Salzburg, Austria

After leaving Prague we headed south for Salzburg, Austria. I had been excited to get to Austria ever since I decided to study abroad because my Grandparents always told me that was their favorite place in the world to visit. Even though we were only there for a short visit, I was not disappointed.

Market section of the festival

Missing the train from Prague only set us back about an hour and we were in Salzburg by dinner time. We all ate at the hostel and being in Austria, I ordered my first Wiener Schnitzel. Not at all what I expected. I was expecting some kind of hot dog with sauerkraut or something like that. It ended up being really good and very similar to a thin shake and bake pork that my mom makes at home. When we were eating dinner we heard a guy playing guitar and singing right outside the hostel. He sounded pretty good so we went outside to check it out and it ended up being the same guy that was playing at our hostel in Nice, France! He had told us he was just going around Europe hanging out and playing music, but it was unbelievable to meet up at 2 different hostels in 2 completely different cities in Europe. Things like this are what continue to make talking to people from around the world my favorite part of this trip. Our hostel was decorated everywhere with Sound of Music posters and facts and is famous for playing the movie every single day at 10am since it came out. That's everyday for over 50 years!

View of the Salzach River

The next morning we woke up early to get a head start walking around the city. One of my first impressions of Salzburg was how nice and friendly the people are. We were at an intersection looking for an ATM and without even asking 2 different people came up and offered us help and directed us where we needed to go. Little things like that go a long way when you are in a foreign country that speaks a different language. We happened to be in Salzburg right in time for a festival that was set up all over the city. Because of this we decided to just walk around with no plans and see everything we could before our 4:30 train. There was all kinds of booth's set up with foods, drinks, and arts. As we walked through I tried the most amazing pesto and pepperoni spread on fresh bread. Once again everyone there was no nice and eager to talk to us about what they were selling. We also tried some Kombucha called Carpe Diem. They had cranberry, classic, and quitte. We got a really good deal and ended up buying a few bottles to have for the day. Quitte was my favorite partly because it was an interesting fruit I had never heard of. As we walked through the markets we made our way over to a bridge that crossed the Salzach River. We stopped there for a while to take pictures of the market and old town Salzburg that laid ahead.

Hohensalzburg Castle

On our way to Old Town Salzburg we passed all kinds of shops dedicated to Mozart, as Salzburg was his hometown. We wanted to see the Hohensalzburg Castle so we continued to head into Old Town and toward it. This must have been the central location for the festival because there were all kinds of carnival rides and booths set up for people to enjoy. Before we got to the castle we stopped to check out the Salzburg Cathedral. It was unbelievable to see the detail and sheer size of this building, considering how long ago it was built. Originally built in the first millennium, the Salzburg Cathedral has been damaged and rebuilt a few times over the year, which gives it unique history. We spent a lot of time in the Cathedral because it has so much to offer and is even nice to just sit there and reflect while you check out the detailed walls and high ceilings. After leaving the cathedral we made our way up to the top of the hill. We passed a local street vendor and all the guys bought hats that we decided would be perfect for our upcoming trip to Oktoberfest.

View from top of the Castle

The last stop in Salzburg was the top of the hill to see the Hohensalzburg Castle. This was amazing for two reasons. The castle itself was a major fortress that was cool to walk around in and see, but also being at the top gave us the best views in Salzburg. Being at the top of the castle made me realize why my grandparents love Salzburg so much. It was one of the most amazing views I have seen so far in Europe. I could see mountains, historical buildings, and the Salzach River running through.

All the guys with our Oktoberfest hats

On the way down through the festival we stopped for lunch and I had the best chocolate covered fruit I can remember. It had banana, strawberry, apple, grapes, and pineapple and I went back for seconds. It was a great way to top of the day in Salzburg while we headed for the train station.