Salzburg, Austria

where i listened to the hills

I was so close to Austria being in Munich so I decided to take a day trip to Salzburg to see what it was all about. I was not disappointed. Salzburg was one of my favorite little cities, the perfect size, and filled with pretzels and the sound of music.

After getting off the bus by the train station I started walking towards town and I came upon Mirabell gardens first. I had read that the famous Sound of Music “Do Re Mi” scene was shot there so I took my time walking around the gardens. Actually a lot of the film was filmed in Salzburg, but I’m a little embarrassed to say that I don’t think I’ve ever seen the whole movie in its entirety so I’m not too familiar with it. Maybe now I will watch it since I will recognize the set locations. While in the garden I found a bench to sit and write in my journal for an hour.

I left the gardens and crossed the Salzach River on a bridge covered in love locks. I quickly hit the busy, bustling, shopping street but bypassed it initially cause I was hungry. I had read that there were oversized pretzels in university square so I beelined there and was thrilled to see a vendor with a variety of pretzels from chocolate to cheese and in varying sizes -bretzen mecca. After internally debating on whether or not I should get one of each, I ended up getting the pizza pretzel which was just like a big thing of cheesey bread braided into the shape of a pretzel. I paired the cheese pretzel with a local beer and enjoyed them in an outdoor seating area in the square. Then I made my way back to the famous shopping street, Getreidegasse, where the elaborately ornamental shop signs are hanging out into the streets. It is there along that street where you can find the birthplace of Mozart. A museum now occupies the space and funnily enough it resides above a convenience store. Further along the street it opens up into the main squares which I followed to Mozartplatz to see the statue of Mozart. I passed horse-drawn carriages full of curious tourists as I made my way closer to the fortress.

Hohensalzburg Fortress towers above the town located up on a hill near the city center. I decided to pass on the funicular and instead walked up the steep stairs and hill. I also chose to skip paying the fee to tour the fortress as I felt that I didn’t have enough time to get my money’s worth of touring before I had to leave on the bus back to Munich. Plus I still wanted to do some walking to get a better vantage point of town. So I followed a trail along the ridge and away from the fortress. Immediately I left the crowds behind and found myself in a quiet natural setting. I enjoyed the walk and once I reached the modern art museum I had a wonderful wide view of the city below. I think most people stop there and take the lift down to the street level, but I refused to pay for an elevator so I continued walking and got an even better view further ahead.

Once back at street level I crossed the river, bought some ice cream, and enjoyed it in Mirabell gardens before taking the bus back to Munich. I had a wonderful day trip in Salzburg and would love to visit again. When I dream of snowy, Christmasy towns I am envisioning a town like Salzburg and I would love to see it during Christmas time.