Winter Wanderland: Salzburg, Austria.
December 01, 2016
I’ve not taken too many Winter breaks as the majority of my trips are in the spring and summer.
However the weekend I had a couple of years ago in Salzburg rates high up in the list of my favourite trips.
This is despite losing one of the three nights there as our flight from Manchester to Salzburg was unable to land due to the adverse weather conditions. We circled for a couple of hours and looked at landing in nearby airports but the weather wasn’t improving and the plane was quickly running out of fuel. We then looked at landing in Munich but the weather was too bad there as well so we ended up at Stuttgart, Germany.
We were put up at NH-Stuttgart-airport hotel and arrived just before midnight quite miserable and hungry. We couldn’t see anywhere nearby that was still open for food so ended up having to make do with Haribo and champagne from our minibar to keep us going. Have to say the bed was one of the most comfortable that I’ve slept in so we weren’t in too bad a mood the next morning and then the continental breakfast was plentiful and good quality. Nether less we still wanted to get to Salzburg as we had lost one of the three nights we had booked. The weather was a lot better so we managed to finally arrive in Salzburg around 11am. We then took a short taxi ride into the city.
The first place we visited was Hohensalzburg Fortress, Salzburg’s most famous landmark.
Building work on Hohensalzburg Fortress was initiated by Archbishop Gebhard in 1077. It is the largest completely preserved castle in central Europe.
It can be easily reached on foot using the path up the mountain, and since 1892 a convenient railway service has been provided by the Salzburg Fortress Funicular in Festungsgasse.
Open year round and tickets from €12 adults €6.80 children (6-14 years old).
Photo courtesy of Tourismus Salzburg GmbH
We then took a bus tour of the city seeing the sites that were used for the filming of The Sound of Music, as well as seeing Mirabell Palace and gardens. We then got off at Mozarts Birthplace and visited the museum that is now located there. It was extremely crowded with not a great deal to see, it was €10.00 per adult and €4.00 for children.
Photo courtesy of Tourismus Salzburg GmbH
Mozart's Birthplace, photo courtesy of Tourismus Salzburg GmbH.
Lake from the film "The Sound of Music."
On the evening I would recomend a
Mozart dinner and concert at{cke_protected}{C}%3C!%2D%2D%0A%09%09%09%3Cspan%20class%3D%22performer%20onlyPerformer%22%3EMozart%20Dinner%20Concerts%3C%2Fspan%3E%2D%2D%3E Restaurant St. Peter Stiftskeller.
I'm not normally a big classical music fan, but I really enjoyed the evening and there was some impressive talent on show. The price was around €60 per person for a very nice meal and a good nights entertainment.
Photo courtesy of Tourismus Salzburg GmbH
On the second day we visited the Salt Mines of Berchtesgaden. Again a really enjoyable trip which highlights include a giant slide and a boat journey on the Mirror Lake.
On the way back we visited Hitler’s Eagle’s nest.
The History : The Eagle’s Nest was a project of Martin Bormann’s and presented on behalf of the National Socialist Party to Adolf Hitler for his 50th birthday. However, Hitler seldom visited the Eagle’s Nest. The Eagle’s Nest remained unscathed through Allied bombing during World War II. Thanks to the intervention of the District President Jakob, the building was spared being blown up after the war.
Salt Mine Berchtesgaden.
On the evening we managed to get a table booked at the Hotel Sacher – Famous for it’s Sacher torte cake.
The meal was excellent but was most memorable for my wife managing to get drunk on her desert (Rum Barbar) despite only having one alcoholic drink beforehand. I had a taste and I think the chef must have tripped and spilled a whole bottle of Rum in there.
On the final day before our flight home we went shopping through the narrow streets, alleyways and beautiful squares, plenty of shops to explore including Goldgasse where the old goldsmiths were found. Salzburg is a magical place as it is but if you go before Christmas you'll get to experience the Christmas Market which is wonderful and so festive especially with a covering of snow on the ground.
I couldnt recommend Salzburg enough for a Winter break, even more so before Christmas. There's also plenty of other attractions that I didn't get time to visit which include, Salzburg Museum, Zoo, Siegl Brauwelt – World of Brewing, Helbrunn palace and trick fountains.
#visitSalzburg
Christmas market, photo courtesy of Tourismus Salzburg GmbH.
Christmas market, photo courtesy of Tourismus Salzburg GmbH.
I leave you with some more photo's of Salzburg most courtesy of Tourismus Salzburg GmbH whom I would like to thanks for allowing me to use their beautiful images.
