Guten Tag, Salzburg!

I finally am returning to Europe after the Ireland trip in 2012. This is a seriously a long overdue European trip, and I am just ecstatic to visit Austria for the first time!

Hubby and I landed in Vienna on Monday morning October 8th. My circadian rhythm adjustment to the local time zone was particularly challenging. It was a relatively short day (not exceeding 24 hrs) of travel. The total airtime was only a little over 12 hours. I didn't get to sleep much in both legs of the journey, and arriving in the morning in Vienna (which was around midnight in the originating place) didn't help. We took the subway to our hotel, Roomz Hotel within a three minute walk to Gasometer subway station. It only required one transfer and the whole trip from hotel to the airport only took 30 minutes. Another good news was that the hotel let us check in early at 10 am weee! We rested for a little while in our room before heading downtown. Vienna has a big city feel. Yet with its 1.7 million population, it did not feel overly overwhelming to me. After being outside for a few

hours we returned to our hotel and slept through the night.

On to Salzburg!

What a picturesque place! We took the OBB train from Vienna to Salzburg the morning of October 9. It was a 2.5 hr journey for 19 Euros -reserved beforehand. With a population of ~150,000 people this place is of an ideal size and oh so walkable! It does have a lot to offer. Being a birth place of Mozart alone, this place naturally draws attention of travelers all over the world.

Fun fact: Salzburg did not officially became a part of Austria until 1816! That said, It wasn't part of the Austrian territory when Mozart was alive (1756-1791).

Mozart statue!

My advice on Salzburg: buy the Salzburg card! We got our three-day pass for 41 Euros per person (what a steal!) and it gets you entries to so many local attractions. Just go to a couple of museums and take the funicular up to the Hohensalzburg Fortress and you already get your money's worth. You also get discounts to classical concerts listed in their booklet/website. Great bargain all around.

Salzburg Day 1
We arrived at 1 pm and reached our hotel, Rosenvilla, a little before 2 pm. Our Salzburg card covers local bus fares but since getting to town was so easy we took a stroll along the promenade then the Salzach river to get to town. Took us only ~20 minutes. The walk was so relaxing with the beautiful scenery along the river to enjoy.

We ate at Chinesische Mauer restaurant for lunch then visited the Salzburg Museum, followed by Mozart's birth house (Mozart's Geburtshaus). I was so happy upon stumbling into this Chinese restaurant as I was craving for Asian food. 

Speaking of cost of eating out and food in general, I find them to be rather on the modest side. You can always go as high as you want but as for ourselves we'd rather spend modestly on eating out when traveling. For a touristy place like Salzburg, you can easily find restaurants right downtown with main entrees averaging 10-14 Euros. There are quite a few places where you can spend under 10 Euros for a meal as well. Salzburg University is located right downtown and its existence certainly draws clientele (read: students) for cheap eateries and food stalls. It certainly helps if you don't consume alcohol since your drink will probably only cost you less than 4 Euros. Tipping isn't mandatory but the general recommendation, shall the opportunity arise, would be to round up the bill. 

The yellow building is Mozart birth house

Ok, Mozart Birth House house now. This was where he spent the first 17 years of his life (1756-1773). The house looks like an apartment located on an upper floor, with only one bedroom. Out of the 7 children that Anna Maria Mozart gave birth to, only two made it to adulthood. Those two were Wolfgang Amadeus and Maria Anna 'Nannerl' Mozart. Like Mozart, Nannerl was also an excellent musician. Nonetheless, her success was always overshadowed by his brother's.

We could not miss the historic Cafe Tomaselli, where The Mozart Family frequented for ice cream and chocolate cake. We marched to the joint after visiting Mozart Birth House. I had some chocolate ice cream drink while Glen had hot cocoa and a chocolate cake. Everything was excellent! This cafe was crowded with locals and tourists.

Downtown Salzburg

Cake at Tomaselli

Salzburg Day Two

We rose bright and early to go to Hohensalzburg Fortress. The line to take the funicular got crowded quickly in late morning, so if you plan on going to the Fortress try to arrive no later than 9:30 am. Salzburg viewed from atop Hohensalzburg was nothing short of amazing. 

View from Hohensalzburg Fortress

We filled our early afternoon visiting Mozart's Residence (where Mozart resided starting at age 17) and eating Vietnamese at Uncle Van, which I highly recommend. It's situated close to city center and was very easy to get to. They cater vegans and vegetarians as reflected in their menu items. I stuck with pho (beef noodle soup), which I consider the safest dish to eat if unsure, and it didn't disappoint. I would have returned  if we'd had an extra day in Salzburg! Our bill came out under 20 Euros. You don't have to spend a lot to eat good food!

River cruise was next on the slate. This was included in the Salzburg Card, otherwise it would cost 15 Euros. The tour took you along Salzach River and lasted for about 45 minutes. Was a good deal to pass the time. It was a relaxing one, I just sat back and chilled on my seat the entire time.

The night was wrapped up by Mozart Dinner Concert at St Peter Place. It featured an opera duet, accompanied by a string quintet. What a show! Among Mozart's masterpieces they performed were The Magic Flute, Don Giovanni, and The Marriage of Figaro -not in the order. The last one was by far my favorite!

Mozart dinner concert was phenomenal

Salzburg Day Three
Familiar with The Sound of Music? This 1965-produced musical film was a true story of an Austrian musician family Von Platt, who become very well-known in the era proceeding The World War II. We spent our morning at the Mirabell Park & Garden, where the Do, Re, Mi scenes were filmed. The garden was gorgeous and so worth the check-out, not to mention that it's gratis!

Mirabell Garden

Okay, it's time for traditional Austrian meal. We got inspired by an American foodie living in Thailand named Mark Wiens to visit Birtenwirt. It's a restaurant serving traditional Austrian food. I had 1/2 deep fried chicken served with potato salad, while hubby had beef goulasch with a giant dumpling. Goulasch is a stewed beef cooked with paprika and other spices. It was originated in medieval Hungary and is popular in some parts of Europe, including Austria. The portion was huge to my surprise. I managed to eat most of my dish. That was certainly the most filling lunch I had in Austria thus far. The tab came out slightly under 35 Euros.

Salzach River

Check out below of what I find different hence interesting in Austria so far. One caveat though, things are relative so take them with a grain of salt!

- autumn days in early to mid October are rather warm (15 C to 20 C) and you get plenty of sunshine daily.

- you don't get seated upon arriving at (some) sit-down restaurants, just seat yourself!

- water in restaurants is not free. You even pay for tap water. Still and sparkling bottled water are popular options.

- speaking of tap water in Austria, it tastes better than most tap water I'd had (in North America, East Asia, some countries in Europe). Can I say it tastes good? There's no chlorine after taste and it is sourced from the Alps!

Me in front of Cafe Tomaselli

- lots of delicious bakeries and coffee shops all over town/city center. Prices are reasonable too! Expect to spend 2 (or even less) to 4 Euros per pastry, about 3 Euros for a cup of hot cocoa in places like Ruetz and Baguette in Innsbruck.

- I notice that more people do smoke here (than in most places in North America) and most do not bother keeping a certain distance from others in public places.

- lots of tabak trafiks (small tobaco shops) in town, it's like a replacement of GS-25 in South Korea or 7-11 in some countries.

- can't find 24-hr convenience stores in Austria. As previously mentioned, their convenience stores are practically those tabak trafiks.

- most shops and businesses are close on Sunday. We spent our only Sunday in Innsbruck and boy was it dead in the morning.

- despite sharing the same language, I find Austrians friendlier (or I should say conversational?) than most Germans. This one is strictly my opinion.

- some restaurants allow smoking in their indoor seating. Some separate it from the non-smoking section but this is not always the case. This bother me.

That's all I can say for now.

On to Innsbruck, AKA the capital of the Alps, next!