My birthday and other things

On my birthday, I gifted to myself my twentieth country.  I left Munich in the morning drizzle, and hopped on a bus to Salzburg, in the foothills of the Austrian Alps.  I chatted with a nice, retired Australian gentleman for a bit, at least until his wife got upset.  She was trying to read a book, and he kept interrupting her to lean over and chat to me.  Once that stopped, he resorted to interrupting her to take selfies instead.  I warmed immediately to this quirky old guy.  When we reached Salzburg, I wished them happy travels, and his wife glared at me.  They seemed happy together.

Salzburg

After dropping my things off at the hostel (and fervently hoping they wouldn't have bed bugs), I grabbed a map of Salzburg and headed off for a wander.  I was immediately disappointed to discover my hostel did not actually have a full kitchen like they advertise, and as such, spent my entire time in Salzburg living off nuts (coated in sugar, or otherwise), salad greens, and canned beans.  As far as I can tell, there has never been an Austrian born in the entire history of Austria that's ever had an allergy or an intolerance to dairy, gluten, or potatoes.  I haven't been able to eat out at all (and this has persisted in Vienna...but I'll get to Vienna eventually).

Christmas market

This made me giggle.  Soup of the Day: Mulled Wine or Alcoholic Hot Punch

Salzburg on first impression, was stunning.  Situated in the foothills of the Alps, along a sleepy river, with the true giants as a backdrop to the hilly skyline...I forgot what mountains looked like.  I'm too used to living on the boreal tundra.  The air had a chill in it, and the mountains were obscured partially by some particularly moody looking clouds.  I loved every minute of it.  The architecture was also amazing, and I just kept muttering 'wow' to myself after every corner.  I had no goal in mind, and just walked around.

Them moody, moody mountains, and my very first glimpse of the Alps

I ended up seeing the three Christmas markets in town (I have got to stop eating sugar-coated almonds), and slowly found my way headed up to the fortress that dominates the immediate skyline.

Disappointed to discover I couldn't even walk on the grounds without paying the 9.60 euros for entry, I paid, but I don't really think it was worth it.  They had some original furniture in the museum and that was kinda neat, and the view was spectacular, but a lot of the fortress was under construction in preparation for another Christmas market, and I really just feel like it wasn't worth the money.  Live and learn.

This is what 32 looks like.

Chilly, hungry, I took the funicular (fun to say and fun to ride!) back down the hill because it was included in the ticket, and headed back to the hostel for a sad, sad cold bean salad.  I unpacked and then watched The Sound of Music in the hostel that night.

And that was my birthday.  A little lonely, but I guess that's the sacrifice I make for traveling.

A view from the top of the Fortress

Salzburg's made a few names for itself in the name of fame - The Sound of Music was filmed entirely in and around Salzburg, and our hostel plays it every night at 8pm, and Mozart was born in Salzburg.  Austria tourism, as far as I can tell, is all about Mozart.  Even here in Vienna, he's in every gift shop (but he composed a lot of his work here in Vienna).  Salzburg is also very close to some salt mines that made the area rich in the 1500s, and so a lot of the buildings are really opulent, to the point of being ridiculous.  That sweet, sweet salt mining, I guess.

Christmas Market night shot

Chocolate covered fruits

After almost entirely a sleepless night, thanks to the weird and incredibly shitty Asian roommates I had, I left the hostel early in search of caffeine.  I got a double espresso (contemplating whether my heart would stop if I had a triple), and went for a hike on a hill called Kapuzinerberg (I cannot pronounce this even a little, sorry...turns out German really isn't my language).  The hill was really beautiful!  The day started positively frigid, but by mid-morning, the sun came out, and I had shed all of my layers.  The views of the fortress were really good, and I had a clear view of the Alps in the distance (unlike my tragically moody view of the previous day).  I spent two hours wandering around up there, and passed a church that used to be dedicated to Francis of Assisi - but is now a restaurant.  Of all the fighting that happened over the years in the area, that hill and that church were never taken.  The slopes are all really steep, and there was a wall built all the way around the hill.  Back then, it wasn't as heavily wooded as it is now, and archers could pick off anyone trying to scale the walls.  Cool stuff.  I love history.

I made friends with a dog who tried to eat my snack on the way down, and saw a squirrel with crazy tufts of fur on its ears.  I spent the rest of the day in limbo - it was beautiful out, but I didn't really know what to do with myself.  I went to the museum (and learned that Silent Night was composed 200 years ago today...in Salzburg - there was a whole display about it and I'm now more knowledgeable about a Christmas carol than I ever thought I'd be), I ate lunch at a really subpar Mexican place, went for another espresso and a walk, and I ended up going to bed early.

*Kapuzinberg photos to follow later - I'm having difficulty with my photo-editing software...namely, my drive is full