Traveling for a Month Part Three- Salzburg

After spending a whirlwind day and a half in Prague we made our way to Salzburg.  We stayed in the YOHO Youth Hostel which was one of the nicer hostels I have ever stayed in and would definitely recommend it if you are going to Salzburg and looking for a hostel.  Because we had gone to the Easter Markets in Prague, we didn't get to Salzburg until dinner time.  We checked into the hostel and then wandered in towards city center.  It looked like there were lots of very good restaurants along the main street we were walking along but they all seemed really expensive, like 20 Euro for a salad, so we bypassed those.  We ended up at a kebab shop/pizzeria which was surprisingly good because it was a little bit off the main road.  The people working there didn't speak much English and we didn't speak much German which made it interesting, but we figured it out and everyone walked away nice and full.  We then crossed the river to the area of the city with more of the old buildings and wandered around looking at fountains and buildings and we got a better view of the Fortress on top of the hill.  We went back to the hostel and relaxed for the rest of the night and went to bed early to get an early start the next day.

The next morning we got up and went downstairs for breakfast. Boy did we time it badly, because an entire chorus on tour through Austria was down there which made the small room pretty crowded.  After our breakfast we headed back to where we were the night before to purchase a "Salzburg Card" which you pay one price for and then can get into a lot of attractions for free or discounted rates.  Because we bought this we had to 1. get our money's worth and 2. try to get more than our money's worth by doing lots of things in one day.

We started off with Fortress Hohensalzburg which overlooks the city from the hilltop/mountaintop (we are in the Alps).  The Salzburg card also gives you free public transportation for the day, so we got to take a funicular up the mountain instead of having to walk, which gave even more great views of the city.  Once we got up to the Fortress, we found the area where they did guided tours and started with that.  The Fortress is also home to museum type exhibits which we visited after our tour.  The tour brought us up to the top of the tower and down narrow hallways and explained the order in which the Fortress was built and who added what parts on and in what years.

After Fortress Hohensalzburg we headed back down the funicular and wandered around St. Peter's cemetery and catacombs on our way to a river cruise.  We grabbed a snack on our way to tide us over until the end of the cruise because we thought it was starting in half an hour.  When we got there to get our tickets we found out that we were wrong and it didn't start for an hour and a half.  We got our tickets for the next cruise and pulled out the map to see what we should do to fill our extra time.  The Salzburg Card got us into Mozart's Residence for free and it was close so we headed on over.  You get an audio guide and can wander the house at whatever pace you want just listening to the parts that interest you.  Even after Mozart's we has a little extra time so we wandered across the square to the Mirabell Palace gardens and relaxed for a few minutes.  We took our very full cruise up and down the river after, which allowed us to see a little bit of the city we hadn't walked to yet and who doesn't like a good river cruise.  We were all a bit tired at this point and it was the perfect nap time in the afternoon, I think all three of us were close to dozing off at one point or another.

We decided we needed to wake up, so to finish up our day with the Salzburg Card, we took the bus out to the Steigl Brauwelt (Brewery).  This was also a self guided tour with a tasting at the end.  By this point, the brewery tour was basically free and in addition to the tour, we got a little bag of crisps, a beer tasting and a gift to take home!  Definitely a great deal.  We headed back to the hostel after this for a little relaxation.  We decided to wander around the corner to a restaurant recommended by the hostel for dinner.  In addition to dinner, they had really good looking desserts, so of course we had to get dessert too.

The next day, we had another early day and made a day trip to Hallstatt, Austria.  Hallstatt is on the UNESCO World Heritage site list and is about an hour and a half outside of Salzburg.  We decided to drive out there to look at the beautiful scenery and go hiking.  After parking, we wandered around and found the cable car that brings you up to the top of the mountain to where they have a salt mine.  This didn't open until the following Saturday which was a little disappointing, but just meant that we had to work a little to enjoy our views.  We had the option of either walking up the mountain and ending near where the cable car did, or we could walk away from the lake, through the woods to a waterfall.  We decided that the walk up the mountain would probably give us a similar view to the one on the ground so we would explore where we couldn't see and go to the waterfall.  It was a great hike that was supposed to take about 2 hours, but of course with all the pictures we were taking, it ended up being more like 3 for us!  After the hike we walked into town and had lunch at one of the few restaurants that was open (most were still closed because tourist season didn't start until Saturday).  The one that we chose was very good and reasonably priced.  You could even see the lake if you squinted between two buildings haha.  We got some ice cream for dessert and rented a little electric boat that probably moved about a foot a minute and took a relaxing ride on the lake which was empty and so grand.  We headed back to the hostel afterwards and decided to stay in and watch their nightly showing of The Sound of Music and eat dinner while watching.  It was a nice relaxing evening after hiking all day.

The Town of Hallstatt

The waterfall we hiked to

The Restaurant we had lunch at

Boat Cruise on the Lake

Very Big Castle/ House on the far side of the lake

Waterfall we hiked to

A view of part of the town

The next day we were driving down to Fortress Hohenwerfen in the town of Werfen and then going to Berchtesgaden Salt Mines.  We got to Fortress Hohenwerfen right away in the morning when they opened to get on the first tour.  They took us to what seemed like every corner of the castle.  It was also very cool because we got to go up to the clock and bell tower and see the clock mechanism still working and got to go and actually ring the bell.  This gave us a fabulous view of the town of Werfen and the surrounding countryside. They also have a falconry on site and do two shows a day where they just let the falcons go flying.  They had one who stayed close and did some chasing of their fake birds which was cool to see them dive quickly, but most just soared above our heads.  As we were leaving, a vulture was just hanging out on the path which was kind of freaky...I walked past it very quickly.

The old clock mechanism

The kind of scary bird we had to walk past to get back to the car

After that we headed to Berchtesgaden to go to the Salt Mines.  Sadly, they don't let you take any pictures in the Salt Mines, I guess the salt ruins your camera.  First you are given mine uniforms to put on over your clothes for the tour.  Then, you take a little train down into the Mine and they have a very cool graphics program which makes it look like the cavern you are standing in is filling up with water, like it used to have, while they give you an intro to the mines, which are still in use.  You then get to take a slide down to the next level.  After walking through and seeing some machinery, you take another slide down to an area that still has water and they have built artwork that lights up and looks like salt along the walls as you take a ferry across the underground lake.  You see some more machinery and then get back on the train to take you back to ground level.  I'm definitely glad we did the tour.

We headed back to the hostel and relaxed for a bit and then went to another restaurant that was recommended by the hostel.  The restaurant was named "Pasta and Vino", and when we walked in, it seemed like every table at this restaurant was drinking wine.  Then once we were seated, the waiter came up to us and told us the two pasta options for the evening.  They didn't even have menus!  But the place was packed the entire time we were there.  Both of the pasta dishes sounded very good and it was hard to decide.  I think we were all very happy with our meal when we were finished.  We decided we were missing Ireland a bit and so we stopped by an Irish Pub on our way home and it was great to hear some Irish music again (they were only missing the accents).

The next morning we got up and checked out of the hostel and put our bags in the car.  We had decided that we wanted to go to Nonnberg Abbey which is a Benedictine Abbey on the hill near Hohensalzburg and I think was used in the filming of The Sound of Music.   It took us a little time to find it, but once we did, it was grand and we wandered around the church for a while.  Thinking there was more that was open to the public, we walked around to the area they said would have maps of the Abbey and guides.  I knocked on the door and walked in because it was unlocked and said "Guides here"well, there were no guides. Only old men.  Eating soup.  It was awkward.  Only one of them spoke English and it was broken.  I asked for maps and they told me to go to the church around the corner (where we just were).  I said Danke and made a quick exit.  Like I said, awkward.

We grabbed some sandwiches on our way back to the parked car and then headed out to our next city...Munich.