Charming Salzburg

When we arrived in Salzburg it was a rainy Sunday evening. Everything was closed and no one was around. We walked to the hostel, which was only 10 minutes from the train station, and checked in. 

In case you weren't aware, Salzburg is where "The Sound of Music" was filmed. If you haven't seen it.... I really don't know what to say. CLASSIC! 

Anyway, the hostel plays it every night to get you in the Salzburg spirit, which is awesome. So we decided to stay in. It was very warm and cozy, the movie was on, and they had cheap grilled cheeses. So we were happy. We went to bed early. 

The next day we got up, paid the €3.50 for hostel breakfast, and went our separate ways. Jeremy still had to get a new shirt and needed to do laundry, and I wanted to go walk around the old town. 

I left the hostel with a map and started wandering down the charming streets. 

I decided I was just going to explore so I took the first alley I saw into a little cemetery 

It was the most peaceful little spot, and it was pretty cool too because some of Mozart's family was buried there. 

It was very serene. 

I kept going and crossed the Salzach river into the old town. 

A few pictures from around town. 

Bread in musical shapes

Really cool temp/pressure/etc measure... And a trash can. Whoops. 

Horse fountain that Maria walks by in the movie while she sings "I Have Confidence"

Some steeples and roofs

Band with the weirdest looking bass ever

The fortress

Shopping street

Old winding alleys everywhere

My first stop was the Salzburg Cathedral. It was so pretty. I really do have a soft spot for beautiful churches. Definitely came to the right continent. 

It has FIVE organs. 5!!!!

The crypt was open, which was really cool. Usually you have to pay to explore other parts o big churches. Parts of the original foundation were exposed. 

I left the church and kept exploring, and walked into an abbey complex by mistake. The graveyard here was the prettiest I have ever seen. 

The crosses were metal, and it was so unique and interesting. 

Even cooler was how they had built the abbey out of the mountain- It was literally inside the stone. All I saw were windows. You may have to look closely. 

I was hungry at this point so I got a sandwich and a healthy snack. 

See mom- I am eating healthy. 

I wanted to walk up to the fortress just so I could get a good view. Mission accomplished. I was just below the fortress. 

The walk back down was down this little mountain road through old tunnels. 

Got a good picture on the way down too- I think this is my favorite. 

When I got back down I went in about a million churches. Ok like 5 but it felt like a million. 

I wish pictures could convey how beautiful these churches are, but they just can't. 

Intricate and ornate, and all surrounded by adorable courtyards. 

I also saw Mozart's birthplace...

...which was right around the corner from one of his many homes. 

On the way back to the hostel, I walked through the charming Mirabell palace gardens, where a lot of "Do Re Mi" was filmed. 

I got back to the hostel and really needed a shower and a break. So I did that and found Jeremy, who was having a nice relaxing day taking care of the things he needed to do. 

We went and got dinner and wine at this awesome Italian place right near the hostel. They don't have a menu- just daily specials. 3 new pastas every day plus veggie and beef lasagna. I got the veg lasagna and Jeremy got the prosciutto ravioli. And we drank lots of white wine. It was great. 

After dinner we took a short walk to see the old town at night- it was totally dead. Nothing at all to do or see. Even the cute little outdoor cafes were closed for the night. So we headed back and went to bed. 

Today we got up and packed up to check out. We paid for breakfast again just because its not worth going and getting groceries if we're leaving same day. We put our bags in the storage room and headed out for a short hike. 

The weather said it was supposed I be 60 and rainy all day, so we both wore pants and were prepared for rain. Problem was it was about 80 and sunny by the time we got to the start point. 

So we walked up into the hills, sweating in the sun. We got up into the beautiful forest and I decided I was not doing 2 hours (the hikes supposed length). Jeremy wanted to so we parted ways. He has some great pictures he will post on Facebook, but for now you'll just have to deal with mine!

I didn't go straight back, just took the short loop instead of the medium or long. So I still got to see some stuff. 

The whole hill we were on had been another fortress at one point, so it had a neat old wall and towers surrounding it. 

And I still had a good view. 

Even saw a turtle :)

So then I headed back down the mountain to the hostel. Jeremy met me there. He was sweaty but very glad he kept going. 

So we got some lunch at a little noodles place and headed to the train station. 

Salzburg definitely ties Amsterdam for the prettiest place we've seen, and might even pass it. It's old town is simply stunning. It's a bit of a tourist trap and you don't need more than a day to see it, but I'm very glad we added it. 

I was a little disappointed because I wanted to do an actual Sound of Music tour, but not only were they expensive, they were just lame. The list of sights included a lot of "see the outside of..." And "see a replica of..." So I just wandered instead. Good choice. I loved it. 

Now we're on our way to Munich. It's a short trip- only 2 hours. We will be there 5 nights, which gives us 4 full days to explore the city. I'm going to take one of those and see a concentration camp. We'll see how easy/expensive it is. 

We are starting to think about Switzerland accommodations, which is where we will be after Munich. Zurich is really expensive but we met a guy who lives there so we are asking him about a place to stay. Interloken is much cheaper and looks beautiful but is farther away. So we're talking about it and we will figure it out in the next day or so. 

Can't believe it's day 34... This month is already flying. 

Off to a beer garden!