 

After walking around and getting my bearings in the historical end of town, I decided a lunch break was necessary, and what better spot than on the steps of the fountain in front of the Dom Cathedral (also used in the movie, but way cooler than the movie, and I like Julie Andrews). 

When I exited the cathedral after walking around and oohing and ahhing, there was a guy sitting there playing the didgeridoo... now how many times is that going to happen in my life. The guy in the red shirt is dancing, which is kinda funny, and he sorta looked completely crazy, which isn’t so funny. 

I spent the rest of the day just walking around and soaking up the culture of the place. After awhile I got tired, ran by a grocery store and headed back to the hostel. The other girls in my hostel dorm were super nice, two American students from Paris, and one girl from NZ, who lives in Qatar teaching on a two year project. 

The next day, I got started early by hiking up the hill(mountain) to the fortress. The views were amazing, even if the fortress was a little pricey. I got some of the best pictures of the trip from that fortress. 

After the fortress I went back down and hung out in the Mozart Residenz and Birthplace museums. The birthplace was a ripoff, but the Residenz didn’t do too badly overall. I thoroughly enjoyed the tour through it. 

I was glad I did a combo ticket though and not just the birthplace. :P

After that I went and walked around the newer districts, more shopping oriented (found the 1 euro store Mom!) and just enjoyed the people. After a break at the hostel for dinner, Anne Maree (from NZ) and I went for a walk to see the city at night. I have some amazing nighttime photos, that do NOT do the city justice, it was more beautiful than it shows in these photos.

I also went and posed on the bridge that in the movie they cycle over and across to the banks of the River Spree. 

All in all, the visit was really wonderful, and I enjoyed myself and awful lot during my two days there. 

Full photos from the two days can be seen here!