Monday

48 Hours in Salzburg pt II

Our second day in Salzburg was possibly the best day of my life. Not only did we get to explore the city itself but we also experienced The Sound of Music tour, which was absolutely wonderful. View of Salzburg from Hohensalzburg
We started our day eating breakfast in the hotel's Marble Hall which was so fancy that even the chandelier has its own bloody crown! Unfortunately, the previous night's thunderstorm had left behind a lot of cloud cover with the odd little shower but the hotel provided complimentary umbrellas. Handy!
Austrian Chandelier Alps and lake view
As we were a 25 minute walk out of the city centre and wanted to make the most of our day, we chose to get a taxi into the old town. I was keen to visit Petersfriedhof (St Peter's Cemetery) which was the inspiration for the cemetery scene in The Sound of Music, and Rich needed to go to a drugstore to pick up some bits we'd left behind. Salzurg's old town is made up of a series of courtyards and Kapitalplatz was next to both the cemetery and the drugstore, so we asked our taxi driver to take us there. Unfortunately he couldn't understand our attempts at German and he didn't speak English, so we compromised with going to the cathedral instead. As we pulled into Residenzplatz, I realised we were parking next to this fountain in the I Have Confidence sequence and practically started squealing with excitement. 
Residenzplatz Fountain Residenzplatz Sound of Music Fountain
Of course, I jumped up to the fountain and splashed the water. Well, attempted to splash the water. The water level is about a foot lower than it is in the film so only my fingertips could reach, even when I was on tiptoes. For some reason, there were a bunch of empty marquees which kinda spoiled my rendition. I mean, I'm sure they were there for a good reason and all but somebody should have told the Mayor of Salzburg that I was coming... 
I Have Confidence In Me Fountain Salzburg horse pony rides Hohensalzburg Train
While Rich went shopping, I visited Petersfriedhof which was a real experience and will have its own post later. We then had a quick pretzel break in Kapitalplatz (which is right next to Residenzplatz as it turns out) watching the trains zipping up the hill towards the Hohensalzburg Fortress. We only had 90 minutes until our tour started but couldn't resist the opportunity to take a look at the city from the top of this towering castle.
Salzburg Cathedral Hohensalzburg Train View Salzburg Altstadt
We boarded the train and waited around 10 minutes before it started whizzing up the hill. I was surprised by just how fast it moves and it was fun to watch the city getting smaller and smaller through the glass-fronted carriage. Once at the top, we had the most wonderful view over the city and towards the Alps. Although our ticket allowed us entry into the fortress, we were wary of time so just walked around the exterior wall, admiring the view until it started raining, at which point I realised I'd left the umbrella in the train. We took the next carriage down- there are two, which alternately travel up and down the hill simultaneously- and asked the ticket office if they had the umbrella. The man hadn't seen it but, rather than sending us away, he phoned his colleague who took it upon himself to go and fetch it for me personally.
Hohensalzburg Fortress Salzburg Suburbs
This experience perfectly sums up the Salzburg people. Everybody went out of their way to help and were so polite and patient, even when Rich repeatedly asked "She speaks English?" to everyone, no matter how many times I corrected him. Most people do speak English- in fact, most people would just assume we were English speakers and would communicate in the language without prompting- but those who don't, like the taxi driver, are really friendly and allow us to communicate in broken German without getting impatient. 
Salzburg Fortress Salzburg Rooftops
Another wonderful thing about Salzburg is just how clean it is. I didn't see a single piece of litter, chewing gum or fag end on the floor. In fact, we only saw one person smoking in our whole time there. Hardly anybody drives and the city is filled with cyclists, most of whom don't even wear helmets, since the roads are so safe with such little traffic. Even the public transport is electric! It's an incredibly environmentally-friendly city and it really pays off in the quality of air and the entire appearance of the town.
Salzburg cloud over Alps
We walked through the old town and over the Salzach river to Mirabell Palace, where our tour began. Like Petersfriedhof, this was so lovely that I'm going to need to dedicate a whole separate post to it. Needless to say, I had the most fun running around pretending to be a Von Trapp!
Salzburg Love Lock Bridge
The tour bus returned to Mirabellplatz at around 6pm so we headed back through the old town to find somewhere to eat. Walking over Makartsteg Bridge, we realised this was Salzburg's very own love lock bridge. I'd had no idea this was here so we didn't bring our own lock, and in the evening nowhere was open to buy one, but I had a lovely time walking along and reading all of the locks. 
Makartsteg Bridge Salzburg Love lock bridge
As Austria is very popular with Japanese tourists, a lot of the locks had Japanese inscriptions which were interesting to see. I also liked the ones with photos printed on- this one shows a couple in front of Hohensalzburg. My favourite, however, was probably Harker & Journalism. That is somebody who really loves the media! 
Love lock bridge Makartsteg Salzburg Harker Journalism Salzburg Burgerista
At the end of the bridge, I spotted a restaurant across the road called Burgerista which looked really cute. Inside, the decor was fun and bright, with a modern 60s feel and the most juicy, delicious burgers ever, served with crispy, seasoned chips. Yum! I fully recommend it to anyone looking for a quick, satisfying bite to eat in Salzburg (I also spotted one in Vienna so they may be all over Austria). They're missing a trick by not calling it Salzburgerista, right?
Salzburg by night
After filling up and chilling out for a bit, we took a gentle stroll back to the taxi rank at Residenzplatz, where our day had begun. Our adventure had been a huge 10-hour circle but an absolutely amazing one that I will never forget. I'm already planning my trip back...

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13 comments :

  1. I just love Salzburg! So glad to hear you did too :)

    smalltownsandcitylights.com

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  2. Loved this 2-part trip report! I want to go there, it looks and sounds amazing :)

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  3. Salzburg looks beautiful! In Spain I've met someone on Erasmus from there and my oh my now I've seen your pictures I'm going to need to pay a visit and see her!! Great post!

    www.trafficjamoflife.blogspot.com

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  4. I have only ever been to Austria snowboarding but next time I might have to extend my trip to check out Saltzburg it looks so beautiful

    Emma Inks

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  5. you look lovely in that dress! i've never considered going to Austria, but it looks beautiful and huge thumbs up that it's such an environmentally friendly place. glad you had an amazing time :)

    - Cydney x
    thegoodlifebyme.blogspot.co.uk

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  6. Salzburg looks so pretty, and this post makes me want to go so much even though its never been on my list of places to visit before! I can certainly say now it is on my list as this post has made it sound so beautiful and brilliant. I love how environmentally friendly it is too! I can't wait for the follow up posts!

    -Julia x
    beesytimes.blogspot.co.uk

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  7. Okay, I definitely need to visit Salzburg now...
    It looks absolutely stunning!

    Tamsyn Elizabeth | Peaches and Bear

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  8. Wow! Salzburg looks amazing - somewhere I never would have thought to do but now must add to my to-visit list! x www.aimeeraindropwrites.co.uk x

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  9. I love Salzburg, we go on holiday to Zell am See most summers and get the train to Salzburg for the day. Love the views and the pastries :) x

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  10. I can't wait to go to Salzburg, it looks beautiful!

    I'm happy to hear that the people who live there are patient with those who don't speak fluent German. Whenever I go to a foreign country I always make the effort to try and speak the language, I feel so rude going up to people with the assumption they speak English! But truth be told my grasp on languages is awful, so it's comforting to know people are helpful!

    I'm definitely putting Hohensalzburg Fortress on the top of my must see list! The views look incredible. (Although something tells me my boyfriend will be more excited by the little train.)

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  11. Love the photos! Austria is on of my favourite places :) Hoping to go back there this year!

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