In the last week of May, the temperature in Germany soared with clear sunlight and I made a random plan to visit Austria and sip a few beers there. My colleague - Eswar told me about his weekend plans and after hearing the place Salzburg (for the first time) from him, I checkedthe place and stumbled upon an interesting article on history of Salzburg. It amused me not only because of the history but also because of the fact that Salzburg is on the northern boundary of Alps.
So on a Friday, I got myself a carpool from Bochum to Munich and a bus from Munich to Salzburg on Saturday. As the bus started from Munich,the journey was exciting. All along the beautiful green highway to Austria, there are beautiful houses and green pastureson either side of the road. And as I stepped out of Bus a cool and fresh breeze of air greeted me. I saw green mountains surrounding
the town and called Isi - my host in Salzburg. After a few calls and traveling in a local bus I could find her home. Isi shared the idea of visiting a music festival in town and I got my first wishlist done. Just forinformation - the great German singer Mozart was born in Salzburg. When I was in Germany, I saw a huge music collection of Mozart
at my rented apartment and I used to listen a lot of instrumental tracks by Mozart. The music festival in Salzburg was unique, very different from what we have in India. There were many music groups that played at a distance from each other in old historic town of Salzburg. To walk from one music group to other, one can try fresh brewed beer from stalls or some finger food. And amidst all this, was the cheer of people for their artists and the atmosphere was filled with fun. We were 5 by now, 2 CSers from US and me along with Isi and her flatmate.Just to add - Salzburg old town is considered a UNESCO Heritage site with lot of buildings dated back to a few centuries. As we were walking back from the festival, Isi offered 2 discount passes to me and another CSer for Untersberg cable car ticket. It was a 10 Euro discount, and I could not resist the offer. Next morning I took the bus for Untersberg and reached there. The journey to top of the Alpine peak was steep and offered beautiful 360 degree view of the area. After reaching the top, I trekked to a few other peaks nearby with a big cross (christ mark) on top of each. I was most ill prepared trekker over there wearing heavy boots. :)
After coming back from Untersberg, I got myself a couple of beers and sat beside river Salzach. The musical bells from Church were lovely,and sitting there I decided to visit a few old palaces and walk in the town. The first place I visited as a part of my own map managed walk in the city tour was Salzburg Cathedral. Although I didn't went inside but the sound of bells was magical. Then I walked to the HohenSalzburg castle which is a fort. I went inside after clubbing with a group of tourists to cut down the ticket price. I think from 11 Euros for single ticket, one can reduce the price of ticket to 4 euros if in a group of 10 or more, so backpackers can see a quick way to cut down on their budget through this. And from the fort, I walked down to kapitelplatz from outside and then to Salzburg meuseum and Mozart's birthplace. After a good round of city walking, felt thirsty so bought a few beers and sat in a green field with mountains overlooking one side and the fort on other. Then I called Isi and we bought a few veggies and beers and I tried to cook some Indian curry there at her house for all the Couch Surfers. And late in the night we walked to Salzach river and sat on a bridge where I got a chance to click a few pictures. The day ended with good conversations and next morning I left early and went to Mirabell garden. There was musicians everywhere and people were giving them small changed money as they played music on the streets. From Salzburg, I took a flix bus to Munich and went straight to English gardens where I relaxed in the sun with a couple of beers and a few icecreams and from Munich I got the same guy's carpool on way back to Bochum. The last part of journey was more exciting as there was news of cyclone in NRW state on radio and as we approached Bochum, could see trees uprooted all over on the streets, cars and lot of cars were damaged. A further ahead and the waterlogged streets awaited us. There were people on streets, all buses and trains were stopped.
Aahh.. another fury of nature that I coult witness there. At 11:30 pm in night I switched off my room's light and heard a thunder sound. Good night I replied and dozed off.
So on a Friday, I got myself a carpool from Bochum to Munich and a bus from Munich to Salzburg on Saturday. As the bus started from Munich,the journey was exciting. All along the beautiful green highway to Austria, there are beautiful houses and green pastureson either side of the road. And as I stepped out of Bus a cool and fresh breeze of air greeted me. I saw green mountains surrounding
the town and called Isi - my host in Salzburg. After a few calls and traveling in a local bus I could find her home. Isi shared the idea of visiting a music festival in town and I got my first wishlist done. Just forinformation - the great German singer Mozart was born in Salzburg. When I was in Germany, I saw a huge music collection of Mozart
at my rented apartment and I used to listen a lot of instrumental tracks by Mozart. The music festival in Salzburg was unique, very different from what we have in India. There were many music groups that played at a distance from each other in old historic town of Salzburg. To walk from one music group to other, one can try fresh brewed beer from stalls or some finger food. And amidst all this, was the cheer of people for their artists and the atmosphere was filled with fun. We were 5 by now, 2 CSers from US and me along with Isi and her flatmate.Just to add - Salzburg old town is considered a UNESCO Heritage site with lot of buildings dated back to a few centuries. As we were walking back from the festival, Isi offered 2 discount passes to me and another CSer for Untersberg cable car ticket. It was a 10 Euro discount, and I could not resist the offer. Next morning I took the bus for Untersberg and reached there. The journey to top of the Alpine peak was steep and offered beautiful 360 degree view of the area. After reaching the top, I trekked to a few other peaks nearby with a big cross (christ mark) on top of each. I was most ill prepared trekker over there wearing heavy boots. :)
After coming back from Untersberg, I got myself a couple of beers and sat beside river Salzach. The musical bells from Church were lovely,and sitting there I decided to visit a few old palaces and walk in the town. The first place I visited as a part of my own map managed walk in the city tour was Salzburg Cathedral. Although I didn't went inside but the sound of bells was magical. Then I walked to the HohenSalzburg castle which is a fort. I went inside after clubbing with a group of tourists to cut down the ticket price. I think from 11 Euros for single ticket, one can reduce the price of ticket to 4 euros if in a group of 10 or more, so backpackers can see a quick way to cut down on their budget through this. And from the fort, I walked down to kapitelplatz from outside and then to Salzburg meuseum and Mozart's birthplace. After a good round of city walking, felt thirsty so bought a few beers and sat in a green field with mountains overlooking one side and the fort on other. Then I called Isi and we bought a few veggies and beers and I tried to cook some Indian curry there at her house for all the Couch Surfers. And late in the night we walked to Salzach river and sat on a bridge where I got a chance to click a few pictures. The day ended with good conversations and next morning I left early and went to Mirabell garden. There was musicians everywhere and people were giving them small changed money as they played music on the streets. From Salzburg, I took a flix bus to Munich and went straight to English gardens where I relaxed in the sun with a couple of beers and a few icecreams and from Munich I got the same guy's carpool on way back to Bochum. The last part of journey was more exciting as there was news of cyclone in NRW state on radio and as we approached Bochum, could see trees uprooted all over on the streets, cars and lot of cars were damaged. A further ahead and the waterlogged streets awaited us. There were people on streets, all buses and trains were stopped.
Aahh.. another fury of nature that I coult witness there. At 11:30 pm in night I switched off my room's light and heard a thunder sound. Good night I replied and dozed off.
I think this is one perfect place to visit.
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