Salzburg, Austria

We arrived in Salzburg around 7pm, tired from our journey. We went to the bus station and spent a good 15 minutes trying to figure out what sort of ticket we needed to buy. Having little to no translations, we struggled to find the location of our hostel on the map. Luckily, an elderly gentleman who we think works for the station saw our struggle and came over to help. We showed him the directions we had and he helped us to buy the appropriate ticket and escorted us to the correct bus terminal. We thanked him and he left us to wait for the bus.

It arrived a few minutes later and we descended 7 stops after. With directions to turn at the next zebra, we were still confused as to where we were supposed to go. Luckily, two girls were passing by who were headed to the same hostel. They offered to lead us there for which we were very grateful. Once there, we waited to check in, taking in the amenities this hotel like hostel had to offer. We got our room key and descended to our ground floor room, being greeted by another just arriving couple. We conversed about plans and experiences while making our beds and arranging our things. We went upstairs to use the internet only to be disappointed by its disappearance. Apparently the hostel was experiencing tech difficulties that day. Frustrated (we need internet to make our reservations and travel plans as we are going day to day), we returned to our now full room.

We made introductions with the newcomers and talked about our places of origins, travel plans, and exchanged tips on things to do. The couple was from California, 1 guy from Chicago, 2 guys were from Australia, and 1 from Greece. After an hour or so of laughs and advice, we turned out the light and went to sleep.

The next morning, we rose at 9am and woke up our new friend Chris (from Sydney, Australia) as he had similar plans for the day. We went upstairs for our free breakfast, taking advantage of the food by packing a lunch for later as well. Afterwards, we dressed and prepared for our day out in Salzburg. With Chris, we walked to the Maribell Botanical Gardens, a collection of labyrinth flowers and fountains surrounding a former mansion home. We took photos of the grounds, thankful for the beautiful weather.

From Maribell, we walked back towards the Old Town of Salzburg, stopping in a few shops to look at postcards and souvenirs. We soon found ourselves at a local market which led us to a main square at the entrance of the main cathedral. Having already visited the cathedral, Chris left us to go find internet, citing that we would meet up later at the hostel.

We entered the church, the Dom de Salzburg, and were immediately impressed by its lavish artwork on the ceilings, huge organs, and immense size. We took photos and read about the history of the cathedral. We found an underground prayer area which was a mix of solemn beauty with a strange modern art exhibit in one room.

Satisfied, we exited the church back into the main square. We perused the booths and made our way up the winding road. We soon found ourselves in one of the most beautiful cemeteries either of us had ever seen. The combination of the ornate headstones and beautiful leafetry was in stark contrast to the grassy plain cemeteries we know from home.

We toured the grounds and soon found ourselves at the entrance to the ticket booth for the Hohensalzburg Fortress. We bought tickets and rode the tram up the steep mountain to the top. Once there, we took in the views of Salzburg before beginning our tour of the grounds.

We started in the main castle area which has since been converted into a series of museums. We walked through a museum on marionettes, one on WWI, one on medieval artifacts and another on the castle itself. Although the relics were impressive in their own right, it was difficult to understand what it was we were seeing a lot of the time due to most of the museum being in German. We finished the route and ended up in the courtyard of the fortress.

From the courtyard, we realized we had missed the entrance to our guided tour. We walked back around to the first side and entered the office to await the next tour. We were given headsets which led us around the castle and told of the purposes and history of each area. The tour took us through the salt stores, the torture chamber, the former castle wall and the town organ. The highlight was our ascent to the highest castle tower where we stood atop a platform and took in the entire Salzburg valley (photos galore). The headset informed us of different historical buildings in the area and pointed out some places where The Sound of Music was filmed. When we finally descended, we were thoroughly impressed with the beauty of the region.

We came upon a different tour group in the fortress main square and tagged along for a few bits of information. However, growing tired after 3 hours at the fortress, we decided to go down on the tram back into town. Once there, we ran a few errands before deciding to head back to the hostel.

Unfortunately for us, street names in Salzburg are written in a scriptic font and are therefore easily confused. After walking for almost 20 minutes, we found ourselves right back where we started at the main square in town. Frustrated, we tried again, this time succeeding in passing by Mozart’s childhood home, or so we thought. We took photos of the plaque outside the home and happily continued on our way, arriving back at the hostel about 20 minutes later.

Once there, we were greeted by Chris, always in a chipper mood, and the Greek fellow in our room. We discussed what we had done for the day and showed each other photos of our sights. It was then that we were informed by our Greek friend that the house we had seen was not Mozart’s home. In fact what the plaque actually inscribed was that in that house, both Mozart’s wife and sister had passed away. Slightly disheartened, we were able to find humor in our confusion.

After a while of sitting and chatting, we began to grow hungry. We decided to get some authentic Austrian food and where better to get that than at a street cart. We walked to the nearest food shack and after a few moments of debate (what kind of meat is that!?) and decisions, we ordered our food. We each ate a sandwich like creation full of chicken and spicy sauce and a beer a piece. In addition, not wanting to miss out on Austrian sausage, we shared a Kasekrainer (a delicious sausage with melted cheese inside). We returned to the hostel to eat in the lounge and get seats for our viewing of The Sound of Music. The food proved to be delicious (and cheap!) and the internet was repaired so we were quite happy.

We watched movie with other young people from the hostel including an annoying girl who would cite each scene with information she had learned on her Sound of Music tour she had done. Her constant commentary was irritating to a point but it was outweighed by the feeling of recognizing the places we had visited that day. At the end of the film, we utilized the internet to book our next stay and make calls home. Fatigued, we retired to our full room and quietly crept into bed.