c-xhaunia-blog

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Two actual pictures of me showing my everyday life…

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Only in Florida would they have to instruct people not to file their guns at a hurricane.

[c-xhaunia-blog]

Austria: Salzburg 25/26 March 2017

Austria was beautiful. For some reason I do not have big expectations of Austria. After watching the Sound of Music, I did not know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. 

Mel and I initially planned to visit Krakow (Poland), but the plane tickets were so expensive we were reluctant to go. Poor students woes 😭 Then we chanced upon a €76 return trip to Salzburg (Austria) from Amsterdam!!! Salzburg was on Mel’s travel list and I was like, “why not??” cheap flights = huge savings!

So on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.... Off we go!!!!!! 

Day One: Salzburg

We reached Salzburg at 3.10pm. From there, exit the airport on the right. From there you will cross a bus terminal and onto the main road, keep walking in the direction of the traffic (right) until you see a bus stop. It is close to the gas station. we boarded bus 180 into Salzburg Mirabellplatz (€2.60), it takes about 20 minutes. Public transport isn't super cheap in Austria, especially if you travel between cities, so be warned! 

After that we checked into our hostel, it was great! I did not take any photos of it, but we booked a 6 beds female only dormitory. We got a locker that can only be opened by your room card, so that’s  really convenient. Toilet was clean as well. Only complaint is they do not provide floormat, so it got slightly gross and damp throughout the day. If you’re on the top bunk, there are no wall charger, so either bust out the portable charger, or just sleep without your phone. It’s pretty safe, I won't worry too much about it. Of course it depends on who you’re sharing the room with. They screen The Sound of Music everyday at 8pm, it is kind of cute! 

After settling down we decided to head out for some food! Being a foodie I've already decided on where to eat. We first headed for Baerenwirt, just across the river. Along the way we passed by Mirabell Garden, it was smaller than expected. But Mel and I had fun taking silly photos.

When we reached Baerenwirt, the restaurant was fully booked. I don't know why we did not just move on to find another place but we requested for takeaway (best decision of the day). They were famous for their fried chicken, so that’s what we ordered (€14.90 I think?). After that we trudged up a cute little hill just in front of the restaurant, hoping for a nice view to complement our dinner. We got more than we expected. The food was good but the view was absolutely gorgeous. We were blessed with a stunning sunset

It was breathtaking. We sat there with our tasty fried chicken, just chilling and enjoying the scene. After that we walked to the old town (about 10 minutes away?), and just wandered around since most shops are closed. Then we went into another restaurant because we were hungry. 

Zum Eulenspiegel was a quirky restaurant with a different art (I took photos on Instagram stories but I forgot to save it 😕). I forgot what we ordered, but it looked like this:

It was some kind of beef, and it tasted great! The service was really great, and we ordered an apple strudel as dessert, since Austria is famous for it. Their apple strudel was different than expected - it was slightly sour and covered in vanilla cream (sauce?). It was less crunchy and more pastry-ish. Not really my kind of thing. I love my apple strudel sweet and sinful. But the Austrian version feels more healthy, because it’s less sweet. Dinner costs ~€22 for a main dish and a dessert. After that we headed back to YoHo for a much needed rest because we’ll be going to Salzburg/Obertraun the next day!

Day One Itinerary: Places + Cost

Airport > Salzburg: €2.60

Baerenwirt: ~€14.90

Beautiful mountain view: €0 (or priceless???)

Zum Eulenspiegel: €22

 Day Two: Salzburg

We woke up bright and early the next day to make the most of our time in Salzburg before we leave for Hallstatt, and rented bikes from YoHo (€10 pp) because we are gonna go Hellbrunn Palace! Where parts of The South of Music was filmed! First we got breakfast at wuerfelzucker, but it was fully booked (10am on a Sunday morning). The brunch looked fantastic, the food was exquisite and the decor intimate. Sadly we asked for takeaway again - two croissants and three pastries - apple tart, apple/plum tart, and cheese cake. The croissants were great, as was the cheese cake. Wuerfelzucker was famous for their apple tart, but it was again too sour for our taste. It seems that Austrians really like their food tangy! After that, we headed for Hellbrunn Palace! About 40 minutes bike ride away. 

The view was great, we took the scenic (and slightly longer) route along Hellbrunner Allee. Worth it.  

Along the way we chanced upon this cute little place that sold the best BEST pastry I’ve eaten in this entire trip. 

It is the curved pastry on the right. It contains walnut, pistachio, honey, and the same kind of ingredients to make the powerpuff girls I presume. It’s called Reindlingskipferl (€3.20) and it was the best. I’m salivating just blogging about it. 

The place also organised some kind of artisanal market fair. Plenty of jams and honey. 

After that, we resumed our journey to Hellbrunn Palace! 

It was a beautiful place to chill. We found the pavilion in The Sound of Music and it looked so... Nondescript? 

Anyway, after some walking we headed back for lunch! Lunch was at Hotel Elefant, apparently famous for their Snockerel.

It was HUGE. And sour. It tasted like melted marshmallow, which is great but only in moderation. After 10 minutes of eating Mel and I were so FULL. Lunch was about €40 I think. The Snockerel was ~€14. I forgot what I ordered, some kind of veal while Mel has beef liver. The beef liver was good! My veal meal was tasty but it was cold, and I was hoping for something hot. 

Then we walked around and chanced upon Cafe Konditorei Furst, apparently the founder of Salzburg’s famous Mozart balls (€1.30 per ball). It was good!! Finally something sweet, I was afraid even their chocolate would be sour. It tasted like a more exquisite version of Ferrero Rocher. 

Day Two Itinerary: Places + Cost

Wuerfelzucker: ~€18 (three pastries and two croissants)

Hellbrunner Allee

Gwandhaus: ~€4,80

Hellbrunn Palace

Hotel Elefant: ~€40

Cafe Konditorei Furst: €1.30 per Mozart balls

We headed to the bus station for our three hour bus ride to Hallstatt, till the next post!