Basel to Salzburg: because we are on a german rail pass, we had to use only german trains so it made the route quite indirect, we connect from Basel through Ulm, Germany (quite far north from basel) then went back Southeast toward Salzburg – total time was just under 8 hours.
We got into Salzburg on the 14th and were tired but excited – we headed out and just walked around the old city for a while, looked at the advent market and all the shops. Everything in Austria closed very early which was odd. All of the little Advent booths were closed by 7pm and the food booths shut down by 8. We didn’t get there until almost 6:30, and after getting settled in our room and grabbing a much needed, shower, it was 8 and everything was closed. We got a quick kebab for dinner – that is the way to eat cheap in this part of Europe; it’s basically the European version of a Gyro which is totally delicious and VERY cheap in this part of the continent, usually 4 or 5 Euro for a very filling meal.
December 15th : We woke up about 10, and went downstairs and picked up the Salzburg pass, which gained us access to every main attraction in the city. Weirdly enough, a decent amount was closed – a rail car up to one of the Bavarian Alp peaks, the city’s main palace and gardens, as well as a few others. The world’s biggest ice caves are nearby, and we really wanted to see them, but they are closed for the winter months which makes no sense to me. Any which way, there was still a ton of great stuff open. First we went to Mozart’s house!
It was destroyed by WWII bombings by none other than Uncle Sam, but it’s an exact reproduction and still has the original foundations. The museum itself was quite underwhelming, but the coolest two things they had were a few of his pianos, very neat; and recordings of a few of his works that were recorded on those very pianos that were on display. You could listen to those recordings, and it was so different from any other Mozart I have heard, very cool. Mozart was a very well traveled dude, he went literally ALL over Europe, so he had plenty of influences to work with.
Next we went up to the City fortress, the only medieval fortress in Austria to not have fallen – with very good reason. This thing was up the steepest steps I have ever climbed, and way too many of them.
You can see how huge and high up the fortress is in comparison to everything else
By the time we got to the top, I felt like the fat kid in gym class I was huffing and puffing so much. The views from one side of the fortress of the Bavarian Alps were absolutely breathtaking, and it was pretty tranquil just looking out over the Alps, hangin out.
Smile for the Alps!
My favorite artifact inside the fortress was this OLDD radio contraption.
Unfortunately, everything was in German with no translations, so I had no idea what year it was from but it had to be at least WWI, if not earlier.
From there we headed into the catacombs just above the graveyard where the whole Mozart family, including Leopold himself, is buried. Being in the side of a mountain was interesting, very peaceful and quiet.
Inside the Catacombs
Burial site where Mozart and Family lay to rest
After the catacombs, we were off to the museum of modern art; which was an experience. They had some impressionist stuff by a painter named Emily Nolde, which I actually enjoyed and she had some intersting pieces. Up a floor, and we came to this Asian photographer whose photographs reminded me of a Law and Order SVU crime scene. I am not exaggerating, she was bound and naked in just about every picture, with paint smears everywhere and it was just very very unusual. It’s amazing what is considered art now a days, because that did not look like art to me. Up to the last floor, with the most interesting art I have ever seen. There is an American sculptor named Evan Penny who does these huge, larger than life-size replicas of people.
Self sculpture of Evan Penny
Some dude
When I say replicas, I mean replicas, he had every little hair, every mole, every eyelash down to a T. We got to watch a video on the process and it was just unreal that someone could produce a work of art that looks so much like a person.
December 16th : boom. Tanman and I hit a wall. I think all of the waking up early, bus rides, plane rides, and train rides caught up to us when we woke up. It has rained and or snowed every day during this trip, which has kinda stunk but we woke up and were just tired, laking motivation. We bummed around until 12:30 then went and hiked up for a different view of Salzburg, went into some shops – I bought a Salzburg beanie and tanner got a shot glass.
Then for my highlight of the day, we got some food around 3:00, and I wanted to try something I hadn’t had before, so I ordered a “Hausburger mit Sauerkraut.” This was clearly the thing to get – a long line with all Austrian and/or German people standing in it, the meat was like a mix between a hamburger, bratwurst, knockwurst, and bologna burger (it was grilled), with a generous smear of spicy mustard, a huge heap of sauerkraut, and sprinkled curry on top; all in between a freshly toasted bun.
Heaven on a bun
If heaven on a bun existed, this would be it. The rest of the day was low key, with another Hausburger for dinner, but not much else to speak of. We are just focusing on seeing all the sights and exploring, not too worried about going out at night, there was not much of a night life in Salzburg, I have a feeling Munich will be a little different!
On a side note, everyone we have encountered has been extremely nice, very helpful, and has loved to talk to Americans and asked us where we are from and what we are up to and all that. The typical stupid American stereotype certainly exists, but from what I have seen to a limited extent. Most American students or young adults traveling throughout Europe are quite the opposite of the stereotype; they are traveling because they want to explore the world, see new things, and get a better understanding for where we fall in the big scheme of things. Europeans, as a whole, understand that and as a general majority, have been more than helpful and friendly towards Tanner and I in our travels.
Blog about Munich to come Shortly!
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