SALZBURG
Our first stop in Austria was the beautiful old city of Salzburg. This is the place that is famous for music, thanks to a little movie called the Sound of Music and a man named Mozart who happened to be born in Salzburg. You can see signs of this musical past EVERYWHERE- from tours offering to take you to the sights of movie (so you can see for yourself if the hills really are alive with the sound of music), to the giant Mozart cardboard cutouts, chocolates with his face on them, and buildings with signs telling you if he ever lived/visited/walked past that particular place. Although these are the two biggest things that bring tourists to Salzburg, we weren't really interested in that side of the city (although we did happen to go through Mirabell Gardens singing Do Rae Mi, since this where they filmed that sing for the movie).
A DAY IN MUNICH
This was a spontaneous addition to our trip, since we had booked and planned to stay in Salzburg for three nights. But when we realised that for €8 each we could a return ticket to the Bavarian Capital, we thought why not visit Germany for a day. The Germans rail network DB offer a group travel ticket called a Bayern ticket: valid in the entire Bavarian region (plus over the Austrian border to Salzburg), the ticket allows 4 adults unlimited travel on all regional train networks. So in about two hours we escaped the heavy snow of Salzburg and arrived in Munich. While we thought we had 'escaped' the heavy snow of Salzburg, it turned out Munich was just as cold- not the optimum weather for sightseeing. Instead we tried to make the most of it by doing a lap of the city sights and warming up while we walked. We went to the main square and saw the gothic style town hall and the glockenspiel clock (though unfortunately we were too late to catch the two times a day that the figures around the clock come to life); we walked through the Virtuelmarket and saw how the locals shopped for fresh produce; we went through the Englisch Gardens, apparently one of the largest open spaces in the world that rivals New York's Central Park, which was amazing to see completely blanketed in snow. By the afternoon we had seen the main areas and the cold was starting to get to us, so what better way to warm up than a visit to a traditional Bavarian beer hall? After all, Munich is the home of Oktoberfest. We went to the infamous Hofbrauhaus, one of the biggest beer halls of Munich known for its lively atmosphere. In amongst the lederhosen-clad men and women walking around selling giant pretzels, we managed to find a place for the 4 of us to sit and enjoy some beers. We also had some salty, salty pretzels and I couldn't help but think of the line from Seinfeld- because man, did those pretzels make me thirsty. We caught a train back in time to have dinner in Salzburg. While I wouldn't say Munich is a beautiful city (it was a bit hard since we were probably comparing it to Salzburg), it was still a great adventure- I mean how often can you say you went to Germany just for a day?
VIENNA
The last stop of our European journeys with Mum and Dad was the Austrian capital of Vienna- the gateway to the East. We arrived at Vienna Westbahnof and had a 'memorable' taxi ride to our hotel: the spluttering driver was trying to point out a few of the sights, though in between his emphysema- like coughs and thick accent, we had no clue what he was saying; he also had some minor road rage issues, and when two people tried to step out to cross the road, he purposefully swerved to try and hit them! Thankfully we made it to our hotel alive, and I think we all agreed to stay away from taxis from then.
The last hotel we stayed at was the definition of luxury, and we felt waaaay out of place when a porter took our backpacks off us when we arrived and took them to our room. We stayed at the Sofitel Vienna, and we somehow got free upgrades to these swanky all white suites that looked like they were from a sic-fi movie. If they realised that one of the rooms was for a couple of backpackers, they probably would have thought twice about the upgrade. I think it was the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in, plus there was a bathtub that was so big it looked like you could swim in it. It was really cold during our time in Vienna, and plus I managed to get sick (again), so it was a very nice place to retreat to. The best part of the place was the fact it was right on the Danube Canal with a view over Vienna, and there was a bar on the top floor called Le Loft. We had some drinks there on our last night in Vienna (as an early birthday celebration for Mike) and the views of Vienna all lit up at night was amazing.
As for the actual city, we took our time wandering around the streets of Vienna and meandering through the sights over our three days there. We took the tourist tram loop around the ring road which was a nice (and warm) way to learn a bit about the city, plus it had classical music playing as well which set the scene since Vienna is famous for its orchestra and opera. We saw some kind of official procession take place near the Hofburg Palace, where there was a full military outfit with guns and a band playing music every time official-looking cars drove past... We guessed it was some kind of meeting. And we got to experience the fun of the Volksgarten (people's park), where dad & I ended up in a snowball fight... He ended up with an ear full of snow, so I guess that means I won??
Three days later and it was time to say goodbye to Mum and Dad as their trip came to an end. This time when we were saying goodbye we knew it was only going to be 5 weeks- not 5 months- until we see each other again, but it wouldn't have been a farewell if Mum didn't need the tissues... You can always count on her for consistency. I was so glad that we got to share some of our adventures with them, and I don't think the desserts we bought one night can begin to repay how thankful we are. It was so good seeing you Mum and Dad :)
MIKE'S BIRTHDAY IN INNSBRUCK
After leaving Vienna, we made use of one our final Eurail pass days to start to make our way back over to Switzerland, where our flight from Morocco left from. We decided to head for Innsbruck, because it was exactly halfway between Vienna and Basel, where we were flying out of. So it was in the Austrian alpine town of Innsbruck where Mike spent his 22nd birthday.
On the morning of the 17th, we made a spur of the moment decision to head up to the alps so I could give Mike the chance to do something he loves on his birthday- snowboarding. We found out we could get a free bus from around the corner of our little hotel, and so we threw our thermals on and within an hour we were up the top of the mountain. We managed to have a half day on snow, wearing some of the 'trendiest' gear out- the only place that did half day hires looked like it was stuck in the 80s- and experienced some of the freshest powder we've seen in years. Unlucky for us, we left our snow gear with mum and dad to take home since we didn't think we'd be using it again, so we only managed to find one pair of goggles. It was a white out in the mountain and it was -8 degrees, so by the afternoon the combination of snow in my eyes and a full on flu meant I waited in the warmth inside and (shamefully) fell asleep on a table in a restaurant. I am pleased that Mike got to have a great birthday in the snow, and that night I also took him out for dinner and dessert. I managed to get the waitresses to put some candles in a chocolate cake and sing to him as well. It wouldn't have been a happy birthday without some cake!
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