A Bong Girl's Muse

The city of Salzburg has been on one of our travel destination lists to visit this year. So we wasted no time and booked two months in advance the hotel and train tickets for July. Europe gets quite touristic during the summers, so we skipped the weekend and decided to travel during the weekdays. We had booked a hotel “Pension Elisabeth“ from booking.com for 4 nights and 5 days. The hotel was very close to the central station and breakfast was included in our itinerary. Travel with our toddler wasn’t much of a hassle. Our train was from Dresden to Leipzig (1 hour in ICE), Leipzig to Munich( 3.5 hours in IC) and from Munich it was only two hours (Regional Bahn) ride to Salzburg Central station. The total travel time was 8 hours with the connections in between.

One of the main reasons why we chose Salzburg was because we wanted to visit the stunning lakes in the south of Germany. We chose Lake Königsee (south of Bavaria) as it was only 1 hour away from Salzburg city, and we could easily make a day trip to visit the lake’s surroundings. For the remaining two days, we decided to tour the beautiful Salzburg city in Austria.

Salzburg’s literal meaning is “Salt Fortress“and it is the 4th largest city in Austria. When one thinks of Salzburg, the musical maestro Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart comes to mind. The Old town across the Salzach River can only charm you with its unique baroque architecture and medieval cobbled-stoned streets.

DAY 1: Daytrip to Königsee If you travel from Salzburg via public transport, it is better to take Bus no.840 from the Salzburg central station. The bus will take you to Berchtesgaden central station. From there, one can change to bus 841/842 to Königseeallee. Please note that bus 840 travels every 1 hour from the Salzburg train station, and the last bus from Königsee is at 5:15 pm.

With some thorough searching through the internet, we came to know that it is better to book the boat tickets in advance to avoid the long queue at Königsee. We booked the tickets in advance and ensured we had a hard copy since it was required. Here is the link to the boat ride. When we finally arrived there, this jewel lake made our jaw drop. With its emerald green colour and the stunning Rocky Mountains, this lake is a treat to the eye. The boat rides across the lake and stops at two points, St. Bartholomew and Salet. From these two points, one can hike through the heart of the Berchtesgaden National Park and enjoy nature‘s true masterpiece. The boats are all electric not to pollute the lake and its surroundings. The ship putters its way to St. Bartholomew in 45 mins. On its way, the boat pauses for a bit while the boatman plays a tune on the trumpet to demonstrate the excellent echo present at the Königsee. Upon arriving at Salet, which is the last stop on the Königsee boat route, the alpine mountains are sure to amaze you. When one enters the Berchtesgaden National Park, they are sure to stroll past the cafe and souvenir shop towards the picturesque Obersee. This small lake mirrors the majestic jewel tones of the surrounding peaks, and you will instantly fall in love with the nature around you. The Obersee Lake was quite a respite from the heat that day, and the water was cool and clean enough to wash ourselves. One can also give a quick plunge and immerse in the beauty.

On our way back, we visited the St. Bartholomew church. It’s tempting enough to snap photos of this church while on the boat, but upon arrival, you get another spectacular view of the mountains as if they were in symmetry. We didn’t want to miss the last bus; hence we cut short our excursion and decided not to hike any further and take the boat back to Königsee.

The soaring peaks, the glassy water, the luscious meadows; the Königsee is one of the most impressive natural spectacles I have ever viewed. No wonder it is touted as Germany’s cleanest lake.

DAY 2: Visit the Salzburg hotspots I could have never imagined that we could visit all the main attractions in the city with the Salzburg card inexpensively. We purchased the 48 hour card which was around 40€. It included all the popular tourist sights with free entry and local transport and is available at most hotels, tickets and information centres.

1) Our first stop was the Hohensalzburg Fortress. This castle sits atop the Festungberg, a small hill in Salzburg’s centre. It is one of the largest and completely preserved fortresses dated back to the 11th century and was erected at the request of the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg. You can either do a short hike for around 25 mins or take a funicular ride up to the fortress. What the fortress will surprise you with is the breathtaking view from the towers above the city rooftops and surrounding mountains.

2) When you descend from the fortress, you come across the Getreidegasse, which is a famous shopping street in the historic Altstadt and is known as the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This bought us to his birthplace which is now a museum. It’s important to take an audio guide as it will guide you through his childhood days. On the other side of the river at Makartplatz, is the former residence of Mozart family. One can get a good glimpse of the exhibits relating to his life and portraits of the family.

3) We walked through the Residenzplatz, Mozartplatz in the centre of Old Salzburg and discovered the famous 17th century Salzburg Cathedral where Mozart was baptised. You can visit inside the cathedral with a reduced entry fee of 3.50€, and one can also enter the Museum DomCathedral quartier and get glimpses of the rooms of Archbishops. At the Residenzplatz, the Salzburg Museum offered contemporary and 19th-century work by Salzburg artists. Most of the museum parts still were empty, so we were not too excited about it.

4) After wandering the old town, we crossed the river and spent the rest of the evening in the beautiful garden at Schloss Mirabell. It was built in the 1600s by Prince-archbishop Wolf Dietrich for the love of his life Salome Alt. The park is free of cost. The grounds and terraces around the Palace are an elaborate garden design, and flowers are grown beautifully. The Palace and Gardens is listed as a UNESCO world Heritage Site.

DAY 3: Visit to Hellbrunn and other spots Our final visit was to Schloss Hellbrunn, the Zoo, the Museum of Nature and Technology and the famous Salzach River cruise. 1) The Hellbrunn Palace is one of the most fascinating places I have visited because of the Trick Fountains. We were the early visitors there, so we could quietly enjoy the popular Trick Fountains, which had timed entry. The fountains were one of a kind in the whole of Europe. It is believed that Prince Markus Sittikus had a keen sense of Humor and knowledge of how to astonish and entertain his unsuspecting guests. Hidden fountains would surprise and spray at the visitors just like they did to us :D. Hidden caves, originally water-powered figures and a unique ambience astonishes the visitors. The best part of the guided tour was the Hellbrunn miniature water-powered display preserved for 400 years. With the help of an audioguide you can visit the Palace and gardens.

2) If you have a kid, it is worth a shot to visit the Salzburg Zoo, which is just outside the premises of Hellbrunn Palace. Archbishop Markus Sitticus had planned the Hellbrunn complex with the palace, trick fountains and zoo from 1612-1619. With the surrounding mountains and vast green landscape, the Zoo is home to around 150 species and 1500 animals.

3) Our next stop was to Museum of Natural History and Technology, which was located in the Old Town—the museum spaces on four floors with two extra floors that have special kids-friendly experimental playparts. If you are a science freak and want your kid to learn more about nature and technology, this museum is highly recommended. It exhibits Dinosaurs to underwater worlds, from moonscapes to the human body.

4) We couldn’t finish our trip without the Salzburg Boat cruise. The cruise lasted for around 1 hour down the Salzach River. Since it had rained that day, the captain couldn’t go further with the boat. But we got to view some amazing sights of the Fortress and the mountains and other parts of the city along the river bank. The ship captain ended the river cruise by doing his famous Waltz (rotating the boat five times) with his Amadeus (his ship).

Our three-day trip to Salzburg and Königsee was worth every cent. We loved what we saw and wish to visit Untersberg Mountain and world-famous Salt mines someday. These were the only two that we couldn’t fit into our itinerary. But our overall experience of the city and its people was wonderful. (P.s. Austrian people are quite friendly and helpful).