Salzburg: Bad Day 2.0

Poor Salzburg.
I really don't think it deserves the hatred Brit and I have lavished on it since our visit. It was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, ya know?

The beginning of this ill-fated visit was extreme disappointment.
I had made plans for us to stay in České Budějovice with a couple of Czech friends for two nights before hitting up Prague. I knew them from my stint working at Strathcona Park Lodge, and was very excited to see them again after a couple years, and get the city tour from the locals!

Unfortunately, through a series of last-minute panicky events and miscommunications, it was discovered that this arrangement was not going to work and we were unable to stay with them or see them at all. Hence, the disappointment.

Salzburg became the substitute that really wasn't going to make it up for me. We scrambled to find a hostel there (I believe we ended up at YoHo International Youth Hostel, which turned out to be a nice place) and arrived on perhaps the rainiest weekend of the year.
Let is also be noted that Let's Go: Europe 2011 does not even mention Salzburg. Not once. Ridiculous, I say!

I would like to state that I did try not to wallow in disappointment. I tried to enjoy the moment. It was a struggle at times, but there are some moments that I can look back on and think, ya that was nice. And there are a lot of things I can look back on and say, that really sucked, but it sure is funny to laugh about now!

Knowing that our time in Salzburg was relatively short, we wanted to see as much as possible and pay as little as possible. We considered several tours including the Sound of Judy tour, in which a lady would show us different parts if the city involved in the filming of The Sound of Music, but sing every word instead of simply speaking. I was sorely tempted, but it was decided that we would probably be the only 2 tourists on the tour, and that might be just a little too awkward...

After dumping our stuff at our hostel, we rented bikes and struck out on our own with a free city map. Brit is a marvelous cyclist and rides her bike around our home town all the time. I on the other hand have never been particularly gifted with balance, and I am extremely uncomfortable riding a bike on the street. I told Brit she would have to be in front and go very slowly.

This worked out quite well except for the time we had to go through a narrow tunnel that was also quite steep and packed with traffic. I was terrified for my life. Emerging on the other side, however, was the charming Residenz Square & Fountain. Brit loved the Sound of Music, while I professed disdain for it.

Brit re-enacting a musical scene.

We continued our self-guided tour and saw a lot of different locations from the film (Brit had to point them out to me). By this time it was beginning to rain with a vengeance. We were becoming quite damp and tired from hours of walking and biking. Our map was soggy, blurred, and torn.

Our sodden map.

We decided to head back to the hostel. And...we got lost. Not like, oh I think we missed a turn...like, I have no &!#%$ idea where we are. Ironically, while I was the moody one to begin with, this turn of events because quite funny to me because Brit became increasingly frustrated (I know, I'm mean).

Yes! The stage behind her is where the Von Trapp family sang their farewell song!
(we were not supposed to be down there)

I think we even stopped for directions once, and became more confused than before. I don't know how we got back, but we did. It took a really long time. Once we could see the hostel in the distance, Brit said she needed to ride a bit longer to cool down. She confessed later that she hasn't been that angry in a long time! I'm just glad she was angry at Salzburg and not me!

We were both exhausted that night, but things began to look up after hot showers, a much-needed load of laundry, journal time, and the hostel's complimentary screening of The Sound of Music.
Now I like that movie...go figure.

A Few of My Favorite Things

(The one good thing that came out of our Salzburg trip was a new appreciation for The Sound of Music)

I thought today I would ease up on the writing and show you a couple favorite moments/photos.  Mostly because my brain is fried. And there has been a severe lack of pictures on this blog.

You may notice a lot of them are food-related.
That is just how its going to be around here.

London:

A Quick Trip to Hogwarts

Paris:

Watching the Eiffel Tower light up

Mt. St. Michel:

Exploring a Medieval island fortress

Florence:

Surreal views

Lucca:

Delicious picnic dinners on the city walls

Pisa:

Taking very necessary/cheesy tourist pictures

Viareggio:

Seeing the worst speedos ever, worn without shame

Venice:

Relaxing by the water in the evening and enjoying the view

Munich:

Eating the biggest meal/beer/pretzel of my life. Loving it.
(Also wearing cheesy tourist shirt!)

Fussen:

Hiking to fairytale-esque castles

Salzburg:

Taking necessary/cheesy Sound of Music reference photos

Prague:

Panna Cotta in the sweetest hippie restaurant ever!!

The Netherlands:

I have no words to express how much I love this photo...

And that is all for now...
Photo Credit: mostly Brittany Willems :)

The Sound of Disappointment

Still getting over the disappointment of not being able to stay with my Czech friends, I left a gray and cloudy Munich behind me this morning and arrived to an equally drab skyskape in Salzburg: famous for being the birthplace of both Mozart, and The Sound of Music. I didn't realize just how much the tourism here is dependent on the movie musical until we arrived! There are a ton of tours (bus, walking, biking...even segway!)that will take you to visit the movie film sites! One tour that really made us laugh was called "the sound of Trudy", and was led by a costumed guide who would sing songs from the movie at each location!! SO tempted to go.
After we got on the right bus (with a very snappy driver) we arrived at our hostel to discover our rooms wouldn't be ready til 4,which left us with a lot of time.
Neither of us felt very energized, but we decided the most flexible and economical option would be to rent bikes and explore the city on our own.
It was chilly outside when we left at 1pm, but we had our rainjackets so we thought we were prepared.
Wrong.
By the time we got to the city center it was starting to rain quite a bit. We took a couple pictures and then wandered up a steep stairway to see if we could find a sweet view of the city.
Long story short,we wandered for quite a while, it rained harder, we got on our bikes, it rained harder, we biked for a long time and then realized we were lost, it rained harder, we got soaked and more lost...it rained harder.
It was twenty past 4 when we finally rolledback to the hostel. And we were very wet, and very done with Salzburg. I took a hot shower, ate some free muffins and drank free coffee, and now I feel much better.
But I'm still glad we're only spending one night here!
Tomorrow will be a better day.

Off to Salzburg!

Well its been a crazy couple of days! We have really enjoyed our stay in Germany. The people are so friendly and it feels so modern compared to Italy. Not that I don't love Italy, but the vapretto system in Venice really needs some help! Transit in Munich is a dream in cOmparison!
Yesterday we visited neuschwanstien castle (absolutely gorgeous!) and today we a but of the city itself.
The plan was to spend tonight with my friends who live in Czech republic, but unfortunately that fell through. It was quite disappointing, but we just adjusted our itinerary and we are Salzburg-bound tomorrow morning. Brit has booked us in to a hostel that has nightly showings of "the sound of music", and has informed me that that will be our evening entertainment! The movie was filmed there so I expect there might be some kind of tour about that.
Well, we dined on a very large Bavarian meal which included (but was certainly not limited to) a very large and delicious pretzel, and a liter of beer. Yes, a liter! I don't really ever drink beer but this was actually delicious, and we ate in munichs largest beer garden and it was all for the experience after all. I apologize for the terrible grammar in this post...what I'm trying to get at is that it's been a long couple of days and I am completely worn out, as well as still digesting! So this is all for now. Ps. Visit Germany... It's really awesome!