Salzburg, Austria

We have been waiting to visit Austria as we knew Cam's parents wanted to go when they visited, so we were hoping to make time to fit it in. We also really wanted to visit the Dachau concentration camp just outside of Munich. This was pretty much on the route to Salzburg, so we stopped on our way there. This was an incredible experience, and would highly recommend it to anyone visiting the area.

We arrived to Salzburg after dark and checked into our hotel. Thanks to Cam and his great hotel-booking skills, we were in walking distance of the bus/train station. However, I read that the system isn't super easy to use so we opted to take a cab to the old town.

We grabbed dinner and walked around all the small narrow streets that were strung with lights and decorations. In all the towns and cities we have visited, they are all similar in the fact that they have new stores and businesses in all the old buildings

There were plenty of gift shops open, but the stores were mostly closed due to it being a Sunday. Some of the Christmas (one even had easter decorations) stores had these hand painted eggs. I haven't quite figured out why, but we saw them several times. One had an entire store filled with them painted in every color.

The next day we wanted to do a tour of the city. We ended up choosing a hop-on/hop-off bus tour that went to all the main spots. You could easily do without, but since we did not have much time and a lot to see, it was a fantastic option for us. They even give you headphones and explain several spots you pass by on the bus.

We aren't huge fans of the Sound of Music, mostly because neither of us have seen it. (I know, we have already had the shocked reaction from those who can't believe it) If you are a fan, there are a ton of different spots geared towards you, including tours just for this type of sight-seeing. Here are a few pictures from spots that maybe someday we'll recognize, if we get around to watching the movie.

The bus tour was great because we got to see everything the city has to offer, without having to make the effort to find a way to them all, haha. The one stop we knew we needed to get out at was the fortress.

The fortress can be seen from pretty much everywhere in the city. As cool as it is to see the inside, the views from above are even better. You can walk around the entire top to see a panoramic of everything down below.

I swear, no matter where you are from, and how many times you have seen a mountain sky line, they never get old. I could sit and stare at them forever. This unique view was even more amazing with the view of the old town in front of them.

After exploring around the fortress, and the several things to see inside, we went back down to explore the market and the old town.

We all really enjoyed Salzburg, and are so glad we were able to go. We noticed a difference from the cities we visited before that it seemed less busy. The more relaxed feel made a nice atmosphere for walking around and exploring.

Salzburg was hopefully just a taste for what we will get from Austria.

+Kahli