So Tuesday morning Beate extended her awesomeness and drove me to the Berlin-Tegel airport for my flight to Salzburg.
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| Foggy Salzburg |
I arrived in Austria at around 2:00pm, and I must say, the surrounding greyness wasn't doing much for my mood. I caught a bus from the airport to the train station and on that ride I told myself, no sense in being gloomy, and was awesome instead. Really though. I just forced myself to smile, and soon I was just smiling! Try it sometime.
I got to my hostel and checked in and settled in. My room is so nice, and has a big ensuite bathroom with a real shower that I'm pretty excited to use. (Simple pleasures, people). I set out right away to it in some exploring before it got dark. I didn't have a purpose other than getting my bearings and killing some time really.
It didn't take long for me to realize that I loved this city. I think it has a whole lot to do with how much they love Christmas. Honestly, there is a wreath above every door, a display in every window. And I don't just mean retail shops. There were Christmas trees with glasses-ornaments at the optometrists. Salzburg goes all out my friends! I also caught an ad with the freaking brilliant news that the Christmas Markets open Thursday, which means I just catch them!
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| So much Christmas! |
I stuck in "New Town" my first evening (the same side of the river as my hostel) since getting lost my first night in a new place wasn't something I wasn't interested in and was something that probably would have happened. I discovered a lovely little shopping street and hit up a few stores. It was my first time hearing Christmas tunes! Joy!
After my mini shop I found a little cafe for dinner called "The Heart of Joy" with, get this, G-Free specials!!!!! Dang! So I had the daily special, which was curried lentils with rice and it was delicious. It was also a huge amount so I was able to take some back to the hostel for lunch the next day. I had a Mozart Café, which was with caramel and organic whipped cream and slivered almonds, and came with one of the "Mozart Balls" that Salzburg is famous for.
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| Mozart Cafe |
I got back to the hostel around 6:30 or so and met two of my roomies, Alex from Sidney, Australia and Gina from Seoul, South Korea (if only I was from Ottawa). We decided to all go downstairs together and watch "The Sound of Music" together in the "Amadeus Room" downstairs. T'was a lovely evening. We were joined by a couple other gals and we all sang along and had a lovely time.
I woke up at 9am this morning and squeezed in a few sites before my organized SoM tour. My first stop was the Salzburg Dom, or cathedral. I must say I was more impressed with the one in Berlin, but it was still opulent and lovely. I walked down the Getreidegasse- Salzburg's main shopping street. I slobbered over many an Xmas ornament, but so far I'm holding out for the "real thing" at the markets tomorrow night.
Back over the bridge, I visited the Mirabell Gardens and was particularly giddy to visit the little dwarves and Pegasus fountain that feature prominently in the "Do-Re-Mi" scene from SoM. At around 12:30 I went back to my hostel for a vote to eat, and met another Aussie named Kate in the lounge. We made plans to meet up in the evening, and then I headed out to meet my tour group.
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| They race through here during Do-Re-Mi! |
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| Pegasus Fountain |
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| Me in the Mirabell Gardens |
In what is explained most accurately as an odd situation, I was put in a mini van with a family of 6, and just me. So Gma, Gpa, mum and dad, 16 yr old sister, 5 year old brother, and me. Haha. Weird. But our guide, Naomi, was cool and fun, and I was sitting up front with her, so it was all good.
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| Where the kids and Maria fall in the lake! |
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| 16 going on 17! |
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| I HAVE CONFIDENCE IN ME! |
During the tour we listened to the SoM soundtrack and sang along. We drove past many of the sites the movie was filmed at, and got out at some key ones to take pictures. My fave spots were the lake where Maria and the kids tip over in the boat, the gazebo where Leisel and Rolf sing "16 going on 17", and the lane that Maria runs down while singing "Confidence in Me". After seeing all the central Salzburg sites, we drove out to lake country to see where the picnic scene was filmed. We also visited "Mondsee" to visit the church where Maria and the Captain were married in the movie. I had a "crisp apple strudel" at the cafe across the street. I couldn't resist.
That was our last stop. We sang "So long, Farewell" and then Naomi was kind enough to drive me right to my hostel so I didn't have to walk back by myself in the dark. I met Kate in the lobby and we's meant to go to a museum, but my Frommer's book lied, and the 2 we had to choose from actually closed at 5 and not 8. Lame. So we just went for dinner instead, at a restaurant in Old Town called Zom Morhen that Mozart and Schubert used to eat at. Bam. I had a supremely delicious veal goulash. The meat was so so tender. I stayed away from the spätzle and schnitzel since I'd already cheated today. The goulash was so good though.
Tomorrow I am going to do EVERYTHING else on my list. It's a big one. It's gonna be a big day.
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| Salzburg by night- walking back into New Town with Kate |
