Salzburg

 Salzburg was not on my itinerary. 

Just before I arrived in Munich I texted my friend what he was planning to do after I arrived.  He said he won't be able to take time off and will be very busy.  He will be going to Heidelberg.  I told him I was thinking of going to Salzburg or Berlin.  He said Salzburg would fit nicely into my schedule.

So I started checking train schedules and asked ChatGPT for a recommended 3-day itinerary and hotel.  There are several trains that stops in Salzburg.  I picked one that is during off-peak and priced lower.  I looked for hotels in the Old Town area and decided on one that is nearby, the Allsadt Salzburg Hofwirt.  I found that hotels in the Old Town area are expensive.  For a simple room I paid more than €300 a night.  Location! Location! Location!

The train ride was smooth.  I walked from my friend Tobias' house to the Daglfing station, about 10 minutes.  I have been to this station many times - to go to and from the airport and to other parts of Munich.  The S8 train went from Daglfing to Munich Hauptbahnhof.  Hauptbahnhof (Hbf) means Main or Central Station.  Every city in Europe has one.  I found Platform 11 and waited for the train that will go to Salzburg. The ride took less than 2 hours, going through the beautiful German and part of Austrian countryside.  Everything was still very green, even though it's already fall.  Like everywhere Europe is feeling the impact of Global warming.

At the Salzburg Hbf I asked the information office for directions to the Hotel Hofwirt, and was told to take the No. 2 bus.  I bought a 1-day ticket and it took about 15 minutes to get to the hotel.

It took a long time to check in to the hotel.  The process was very slow and my room was not ready.  So I had to walk around Salzburg with my backpack.

A view of Old Town 

A pedestrian mall

This is where it started

Sunset over the river

I came back to the hotel for a short rest and that evening set out to look for a well-known restaurant that was highly recommended.  It's called Zirkelwirt, a restaurant that has been around for 400 years.  The food is traditional Austrian and the prices are not very high.

The menu cover

The entrees

Roast Pork with sauerkraut 

The waiter highly recommended the roast pork.  It was delicious.

There were a lot of activities going on in the old town.  There seems to be some kind of festival with a big tent for some traditional Austrian music.

Band playing Austrian music

While walking back to the hotel I met a street singer by the name of Kang.  We chatted and very soon attracted a large crowd of young Austrians who had been at the festival.  We started singing together and soon his guitar case was filled with donations.

Kang with a couple of fans

It was recommended that I buy the Salzburg Card, which allows me to visit most of the attractions in Salzburg for free.  The next morning the first place visited was the Hellbrunn Palace.  I hopped on bus 25 for a 20-minute bus to Hellbrunn.  

Hellbrunn Palace

The famous Trick Fountains was about to be opened so I decided to go there.  Water fountains are hidden in strategic locations so that it'd spray at unexpected moments at the visitors.   Markus Sittikus von Hohenems, Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, built the palace and the trick fountains to amuse his visitors.

All the trick fountains at the garden

I took the bus back to Old Town and found Mozart's birthplace and museum.  It was enlightening learning about this prodigy and music genius.

One of Mozart's old violin

A portrait

Another highly-recommended tourist spot is the Mönchsberg.  It is one of five mountains in the city of Salzburg.  I took a funicular to the top of the mountain and was rewarded with a beautiful view of the city.  There were also exhibits explaining  other uses of the mountain top.

A View from the top

Since I was in the Old Town (Allstadt) I also visited the Dom Zu Salzburg or the Salzburg Cathedral.

Salzburg Cathedral

I missed other attractions since I have limited time.  The Salzburg Museum was closed.  I visited the Mirabell Gardens the day before but I wasn't impressed by it.

That evening I took a walk to Old Town again and watched a band playing lively Austrian music.

A lively local band

It was a short but beautiful 3-day visit to Salzburg.  I took the train back to Munich and that afternoon was ready to go to Oktoberfest!