If I could use one word to describe Salzburg, it would be bougie.  When my sister suggested that we visit Salzburg, I didn’t know much about it.  However, I had never been there, and I had never been to Austria, so Salzburg became a stop on our agenda.  Salzburg was a town that was beautiful and charming, relaxed with an air of sophistication, and bursting with Austrian pride.  Snow covered mountain provided a beautiful background to a town built around a free flowing river, and I don’t think we could have picked a better location for a laid-back  town that embodied the perfect combination of city0life and nature.

However, our journey to Salzburg did start off with a few hiccups.  Our hostel flooded, and our first night in Salzburg, the hostel put my sister and I up in a hotel that was outside of the Salzburg in Uberfuhr.  At first, we were a bit skeptical about the situation, but we quickly discovered that we had stumbled upon some good luck or good karma.  The view from the hotel was unbelievable, and  I was thrilled to avoid staying in a hostel for an extra evening and took full advantage of the private bathroom with free towel.  As soon as we arrived in Uberfuhr, my sister and I took an evening stroll along a path by the river with divine scenery.

The next morning we enjoyed the wonderful scenery and enjoyed free breakfast and two pots of coffee outside before taking a taxi back into town.  We spend the rest of the day riding our bikes through town and the Austrian countryside.   Halo Salzburg!   The pictures do not do the scenery justice, in the least.

Riding our bikes in Salzburg was completely whimsical.  I instantly developed a crush on Salzburg with its bike friendly atmosphere and breathtaking scenery.  My love for Salzburg was instantaneously solidified that evening when my sister and I randomly found a bio (organic) restaurant with vegan food.  Additionally, the hostel had kombucha.  I had tried kombucha in London, and it was bland and severely lacking in effervescent.  But, Austrian kombucha was another story.  Although it wasn’t quite as good as my favorite kombucha stateside, it held it own in the world of bubbly probiotic drinks.  It almost made up for the fact that I had to stay in a hostel and shower sans towel, almost.

Our Monday agenda consisted of an assortment of things, but most importantly, the Sound of Music tour.  Thank goodness my sister and I ended up Salzburg together; I don’t know how many other people could have listened to my  painful rendition of Do-Re-Me or 16 Going on 17  or Edelweiss all day long.  One of our first stops was the backyard used for Captain Von Trapps’ house.  Aside from the fact that I loved the Sound of Music as a child, my Mom also went on this tour almost 30 years ago.  Neat, eh?

The tour also took us to the lake district, which was beyond beautiful.  Glassy water, snow capped mountains, cute German homes, and more kombucha coupled with crackers made for a pretty unbeatable day.

And the tour ended at Mirrabell Gardens, where a large portion the Do-Re-Me was actually filmed.  I, in no way shape or form, jumped up and down the stairs, ran around the fountain, or patted the signature troll on the head while re-enacting the movie.

After the tour and after a really awkward encounter involving lots of European men and a beer garden, we visited Cafe Mozart to try a Salzburg speciality – nockerl, which is a sweet dumpling made of egg, flour, milk, and vanilla.  It was a essentially a huge, middy egg flavored soufflé.  It would have been pretty bland without the sour cherry jam lining the bottom on the dish, but since my options for dinner were either bratwurst or nockerl, I happily devoured the majority of this by myself.  In my book, anything with egg counts as a protein.  Plus, as an American, I try to my best to live up to our stereotypes of eating entirely too much in one sitting.  Mission accomplished.  Our waiter’s eye were dancing with amusement at the empty dish.

Salzburg’s atmosphere was surprisingly intoxicating, and honestly, I would have been content to spend a few more days exploring Austria and drinking the  kombucha.  Alas, our pre-booked hostel reservations demanded we move onwards, so, my sister and I boarded a train for Slovenia.  More tomorrow friends!