Traipsing through Salzburg, Austria
Hello! I am stunned by how quickly our time in Europe is passing by. The first part of my adventure is already complete. I just wanted to briefly share some of my favorite parts. Honestly, this whole trip has been surreal. I can’t believe I’m in Europe again after so long. It is amazing to have the opportunity to travel to so many new places. I’ve traveled to Asia countless times, but this is only my second time to Europe, and it has been splendid. My trip began on June 19 and will be completed on July 12. My adventure started in Salzburg, Austria and will end in Cork, Ireland. My family and I traveled together as a fun summer trip before we all went our separate ways in August. Each day I have had the opportunity to sample new cuisine, beverages, and see new sights. Even though my feet are sore by the end of every day, I continuously remember that this vacation has been a huge opportunity and I am so thankful for the chance to see and explore new places. This vacation has been absolutely wonderful so far, and I continue to anticipate the rest of it being a blast as well.
On Monday, June 19, my family and I set out on a three week-long journey to various countries in Europe. We drove up to Seattle from Walla Walla on Monday, since our flight was departing from SeaTac the following day. We were all excited and filled with anticipation, yet, at the same time, were unbelieving that our vacation was already upon us. We were also excited to go since we would be picking up my brother at our first location, since he had been studying abroad in Salzburg since May.
The next day, at the crack of dawn, we headed over to SeaTac airport to board our American Airlines flight. Imagine our surprise when we were told that our flight to Philadelphia had been cancelled. For a couple of hours, we struggled to straighten out our flight schedule through American and switch to an Alaska flight. In the end, we figured it out but they were unsure if my flights were the same as the rest of my family’s, or if I had a direct flight by myself once we had completed our first flight. Hurriedly, we boarded our Alaska flight to San Francisco at 9:45 am. The flight was uneventful, and we arrived at noon. When we checked in for our United flight, I discovered that I was scheduled on the same flights as the rest of my family. We departed at 2 pm to Frankfurt. The plane was huge and had another upper section. The only downside was there weren’t any individual entertainment screens, so I just sat in my seat trying to sleep. I was unsuccessful in that endeavor. However, we landed in Frankfurt safely after a 10 and a half hour long plane ride. For our last flight, we used Lufthansa Airlines to travel to Munich. The flight was extremely short; only 35 minutes long. From there, we took two trains that chugged along to Salzburg. I was extremely exhausted, yet I was still able to enjoy the beautiful scenery. Rolling green hills, grazing cows, children playing, people biking, etc. were common to see along the way to our destination. When we finally reached our destination, I couldn’t believe that I was finally in Salzburg, the land of beer and The Sound of Music.
Salzburg
Many know of Salzburg as the home of the film, The Sound of Music. Others are reminded of the beer culture. Both of these have been part of my life since I was young, since Salzburg is where my parents met and studied abroad. I had this incredible opportunity to travel to Salzburg because my brother had been studying abroad there since May for a summer engineering program. His program was completed at the end of June, and we joined him before continuing our time there and other locations.
We first arrived in Salzburg around 6 pm and were picked up by my parents’ professor, Gundi. She helped take some of us to our B & B, while the others caught a taxi. We stayed at Pension Wallner, a place that was very cozy and had comfortable rooms and beds. The owner, Mathilda, warmly welcomed us and ushered us to our rooms. The only downside was that there wasn’t any air conditioning. This was not great since the weather in Salzburg was hot and very humid.
Once we were all settled, we strolled downtown by the river and gazed at our surroundings from on of the many bridges. The sun was already slinking low to the horizon, so we were able to witness the beautiful colors reflecting off the water. After a short stroll, we walked to the Augustiner Beer Garden. There were so many people crowded at the tables. The noise level was high since everyone was laughing, eating and drinking. The beer and the food options were numerous. A new experience for me was, many people stared at me while I was walking by since I’m Asian. Some guys even said hello to me in Chinese! It was a fairly nice way to end a day full of travel.
However, my sisters and I decided to do a bit more exploring. We headed down to the old part of town and viewed the main plaza with the horse fountain from The Sound of Music, the University Church, the Salzburg Cathedral, the Mozartplatz, and St. Peter’s Church and Cemetery. We didn’t go inside of the cathedrals since we wanted to head back after a short time, but we did briefly step into St. Peter’s. It was so stunningly decorated; both the walls and the paintings. The cemetery was unbelievably stunning. The graves were decorated beautifully and there was a serene air. Fun fact: this cemetery inspired the scene in The Sound of Music where the Von Trapps are fleeing the Germans. Seeing a bit of Salzburg, Austria before going to sleep was pleasant, and I anticipated seeing more the next day.
On Thursday, June 22, we woke up and had breakfast in the main building. Breakfast consisted of several different spreads on delicious bread. To go with the food, there were also juice, coffee, and tea choices. We had reserved spots on the Panorama Tours to see Eagle’s Nest, Berchtesgaden, the Salt Mines, and Königssee. Eagle’s Nest is located in Bavaria, Germany and was one of Hitler’s properties. He visited this location only fourteen times because he didn’t like heights or small spaces. Eagle’s Nest is located on top of a steep mountain with only a brass elevator to reach the top. The view from this place is absolutely incredible. I could see for miles, and could even see Salzburg from there.
The Salt Mines were located in Germany also, and were deep underground. Since it was only 40 degrees down there, they had us wear heavy duty uniforms to keep us cozy. Inside, we ride a train deep inside to view the salt mines. At two different points, we rode down wooden slides to get further down into the mines. It was amazing and super fun to ride them. One of my brothers was terrified to ride down because it was fairly steep and you slide down quickly. Another awesome sight we got to see was Mirror Lake. Everything on the ceiling of the cave was perfectly mirrored onto the surface of the water. It was magnificent to see every little detail captured so well on the water.
The tour was an awesome way to see more of the surrounding area and its special places. The other places I didn’t mention in my comments were also extremely breathtaking, and it was a privilege to see them. We ended the day with a wonderful dinner with several of my parents’ old professors. It was nice to catch up and meet all of them after hearing so much about them over the years.
On June 23, we had another full day exploring more of Austria. Since the other members of my family hadn’t had the opportunity to see the old section of Salzburg, we started out the day by exploring the Salzburg Cathedral and walking around some of the plazas. We continued to the Fortress, which sits atop the hill in the old section of the city. From the Fortress, we were able to see quite a bit of Salzburg and the surrounding mountains. It was wonderful to be able to see, from above, the places that we had walked to and stepped into while exploring. In The Sound of Music, there is a brief cut of Maria leaving the abbey to go to her assignment as the governess for the Von Trapp children. We stopped briefly at this spot and took photos to commemorate our time there. We visited another wonderful church that was located just below. It was spectacular with white and gold accents.
For lunch, we met up with my parents’ old friends and their daughter (she had been in the same study abroad program with my brother). We ordered bosnas; a truly delicious meal after trekking around the city. It is a sausage that has a slightly spicy flavoring sprinkled on top, condiments drizzled on, and is nestled in a grilled bun.
We caught a bus to Hellbrunn, which was the residence of one of the archbishops. All the buildings were a disarmingly bright shade of yellow. The archbishop apparently enjoyed playing tricks on his guests and had a whole section of his residence dedicated to trick fountains that would spray his guests when least expected. It was quite a shock when his guests discovered water flying in their faces, from their seats, and from the ceilings of some of the buildings. Since it was so warm and humid that day, it was a great way to cool off. Located at Hellbrunn is also the pavilion from The Sound of Music where Rolf and Liesl sang and danced during the rainstorm.
After exiting the residence, we crossed the road and walked down Hellbrunn Allee. This is another location from the movie. It is where Maria sang and skipped to the Von Trapp house. The front of the house is also located along this road. Fun fact: the back of the house is located at a different location in Salzburg. It was so picturesque with the huge trees shading us from the sun while we walked the long distance to the end of the road. Suddenly, there was a huge wind and rain storm that practically blew me over. It was amazing to see such a change in the weather. As quickly as it had come, it left and the sun shone brightly.
We rushed downtown to meet with my parents’ old professor, who wanted to show us Mozart’s birthplace. She provided us with a very in-depth explanation about Mozart, his relationships, accomplishments, failures, etc. It was fascinating to learn so much about him and to visit a place that he had actually spent part of his life at before moving away.
In the evening, we went to a Vivaldi concert at Mirabell Palace. The palace is beautiful both inside and out and features intricately designed rooms. The room where the concert was hosted had gold decorations. The musicians were very talented and it was amazing to hear them play Vivaldi’s Four Seasons so skillfully. Culturally, the States is probably the only country that uses air conditioning so liberally. In Salzburg, it was common not to have any air flow or cooling in buildings. Therefore, during the concert, you can imagine, I struggled to stay awake since it was so stuffy in the room. I managed though, and fully enjoyed the musical experience. We ended the day with a well-deserved beverage at the Augustiner beer garden.
The next day, we met my parents’ professor and she imparted a bunch of history about the churches and buildings in Salzburg. It was fascinating to see all the different architectural styles within the churches. One church even had a house built into it because a wealthy man wanted to be able to participate without having to mingle with the common folk. After a full morning and early afternoon of exploring churches and the downtown area, we headed over to the Stiegl Brewery. While there, we had a delicious lunch that was completed with a Stiegl beer. After a filling lunch, I shopped for a while at Europark. The mall is huge and is filled with many popular brands.
On Sunday, June 25, we strolled around additional parts of Salzburg. Salzburg is filled with many shops, restaurants, cafes, churches, and places to get an overall view of Salzburg. I visited several more churches, meandered on the Mönchsberg, and ended the day at Mirabell Gardens. The weather was rainy but was warm enough that I didn’t feel miserable while walking about the city.
The Salzburg Mülln Church was spectacular and features white walls with greenish accents. Several frescoes of important biblical moments were scattered atop the ceiling of the church. There was a complete skeleton (a relic) of a saint lying in one of the side chapels.
The Mönchsberg is a lovely trail along the top of a hill that overlooks Salzburg. It was great to see the city from another viewpoint while getting in some exercise. It was also higher than some of the other locations that I had viewed from, so I saw more places from here than previously. Most of the other viewpoints were also in the middle of the city, so it was pleasant to view the city from a nature trail that was just on the edge of Salzburg.
Mirabell Gardens was located on the other side of the river from where we were staying. It is also where one of the famous scenes from The Sound of Music was filmed. It is the scene where Maria and the children are singing and dancing up the stairs in the garden and through the trellised greenery. My family and I tried to recreate the scenes there, which was super fun. Towards the back of the Mirabell Gardens, there is a huge garden with many statues and a fountain spread over the land. It was simply fabulous to relax in the garden while watching the sun slowly sink down the horizon. It was definitely a great way to end our last day in Salzburg.
This completes the first leg of my Europe summer trip, and it was truly a wonderful opportunity to see another part of the world. The world is such a diverse place filled with different cultures, traditions, languages, etc. I believe that travelling and experiencing different countries not only allows for people to see new places, but also opens people to become more aware of the other people in the world and how their views of society are shaping the world and its ever-changing climate. Thank you for taking the time to read my post and I hope you enjoyed my reminiscing.