Friday, December 27th we got to visit Salzburg, Austria.
Salzburg is the town where some outdoor scenes from The Sound of Music were filmed. It is an adorable town and was one of my favorite days on the trip. After breakfast we hopped on a bus for an 1 1/2 hour ride to Salzburg. On the way we paused at a rest stop where we had the most gorgeous view of the Alps.
Our Program Director called it the most beautiful rest stop in the world, and I think she might be right. I wish we were able to spend a bit more time there because I could have just stared at the view for a good 30 minutes. At least it encourages me to return to Austria to see more of the mountains.
After the quick stop we soon reached Salzburg where we had a tour of the town. Salzburg is home to both the oldest restaurant and the oldest bakery in Europe. It is also the birthplace of Mozart.
When the tour ended we walked up a hill to try to see a fortress but the price to go in was more expensive than we were told so we ended up walking around the hill and back down to the town. The walk was so pleasant, I wish I had taken some pictures but at that point my camera’s battery had died and I hadn’t taken out my phone. So you’ll just have to trust me that the views we saw were pretty. Green grass, houses, hills, and sunshine. And it wasn’t too cold either as long as I was walking. I think the walk we took might be another of my favorite parts of the whole trip.
At some point during the walk the family split up. Gene, Lydia, and I went back to the town while Dave, Martha, and Ben went to a beer garden. My group bought some brioche bread from the oldest bakery and then walked to an outdoor market. That bread was so amazing delicious that I am surprised I didn’t run back to get more. It had just come out of the oven and it almost melted in my mouth. It had this slightly sweet taste to it and it was so soft. Oh my goodness am I glad we got some!
The market was cool to browse as well. Lydia and I ended up sharing a huge “hot dog”. It was a garlic sausage placed in a baguette with mustard. I had been seeing that kind of food all throughout the places we visited so I wanted to try one and I was not disappointed.
We met back up with the others at the market to learn that the beer gardens didn’t open until 3, when our bus left, so they weren’t able to try any beer. They didn’t seem too bummed, thankfully, so we walked around some more. I ended up buying some chocolate covered marzipan balls from one of two stores that still made them by hand. It is a special kind of candy that a man invented in honor of Mozart. I’m afraid I don’t remember the exact story so you’ll have to look it up yourself if you’re interested.
The bus picked us back up shortly after that and took us back to our ship. We had dinner soon after. I can’t remember what we did after dinner but it probably involved me packing a bit because we only had one more full day and then it would be time to leave.
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Just Lauren 