Anyone that knows me well, will know how much I absolutely love musicals, and how The Sound of Music is one of my all time favourites. Anyone who knows The Sound of music will know that it’s set in Salzburg, Austria. So, I’m in Germany with an opportunity to travel… of course Salzburg is at the top of my list! And I finally got round to going there this weekend just gone!
On the 2nd June, I took an overnight bus from Rostock to Salzburg (it was a 14 hour journey with a stop off in Berlin, but it was so worth the very numb bum!). I arrived in Salzburg at about 10am, and went to the tourist info desk at the main train station to pick up my salzburg card: this is a great little card that you buy for a fixed amount that then means you can use the public transport and visit many different museums or tourist attractions at no extra cost. It’s very good value for money, I would have spent more just during my first day if I didn’t buy it! (http://www.salzburg.info/bdb02_sehenswertes/salzburgcard_folder_en.pdf) .
Afterwards, I walked into the main centre and started doing my sightseeing. Just in that first day I went to Mozart’s wohnhaus, Mozart’s Geburthaus, a cruise on the river Salzach, up the Mönchsberglift and into the modern art museum, the toy museum, the christmas museum, the panorama museum, and I had a walk around the different parts of the old town. After this, I checked into my hotel and then went to a nearby restaurant for some dinner.
On the Saturday, I got up early and made my way into town to go on a salt mines tour. We drove up into the mountains and went into one of the working mines there. We had to wear overalls and then went on a small train down into the mine. The tour guide told us about the process of mining salt and the history of it, as we went through the mine watching different animations and light shows, going down mining slides and funiculars, and going on a small boat. It was really interesting, although I don’t recommend it for anyone who is claustrophobic! We then went to a place called Berchtesgaden and had the chance to get some food, and have a look around the quaint little town. After this, we drove back to the bus station, where I had some ice cream as I waited for my next tour; the sound of music tour! This was, without a doubt, the highlight of my trip. We visited many different places that featured in the film, we sang all the songs, we ate “crisp apple strudel”, we took lots of photos, and learnt a lot about the history of the film and Hollywood’s filming secrets.
On the Sunday, I had a little bit more of a lie-in before going to the Stiegel brewery. Here, I had a tour and was told about the brewing process and the history of the brewery. I then had the chance to try 3 of the beers and also got given a small stein as a souvenir. After this, I went on a tour of the festival halls (another place where the sound of music was filmed) and learnt about the history of that building and it’s function. I then went to the Hohensalzburg Fortress which is a castle that sits on the top of a small hill in Salzburg, and so offered beautiful views of the city. I then went to the bus station to have dinner before getting on the bus back to Rostock.
Below is a slideshow of photos from my trip:
Auslandsjahr der Bethany 
I visited Salzburg on my year abroad too- such a beautiful place and the views from the fortress are stunning! Also home to some very tasty desserts… 🙂
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