Salzburg, a short weekend.
A quite night in Salzburg.
A weekend in Salzbug
Depending on the time of year Salzburg has a lot of different things to do to offer. I joined my sister on a trip to Salzburg last August for her medicine entry exam. As with all of my travels, it was a bit chaotic as the exam was shifted to Salzburg from Wien as of Corona regulations.
From Germany, it is easier for us to travel by train instead of flying to Salzburg, as it is most often cheaper and the time consumption of security checks and everything is just wasted. Admittingly it takes like 8 hours, but in Europe taking the train (high-speed trains) is more comfortable than most think. We stayed in a nice Airbnb close to the old city centre only a short walk to the Salzach. A friend of my sister and I explored the city while my sister had to take the exam.
Sunday morning market along the Salzach.
The historic center below the Hohensalzburg Fortress is worth the visit, I think less for Mozart’s birthplace, but more for the other historic buildings. Salzburg is mainly known for Mozart and the opera festival celebrating classical music and opera. For me, the atmosphere, as well as the surrounding, of the city were of much more interest. The markets along the Salzach on weekends during the summer are one of the best things, you can buy great food and snacks, as well as a lot of great hand-crafted things. There is something for everybody, from handmade traditional clothing over leather bags to metal wind plays (seen on the right). If you can not find something for your taste on the market, which is highly unlikely, Salzburg is a city with great cafes, pastry shops, and restaurants. Mozart Kugeln (marzipan, nougat ball) is so heavy after one of these balls you feel stuffed (and better don´t think about the calories). For everybody who may eat a little too many of these delicacies a walk around the “Kaputzinerberg” or along the cliffs beside the Fortress could help to not collect too much weight when visiting. Besides the exercise the views of the city and the surrounding area are quite impressive .
FORTRESS HOHENSALZBURG
Entrance house when walking up.
From the historic town center, you can either walk up a quite steep hill towards the entrance of the fortress or take the cable car, running from the old town square up to the Fortress. For everybody not to fit or with loose shoes, I would recommend the cable car, as the way is quite steep at many points and made of loose gravel. Nevertheless, we saw some people doing it with flip-flops even that it does not look too agile, as they slid out of them frequently. We walked up as we thought the price of 13€ for the cable car was too much, but we discovered that to enter the fortress you have to pay a 10€ fee, so the ride is actually only 3€ per person, which is much more reasonable. Included in the price is access to some of the fortress areas like a Galerie with old artworks, different museums, or the tower to watch over the whole city (keep in mind that the stairs up inside the tower are quite small with 1.95m I had to duck down at some points). You can get free (as I remember) audio tour equipment to get all the information or participate in a tour (not during Corona as far as we saw). There is also an option for an “all-inclusive” ticket with further included access to the princely chamber and the magic theatre, I haven´t visited both so I have no idea if the extra 3€ is worth it. To see everything you can surly plan half a day to a day at the fortress, for us it was mainly about the views.
For me, the city is not about action-packed days, but much more about strolling through the small streets admiring the historic buildings and enjoying great food. So I have nothing left to say. I recommend the city for everybody looking for a weekend getaway or a short trip. If you travel by car you can connect it to some great hiking in the alps nearby. If you are looking for more inspiration for the region I recommend the website of Tourism Salzburg, it is actually one of the nicer city tourism sites I saw.