By Caitlin
Woah! Austria really exceeded my expectations. From its super nice, fast trains, to the best beer gardens and pastries, I loved Austria.
Crossing the border from Slovenia into Austria via train, we had to change trains from a Slovenian train to an Austrian train, which seemed annoying at first until: Upgrade! Austrian trains are among the nicest in Europe. One nice but strange consequence of the particular Eurail train pass we bought was that the pass entitles us to 1st class seats.
Unfortunately, the train to Salzburg was really full, but we eventually found a mostly empty cabin with a couple of super snobby Austrian flight attendants who deigned to let us sit in their cabin. The initial ride from the bottom of Austria to the top happened to go through the Hohe Tauern Nation Park: my first sign that Austria was going to be beautiful. I spent most of the ride craning my head to stare at the mountains through the window. It's definitely a quintessential European train ride of small villages, meandering rivers and mountain peaks. We eventually got to Salzburg, the beautiful setting of "Sound of Music."
Our first stop in Salzburg was the Augustiner Brau beerhall. This remains one of my favorite Euro experiences and probably my favorite beer consumed in Europe. Its like stepping back in time, or at least into a storybook. Set up like an indoor flea market, there are food stalls around the outside with a large beer hall featuring communal tables in the middle. Then the crucial part: getting the beer.
Step 1: Select your beer stein from the wall of steins. Go for the large 1 Liter mug. I promise you won't regret it later as you stumble up the hill for a beautiful view of Salzburg.
Step 2: Take your stein to one of the giant water fountains and rinse your mug out to you own satisfaction. (I assume they were previously washed, as everyone treats this as ritual more than necessity.)
Step 3: Pay for your beer at the register.
Step 4: Take your empty stein to the counter to be filled. Usually there are only two choices, Light or Dark (Dunkel). Both are good but its more fun to say Dunkel.
Step 5: Walk hesitantly into the open beer hall to find a seat. Look awkward enough that a kindly local will invite you to his table.
Step 6: Befriend a Berlin couple who will ask you if you actually like beer. “Yes?” It's strange for a woman, apparently.
Step 7: Fail to take a photo of Berlin couple when asked because you are halfway through the Liter and don't know how to operate an iPhone.
Step 8: Leave the beer hall and follow the not-so-steep path up the Monchsburg hill. It will seem very difficult, but that is just the beer.
Step 9: Enjoy amazing views of Salzburg! You may get lost 3 times on the path, but that is just part of the adventure.
Step 1: Select your beer stein from the wall of steins. Go for the large 1 Liter mug. I promise you won't regret it later as you stumble up the hill for a beautiful view of Salzburg.
Step 2: Take your stein to one of the giant water fountains and rinse your mug out to you own satisfaction. (I assume they were previously washed, as everyone treats this as ritual more than necessity.)
Step 3: Pay for your beer at the register.
Step 4: Take your empty stein to the counter to be filled. Usually there are only two choices, Light or Dark (Dunkel). Both are good but its more fun to say Dunkel.
Step 5: Walk hesitantly into the open beer hall to find a seat. Look awkward enough that a kindly local will invite you to his table.
Step 6: Befriend a Berlin couple who will ask you if you actually like beer. “Yes?” It's strange for a woman, apparently.
Step 7: Fail to take a photo of Berlin couple when asked because you are halfway through the Liter and don't know how to operate an iPhone.
Step 8: Leave the beer hall and follow the not-so-steep path up the Monchsburg hill. It will seem very difficult, but that is just the beer.
Step 9: Enjoy amazing views of Salzburg! You may get lost 3 times on the path, but that is just part of the adventure.
Other than the delicious beer, Salzburg is beautiful and full of history and culture. Its the birthplace of Mozart and Mozart balls (chocolate truffle things that they sell everywhere..see photo over at our food photo blog). While we are not classical music enthusiasts, we couldn't help but love the musicality of the city. Instead of being filled with acoustic guitar street musicians, there are violin trios. We were inspired by the atmosphere and thus we ventured off to partake in Mozart combined with another Austrian tradition: the Marionette Theater's production of The Magic Flute. You may just have to trust us on this one but opera + puppets is actually a lot of fun!
Salzburg also has one of the most interesting castles we saw in our time in Europe. The Salzburg Fortress was home to the Salzburg Prince-bishops for centuries and we easily spent a day exploring and enjoying more views of Salzburg.
I have to admit to an initial reluctance to spend much time in Europe, for various reasons (budget not least among them). However, Salzburg was enchanting enough to really excite me about the next few weeks in Europe. I realized how much I forgot about Western European history, art, music, politics, etc. Austria, Germany and the other countries that followed were an opportunity to straighten out all that in my head...oh, and to drink quality coffee and beer as much as possible.
Here are a few pics from Salzburg, Innsbruck and Vienna:
Salzburg also has one of the most interesting castles we saw in our time in Europe. The Salzburg Fortress was home to the Salzburg Prince-bishops for centuries and we easily spent a day exploring and enjoying more views of Salzburg.
I have to admit to an initial reluctance to spend much time in Europe, for various reasons (budget not least among them). However, Salzburg was enchanting enough to really excite me about the next few weeks in Europe. I realized how much I forgot about Western European history, art, music, politics, etc. Austria, Germany and the other countries that followed were an opportunity to straighten out all that in my head...oh, and to drink quality coffee and beer as much as possible.
Here are a few pics from Salzburg, Innsbruck and Vienna:
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