Hey everyone!!
The hills are alive with the sounds of….Salzburg! Now that you’ve heard about our time in Munich & Neuschwastein, it’s time to talk about the day trip we took to Austria. It’s strange as an American to say that we took a day trip to a different country, but this was actually our second time doing this (before we went to Portugal for the day)! That’s one of the reasons we love Europe!!
Early Saturday morning we used our Bayern Train Ticket to travel from Munich to Salzburg. We had a lot of things we wanted to do and see, but unfortunately one day is never enough. However, we set out in the hopes of re-creating some famous scenes from the Sound of Music (one of my favorite movies that was filmed in Salzburg)!
First we visited Mirabell Gardens, which are part of Mirabell Palace but open to the public for free. We were lucky to visit in the Spring and see the gardens in full bloom. This is where the Von Trapp Family and Maria sing Do Re Mi as they run through the gardens! Of course I attempted to take some photos in a few famous spots.
After Mirabell Gardens, we crossed the river and tried to find a Tourist Office where we could get a map and buy a Salzburg Card. It costs 27 euros a person but gives you free entrance to a lot of places throughout the city for 24 hours! (In the off season it is only 24 euros). Although we had planned to see a lot, because we arrived in Salzburg around 10:00am our day felt so short. A lot of the things in the city close around 5-6pm, so I recommend getting up very early to see as much as possible! (We basically broke even with the Salzburg card but for others it can be a great deal).
After getting our Salzburg card we were in need of lunch! We found this restaurant along the river that had outdoor seating. We each ordered a bosna sandwich (bratwurst, curry powder, mustard & onions) and a beer! It was nice to sit for a while and enjoy the nice weather. Afterwards, we had a little time to explore Residentzplatz (which is also featured in the movie).
When we finished there, we headed to the Festival Halls Tour at 2pm. Our main reason for going on this tour was to see the Rock Riding School (where the end scene with the Von Trapp family singing on stage was filmed). We learned on the tour that The Sound of Music is not popular in Germany and Austria (in fact, the Germans on our tour had never even heard of the film before). Overall, the tour was very informative and we learned a lot about the famous Salzburg Music Festival (which happens every summer).
After the tour we caught a bus to Helbrunne Palace (Line 24). With the Salzburg card, the local busses are free. Although we thought about going inside, we didn’t have the time to wait for the next tour so instead we explored the outside for a while. (The tour includes the gardens and trick fountains, but their are a lot of public gardens to explore too). This is also where we found the Gazebo where Lisel sings “16 Going on 17”.
When we returned to the city center from Helbrunne we decided it was time to go to the Fortress at the top of the city. Our card allowed us to take the Funicular to the top (basically a train car on a steep incline) and gave us free entrance inside the Fortress. Although the audio tour was not very interesting, the 360 views from the Fortress were stunning.
We decided to make the trek back down to town on foot, in search of the Abbey where the real Maria Von Trapp left from (also in a few scenes in the movie).
Shortly after that, our day came to an end as we walked through the old center one last time on our way to catch a train back to Munich. We were so busy sight-seeing we had to grab some dinner to go in the train station, but it was worth it! The Salzburg ticket includes SO many amazing things (like a boat tour along the river, entrance to Mozart’s house & other museums throughout the city). If you are only going to be in Salzburg for a day, try to do a little math and see if the Salzburg ticket is worth paying for depending on what you want to do/ see that day. We wish we had more time to see Salzburg but that means that we will have to visit again someday!
We hope you enjoy our video blog about our time in Salzburg!
So long, farewell, auf wiedersehn, adieu!
Amanda
