Margaret's Adventures Abroad

Parting shot of Salzburg

View from Hohensalzburg Fortress

Biking along the Danube and under the Alps

In the land of Mozart

The cuteness of our hostel cannot be denied

Salzburg at night

Searching for the Sound of Music in Salzburg

A walk through the historical center of Salzburg

Journey to our hostel

  This past weekend, I finally got the chance to travel to another famous Austrian city, Salzburg.  I wanted to wait until it was warm outside and the flowers had a chance to bloom – I got my wish in both regards.  The weather has turned sweltering (85 -90 degrees), and spring has definitely sprung. The Austrian rail system offers a deal that allows groups of up to five people to travel together on regional trains for 28 euros.  Being students, we decided to take this decidedly cheaper option.  However, this would mean our journey would be six hours instead of the usual three.  Oh well!

  When the first glimpse of green pastures dotted with yellow dandelions rolled into view, we knew our slower journey would be totally worth it.  The views passing by were exactly what I pictured Austria to look like.  The train ride was extremely pleasant – the windows were open to the breeze, the train was pretty much empty, and we were excited about our weekend ahead. 

  We arrived in Salzburg mid-afternoon, and we walked to our hostel.  I had written down the directions, but we took a wrong turn at one point and ended up going on a mini-hike to get there.  We were actually very happy about that (despite having to lug our backpacks around) because it was a very scenic walk.  The hostel, Stadtalm, is located on top of a hill that overlooks Salzburg.  I don’t understand why the place isn’t constantly booked (possibly the location, but you can take an elevator to the top of the hill).  Because of its location, it has an amazing view of Salzburg, and on top of that the rooms are super cute.  There were four of us, so we got one room all to ourselves.  AND breakfast is included in the nineteen euro/night price!  I swear they aren’t paying me.

  Anyways, after briefly resting our feet, we took a self-guided walking tour of the town center.  Huan has Rick Steves’ Austria guide book, and frankly, Rick Steves is the man.  I trust him with all my traveling needs.  He took us on a lovely walking tour and directed us to all the most important sights.

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