June 14, 2021
Today Eric is heading to Venice and I am heading to Salzburg. I take a bus and a train to get there (although I think you can take only trains). I used the website OBB to book it, which you’ll become familiar with if you visit Austria.
When I arrive, I head to Mozart’s Managed by a&o hostel, which is right near the train station. It’s very clean and has lots of space to work. They have a kitchen but it’s locked and you need to make a 20 Euro deposit to use the dishes. You also need to pay for linens. It’s empty but they put my in a room with an old man who has lots of food and dishes everywhere. There’s also not much to do nearby. So far I am not in love. Everyone is wearing ffp2 masks here so I take a hint and purchase one from the front desk.
I head out in search of My Indigo. It’s an Asian fusion fast-food restaurant which is pretty good and has a big portion size (but it wasn’t that cheap). Shockingly, you needed a COVID test or proof of vaccination to eat outside. They accepted a picture of my vaccination card on my phone, but I guess I’ll be carrying my vaccination card around from now on.
I’ve discovered that you need to use public transportation to get to the old town or else it’s a long walk and there doesn’t seem to be any hostel over there. I’ll have to trek all the way over there each day I suppose. I head back to hostel now though because I have class.
June 15, 2021
This morning is my chance to explore the old town. I make lots of quick stops including the Palace of Mirabell and Gardens, Mozart’s residence, Getreidegasse Shopping Street, Mozart’s birthplace, the Cathedral, Mozartplatz, St. Peter’s Abbey, and Residenzplatz. All of them are super beautiful! I love the architecture of Austria so far. I’ve worked up an appetite so I stop at Café Tomaselli which is a famous symbol of the Austrian coffee house tradition. I sit on the terrace above the restaurant overlooking the street, which is lovely. I order iced tea, which seems homemade and is quite bitter. I also order the signature cake of Salzburg, Salzburger Nockerlschnitte, which I enjoyed.
While Salzburg is stunning and I really enjoyed walking around while listening to the 39 Clues (which was super nostalgic for me), I’ve decided to leave Salzburg sooner than I thought. I’m really not a fan of the hostel I’m in and it’s far from the old town and other conveniences. It’s also full of older people and families who I don’t think I’ll make friends with very easily. I’ve had the chance to see most of the standout parts of the old town, so I’m hoping that moving on to Vienna will be the right choice.
Check Out My Guide to Salzburg ⧉
My Google Maps Guides have all the important locations I mention in my blogs, and you can open them right in Google Maps to make it easy to plan your own trip!