The last stop of Eurotrip2014 was Salzburg, Austria! Salzburg has long been on my travel wish list, and I was very happy to travel here!
We rented an apartment in Apartment City, which was a great location just off the Getreidegasse, between the Altstadt and the University area. Gorgeous views from the apartment! In addition to the views, there was a beautiful old church that turned into what appeared to be a drug-fuled, underage rave on Friday…luckily it stopped at midnight, and went right back to a church on Sunday morning! #clubchurch
We arrived on a Friday night, and our first stop was Augustiner Bräu Mülln – also long on my wish list! Augustiner Bräu is a brewery and beer hall, serving delicious, delicious beer and housing a variety of stalls selling food.
On our first full day, we toured all of Salzburg’s best sites, including the Mirabell Palace Gardens, Mozart Square and residences, the Salzburg Cathedral and the Festung Hohensalzburg.
We also stopped for coffee, breakfast and the famous Sacher Torte at Cafe Sacher. The cake was decadent! Bucketlist – check!
After hitting the “must see” list, it was finally time for shopping on the Getreidegasse! The Getreidegasse is a pedestrian-only shopping street abounding with international chain stores, restaurants and tourist shops selling Mozart balls and countless other Mozart paraphernalia. In addition, to shopping, Getreidegasses is quite picturesque, as all of the stores, including the McDonalds, have metal signs displaying a picture of their wares, harking back to the time when the masses were illerate. The street was so picturesque, I returned early Sunday morning to take pictures without the crowds.
My favorite shop on Getreidegasse was a small shop called Spirtuosen Sporer. Sporer is a family-owned liquer store, selling countless varieties of flavored brandy and schnapps – from pine to edelweiss to blackberry – since 1903. We tried a variety of samples and all bought bottles to take home. Plan accordingly, Sporer is closed on Sunday and closes at 5 on Saturday.
Later that evening, we dined at a delicious restaurant – Bärenwirt. his may have been the best schnitzel I had on the trip (close with my Hallstatt schnitzel), and this was certainly our best meal in Salzburg. Our waitress spoke perfect English and was extremely friendly. The mean ended with a complementary bowl of gummy bears!
Our final day (SAD), began with a stroll down an empty Getreidegasse for pictures and then a visit to the famous Cafe Tomaselli for some truly delicious coffee!
After, we set out for what was one of the most fun events of the trip! We walked about 30 minutes to the Stiegl-Brauwelt, or the Stiegl brewery, for a brewery tour! This is truly a great brewery tour and it is one of the best I have ever taken. The brewery also has a restaurant, beer garden and a fabulous giftshop!
We ended the trip on a touristy note by a Mozart dinner concert at the Restaurant St. Peter Stiftskeller. The performance was very good and the location was gorgeous. A good way to end the trip!
I was very sad to leave, but we had a great time in Salzburg!