Day 20: Getting to Salzburg

I took a morning train from Munich to Salzburg, which took about 2 and a half hours. Good chance to catch up on blogging and read up on the sights. Austria is beautiful- so green, with lots of mountains and blue lakes, and the houses with balconies full of flowers... Also LOTS of cows! I could tell I was in Sound of Music country. When I got to Salzburg it was a little bit tricky finding my hostel because the train station was under construction, so none of the hostel's directions really made sense. I made it eventually though, and was really happy with the hostel. Halfway between the train station and the main area of the city, with really clean and bright dorms, huge bathrooms, and sort of a suite setup... Our dorm had its own bathroom and toilet, but they were in separate rooms than our beds. That's something I've really come to appreciate, because otherwise you wake up anytime someone has to pee or take a shower!





I was really tired, so I decided to give my comfy bed a try. It was a little bit too comfy, and I fell asleep for a few hours. Luckily I woke up right on time for happy hour at the hostel bar, so I headed down there for a couple of pints. I met some students from the US who are studying in Prague for the semester and were just in Salzburg for the weekend. They actually hadn't done much in Prague yet, so they were asking me for all kinds of advice. Kinda funny that now I'm the seasoned traveler, instead of the newbie asking questions! Happy hour ended right as dinner started, so I had a "salz-burger" and the salad bar. Salad here doesn't mean green and leafy like it does in the States. Instead, this salad was green beans, corn, kidney beans, cucumbers, and shredded carrots- topped with a tangy yogurt dressing... And it was SO good! Definitely gonna recreate that one at home. After finishing my pints and dinner, I hit the town to do some exploring. Salzburg is absolutely beautiful at night, and a little quieter than during the daytime because a lot of people just come for day trips. The pubs and beer gardens are in full force at night though, so that's pretty cool to see. This definitely wasn't a bustling city like Paris or Amsterdam though- most of the shops are shut down by 7 pm! It was nice to walk around all the major sights and kind of have them to myself, though. I saw Mozart's birthplace...


His residence from later in life...


The river...


And last but not least, the von Trapp family home! I looove the Sound of Music so this was pretty cool. Apparently it wasn't the real von Trapp family's home, but it was where the movie was shot so that was good enough for me! And there was no one around, so I just wandered around the gardens and admired the mansion.








I went back to the hostel and met my five roommates, all from South Korea or Hong Kong. They were so sweet! I stayed up and chatted about traveling for a little bit, then went to bed because I had big plans for a day trip to Hitler's Eagle's Nest the next day.

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