Salzburg, Austria
Stop number one on the My Way Alpine Tour is none other than Salzburg, Austria, home of the Sound of Music! By far the largest city on the tour, Salzburg is also where our group spent the most time. To combat jet lag, we flew in two days before the tour began, giving us extra time to adjust and to see all that this city has to offer!
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Day 1
On our first day in Salzburg, we explored the city, learned to read the map (haha!), and stumbled upon our first apple strudels of the trip! There are a lot of can't-miss attractions in Salzburg, such as the Mirabell Gardens and the Hohensalzburg Fortress that we visited that day! We also learned that Salzburg is a wonderful city to explore on foot, and took some time to acquaint ourselves with the surrounding shops, restaurants, and sights. Later that night, we attended the Mozart Dinner Concert in a historic concert hall. The meal was exquisite, featuring traditional Austrian recipes, and the performance was breath-taking. It was a full house, so be sure to make a reservation in advance. For more information, check out the accompanying tour book from Rick Steves Europe.
Day 2
On day two in Salzburg, we ventured just outside the city to tour Berchtesgaden. For those who aren't familiar with Berchtesgaden, it is the town just over the border into Germany where many Nazi leaders had homes during World War II, and is also home to Hitler's Eagle's Nest. The Eagle's Nest sits perched atop a mountain, and can only be accessed via an elevator built inside the mountain itself. It is the only remaining Nazi property, and has been used as a restaurant since the end of World War II. This excursion was doubly exciting because my grandma's husband, Miles, has a personal connection to the Eagle's Nest. Miles's uncle was a member of the 101st Airborne in World War II, whom are known to be the first American troops to capture the Eagle's Nest. This day trip was an incredible opportunity to experience history firsthand, and shouldn't be missed! Photos below include lunchtime in the town of Berchtesgaden, the mountainside on which Hitler's personal home used to stand, the hotel and underlying Nazi bunkers, and views from the Eagle's Nest atop the mountain.
Day 3
The first official day of our Rick Steves Europe tour! We spent the morning diving deeper into the places we had visited on Day 1, spending a bit more time in the Mirabell Gardens and inside the Franciscan Church, awestruck by the baroque interior. In the evening, we met up with our tour group (yay!) and went on an orientation walk of Salzburg. Even though we had been in town for two days, we still found new things to see and do on our city walk, including a plaque commemorating the song "Silent Night, Holy Night". After a beautiful sunset walk, we settled down for dinner at an amazing Italian restaurant, where we sat outdoors and enjoyed the evening weather over wine and pizza.
Day 4
Finally, it was time for the thing I was most looking forward to on our trip - the Sound of Music tour! Miles, mom and I started our morning off with a hike to a beautiful lookout spot on the hillside. Some fresh air and stunning fall views before breakfast got us started on a great note! We then moved on to the tour, which began at the lake where the opening scenes of the Sound of Music were filmed. We then visited the Von Trapp family house (for filming purposes only, we learned that they didn't actually live there), and made a stop off at the famous gazebo from Sixteen Going on Seventeen. We ended our tour with a visit to the church where Maria and Captain Von Trapp were married, followed by another delicious apple strudel and some hot chocolate. Since it was our last day in Salzburg, I decided to take a stroll on my own at dusk to soak in the last hours I had in what was without doubt one of my favorite cities on our tour. With that, our group was ready to move on to our next stop in Hallstatt, Austria!
