The Hills are Alive, Salzburg

I can't imagine a more beautiful evening to arrive in Salzburg. As we awkwardly navigated through the under-construction train station, a few trace flurries floated through the air. After Innsbruck, we were as acquainted with the cold, and in the full holiday swing. We checked into the Hotel Stieglbrau, which was affiliated in some way with Best Western, but was located above an Austrian Brewery: SteiglBrau. Standard US style hotel rooms, but the brewery restaurant was popular and fantastically festive.

Shortly after checking in, Jacob and I headed down to taste the beer of our Hotel's namesake. We sat in the wood paneled bar decked out in holiday cheer, drank a few Steigl beers and then the snow began to fly. It was perfectly cozy, but after a couple of beers it was time to venture into snowy Salzburg and check out their Christmas market.

It wouldn't be a Christmas market without a cup or two of gluhwein!

After a couple of hours of shopping and exploring, we were cold, wet and hungry, so we headed back to the Stieglbrau to eat.

Yes please!

With full tummies, we headed to bed because the Sound of Music Tour Bus was coming to pick us up around 9!

That next morning we dined in the fabulous breakfast room of the Stieglbrau. The smell of bacon wafting through the room, holiday tunes and good company, added to the complete wonderfulness of it all.







The Sound of Music Tour was by far the most "touristy" thing we did on our travels, but it was something that both my mom and I really wanted us to do. After breakfast we boarded the bus, with the Sound of Music soundtrack blaring, and our guides Trudy and Evo showing us all the major landmarks included in the film.

The lake where the children and Maria tip over the boat, with the back of their
home in the distance

Skipping down the road where Maria sang "I Have Confidence" I, too, have confidence!

Sipping a Stieglbrau looking over the scenic lake district, prominently featured
throughout the film.

At a certain point, one could purchase beers on the tour bus to enjoy during the tour. The heavy snowfall made it a bit hard to see the lakes, but it was very pretty all the same.

The Church in Mondsee where Maria and the Captain are married.

Apple Strudel in Mondsee

And apparently, no Sound of Music Tour is complete without Apple Strudel. Or as our tour guide, Trudy, would say in a breathy, desirous voice: "Aaapple struuuuuuhdel."

All in all, the tour was fun, but if you're looking to get out and see the actual sites, then allow yourself another day in Salzburg to, for example, visit the fortress or the convent. It's definitely a bit corny, but it's a fun and effective way to get out and cover a lot of ground in and around Salzburg if you're only there for a day. Of course, I also enjoyed learning about the filming of the movie and it's fun being able to imagine the sites as they are in Salzburg while watching the movie.

After the tour, we took a break (read: worked) and then walked to the other side of Salzburg admiring the view along the way until we reached the Augustiner Brewery

The Augustiner Brewery is like a cross between a beer hall and fast food court, only instead of Arby's and Sbarro, it's a delicious assortment of Austrian food stands selling a wide variety of affordable, hearty fare. We were there on a weekday night later in the evening so it was quiet, but one can imagine the multiple halls filled with Salzburg's citizens and tourists having a fantastic dinner on a weekend night. After practically closing down the place, we took the long way home (because we got a little lost). Jacob and I paused on the bridge above the Salzach River and contemplated the end of our trip. It was hard to believe that we had been on the road for nearly 3 months. Time had flown by. We were both so grateful for the opportunity to have taken the trip, nevertheless I was sad to see everything coming to an end.

Standing on the bridge contemplating the end of our trip

We caught up with my mom and Dennis, went back to the hotel and packed our belongings for our last train trip to Zurich the next morning.

We buried our nostalgia for the early days of our trip into our scarves as we waited for our train to Zurich on a very chilly Salzburg morning. Once on our way, the scenery out of our train window seemed even more magical than ever, with a thick coat of snow making everything sparkle.

And then we made our last stop....