Salzburg - A Very long Blog

I texted Mum two weeks ago to ask if she'd like to go to Salzburg with me. I expected a negative response but to my surprise I got a "yes". I went about plans researching and running around like a headless chicken trying to organise myself. I went to Deutsche Bahn to ask for my ticket. The earliest I could arrive into Salzburg was 12.54p.m. That was ok however that meant I had to get up at 5 a.m. and then face a 6.5hour journey to Salzburg with 3 changes. 

Saturday: I was pretty much dead to the world once I got up at 5a.m. but there was an amazing bird morning chorus which I had never heard before...obviously as I am never up at 5.a.m in the mornin

g! I had the pleasure of bumping into every drunk teenager on the way to the train station as their night out was only just ending. I manage the three train changes pretty well. I was very short on time when I was changing 

onto my Munich train. I 

was running along the underground to my platform, my bag was bouncing about a little, it 

felt lighter and lighther. I turned around to notice that the e-n-t-i-r-e contents of my bag was all over the floor; knickers, shoes, clothes, you name it was on the floor. A man bent down to pick up my clothes and jumped away from a pair of frilly knickers that he was about to pick up but he somehow managed to muster up some courage and pick them up and hand them out to me with a scarlet face. On my final train a man began talking (in German) to 

me. To my great surprise 

I could reply and we 

talked for about two hours. He seemed nice and interested in what I was saying in my broken German. However I caught him staring down my top too many times to really believe he was truly interested in what I was saying. He somehow thought Mum was Austrian and that she refused to speak to me in German. He thought it was a great shame and my German was pretty good considering. I blame my terrible German for that misunderstanding. We saw the Untersberg mountain as the train. It is impossible not to burst into song when you see Salzburg. The entire Sound of Music soundtrack will play through your head the entire time you are there. When we got to Salzburg hauptbahnhof he shook my hand, one more quick look down my top and he departed.

I looked frantically around for Mum at the train station and finally caught a glimpse of her back and ran towards her. Learning from earlier I had fastened my bag a little better so all my belongings didn't go flying out everywhere. Mum turned around during my run towards her *Slow motion shot*. There were squeels of joy and happiness which captured the attention of the Austrians but no bother sure. We headed off to find our hotel, the room wasn't ready so our room was changed. We ended up in an apartment with a balcony and a small kitchenette, rather fancy really. We decided to go on a Panorama tour of Salzburg, a fresh face good looking Austrian man called Andreas drove us around Salzburg along with two German couples and an American girl. We saw some of the sights where the Sound of Music was filmed, got a brief history of Salzburg and a witty commentary of everything as we drove past. Salzburg is an extradinary city, it is beoynd beautiful and there is so much history with it too. After the tour we finally had our bearings so we had a walk around and had dinner outside on the square where the Baroque catherdral is. Mum and I had an early start so we went to bed early, I don't remember even closing my eyes to try and sleep, my next memory is being woken up in the morning. 

SUNDAY: We had breakfast on the balcony in the blazing sun. Contary to the weather report it was sunny and hot not rainy and full of thunder storms. Today was a big day for me. We were going to go on The Sound Of Music bus tour! We arrived at the bus which is covered head to toe with painted pictures of The Sound of Music. We had a fabulous and flaming tour guide who made the tour unforgettable. After seeing most the sights of the film we went through mountains driving to the church in which Maria and the Baron get married in as we drove their he played The Sound of Music soundtrack so we could all sing along as the bus drove. Sounds awful doesn't it? It was WONDERFUL! I got a free drink because I answered a question about the film correctly, well Mum said the answer and nudged me to say it so it was a joint victory! We had Streudel outside the infamous church which hot vanilla sauce and ice-cream, a local delicacy. Once the tour sadly ended Mum and I explored all the churches and graveyards we came across on our travels. We went up into the mountain where there was a hidden catacomb. It was really cold and refreshing in there and it had a beautiful big altar carved out of the mountain in the catacomb. We ended up in the famous Sacher Hotel Cafe where the Sacher Torte was invented and is still served there for extortionate prices but it still looks delightful! The cafe is right beside the river which is incredibly strong, I watched the tour barge spin around and around in circles as they were trying to anchor. It was full of tourists, hilarious for me to watch but I'm sure terrifying if you were onborad. We went to a local restaurant that night and then went up to the top of the Stein Hotel which has a beautiful view over the city. The city is lit with very subtle flood lights, all the churches are lit up. We drank some white wine - gesprizt as we gazed over the river.

Monday: We had breakfast again on the balcony, it was roasting before 10.a.m so we decided it'd be better if

we took things slow today. We got a lift up to the modern art museum which is on top on a hill, it was closed. Nevertheless it has a beautiful view of the city. We walked up and around there and came across the original city walls and watch towers. There view was truely phenominal from the top of the hill. We saw a small market from the top of the hill at the Baroque church so we decided we'd go there after Mum and I had a bowl of Spargelsuppe (Asparagus soup) at the hilltop cafe which had a panoramic view of the city! We went to the little market and picked up food for the journey home. Then sadly we walked to the train station. I had an hour to wait while Mum had 20 minutes. We said our goodbyes (Mum wouldn't let me go to the platform with her) so then we went our separate ways. I sat on a bench staring at my feet. It was the same feeling that I had when I watched Mum drive off in the tram the first time I arrived in Freiburg. I waited the clock tick away the time until Mum's train left. Then as the weather forecast had promised it rained. Damn you pathetic fallacy! The train ride was pretty uneventful; some children were playing on the train tracks so we were delayed by 1/2 an hour but I got all my connections and got home safe and sound.

Salzburg was amazing but I don't think I would have had as good a time than I did if Mum wasn't there. She really made the trip so special and she's hilarious fun to be with especially when faced with the wild and wonderful ways of another country. It was wonderful to have her with me, she made the holiday! 

Thanks Mama xx