Ultimate Europe Trip 2016 Day 15: We'd Go Bach
This years trip is the longest trip either of us have ever taken. When its all said and done we will be gone for almost an entire month. One of the things we tried to balance when planning this trip was seeing as much as we can but still enjoying ourselves. Europe's an incredible continent rich with history and places to see, a lot of times short train rides away. Along with the trip we booked two small day-trips. The first was to Brussels, but we decided in Amsterdam to cancel that and even now I think catching up on sleep saved us from getting sick. Today though there was no way we were cancelling the other day trip we booked and that was to go to Salzburg, Austria.
Our train left at 8:30 so we had to get up a little earlier then we have been and make our way to the train station. After Uber let us down again (this time due to surge pricing) we asked the hotel to call us a taxi and we made our way to the train station. We got there a little after 8AM and got Starbucks. When we went back to our departure spot we saw the board flashing that our train was about to depart. We made a run for it and hopped on the train maybe thirty seconds before the train left. That could have ended in disaster.
We then spent the next two hours or so enjoying the stunning Austrian countryside and relaxing, for the first time not having to worry about luggage. We made it into Salzburg a little before noon and took another taxi (no Uber in Salzburg at this point) to the Hohensalzburg Castle (also known as the Salzburg Fortress). When the taxi dropped us off and we took a step back to see this beautiful castle perched on top of the mountainside you can imagine how intimidating that would have been hundreds of years ago. I cannot even imagine how they were able to build the fortress let alone bring supplies up and down.
Now there is a tram that goes along side of the mountain to take you up and down from the castle. We bought our tickets and made our way up to the beautiful castle. Not only is the castle gorgeous but so too are the views of Salzburg from this vantage point. Right from the onset Salzburg reminded both Jenn and I of Switzerland. There is green everywhere the eye can see and the town seems incredibly quaint and easy going. After we snapped a ton of pictures we went into the museum. Much of the museum was actually more of a war museum showing some of the armor, weaponry, and tactics the Austrians have used in Salzburg during the 1800's through World War I. I found it incredibly fascinating.
After we walked through the museum and much of the castle we took the tram back down to the city center. There we made our way the Salzburg cathedral. It was a gorgeous cathedral with amazing artwork and architecture throughout.
From there it was already after 1PM and we hadn't ate anything. We stopped for lunch at Jenn's recommendation, Gasthof Goldgasse. It was a beautiful small cafe on a very quaint small street with small shops and homes above us. We got a table on the cobblestone street that allowed us to people watch during our meal. Jenn had the Classic Boiled Austrian Beef which came with potatoes and carrots. This was a Jenn meal if I ever saw it, meat and potatoes. I went with the wiener schnitzel. I'm a giant fan of wiener schnitzel and know this is probably the last chance I'll get on this trip to get it and am glad once again to have gotten it. It wasn't as good as the one I got at our hotel in Vienna but it was still really great. We had a lovely hour and a half meal here before going back out and exploring more of Salzburg.
We made a beeline straight for the one and only boat dock along the Salzach River. We got tickets to do the river cruise at 3PM which gave us an hour to explore, shop and get on the boat. The tour itself wasn't as glamorous or as exciting as we had hoped. Don't get me wrong the scenery was gorgeous and it was a nice way to see Salzburg from a different angle but it felt like it was over before it even started. The tour was a little under an hour and we made our way against the current for about thirty minutes and flew back to the dock fifteen minutes later.
From the boat tour we made our way back to the shopping area where Jenn went into a couple of stores before going crazy in Zara. This is her favorite store of 2016 (combined with Anthropologie) and she loves going to them out in Europe because as she tells me every time they have such great clothes out here. Jenn ended up buying a skirt and top at Zara after much debate.
From there we continued to walk in and out of shops and enjoying a beautiful afternoon in Salzburg. At around 4PM we made the twenty five minute walk from the Salzburg city center to the train station. We couldn't have asked for better weather or a nicer time to walk and enjoy the true beauty of Salzburg. We had a little under an hour to kill before our train departed so we grabbed a quick dinner at the golden arches of McDonalds and jumped on our train back to Vienna.
The train ride home to Vienna was as easy as you would hope. The train car we were in was nice and quiet outside of three people who were in Salzburg on business who bought second class tickets but were in the first class compartment. We had a nice fifteen to twenty minutes of them half pleading and half begging the conductor not to give them a ticket. They ended up just paying the upgrade fee and the drama on the train subsided.
We made it back to Vienna at 8:30 and jumped on the Metro to take us back to our hotel. Walking the streets of Vienna at night continues to remind both of us just how special this city is. There was a feeling very similar to what we had walking in Paris a couple of weeks ago that only happens in cities where you truly feel like your home. Vienna is a pretty special place.
