The Hills are Alive… With the Sound of Salzburg…

 

 

Yes, you heard it right! My final European destination was Salzburg, Austria. This hill were alive with the sound of music and so where was the bar I stumbled into with my new friends Ashley and Andy (but more about that later).

 

A few months back, I scored myself £12 return tickets to Salzburg with Ryan Air, so I couldn’t not go! But in saying that, if, for some reason I wasn’t able to, it was no big deal. Anyway, Saturday morning, dressed as what looking like a Michelin Man, I ventured towards Stansted Airport headed for my winter wonderland that was Salzburg. Only a 1 hour flight out of London, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I flew over snow covered mountains… and once landed and waiting for the bus, I couldn’t help but touch the snow and giggle like I was 5 again and seeing snow for the first time!

 

Everything was covered in a blanket of white, and it all looked so incredibly beautiful – so much so that I forgot it was on -2ºC! Having arrived in the early afternoon, and feeling incredibly tired due to lack of sleep (sometimes I would like to strangle certain housemates and their guests!) I decided to wander over the Salzach River and into the old town and see what I could find. By 5pm it was pitch black, but still, in all its darkness, so peaceful and picturesque… in its dim glow I could see the Hohensalzburg Fortress up on the snow covered peaks. Whilst wandering the streets, I managed to stumble upon an outdoor bar, overlooking an ice rink, serving hot ‘punsche’, I opted for Apfel Punsche! It was a perfect accompaniment to a frosty evening, certainly puts the pink back in your cheeks.

 

The following day I was up at the crack of dawn (after falling asleep at 8:30pm) and on my way to the Sound of Music tour, which I have to say, was fantastic! It was a great way to see Austria in such a short time – I even cracked my first beer at 10am on the bus! We were taken to various locations where the film was shot and also told various behind the scene stories that you would otherwise not have known! I also met two fantastic girls who were also travelling alone, and after the first stop, we had all hit it off really well! Ashley was a girl from Brisbane who worked in Austria as a Nanny, and Andy was from the US and working for one of the Big 4 on a project role in Germany! We had such a great time on the tour that we spent the rest of the day together, and later on Ashley and I ripped up the dancefloor of an old Irish Pub in town (we would have opted for a more traditional Austrian style bar, but they were closed). We met numerous fantastic people from all over, and had the most fantastic night. Suffice to say, my head hated me the next day and everything moved very slowly.

 

I spent my last day, with a nasty hang over and beautiful Salzburg sunshine… the snow started to melt and trickled off all the shining roofs. Had to watch my step! Again wandering through the beautiful streets of the old town, past a group of old men playing chess on a huge life size chess board. Next to Mozart’s birthplace, I had my last piece of delicious Apfel Strudel, took a last glance towards the mountains and got myself safely to the airport and back to London.