Austria: Salzburg and Lake Wolfgangsee

     The day after Oktoberfest, Katrina and I went with a tour group to visit Salzburg, Austria and the surrounding Lake District. We left early in the morning and took a beautiful two hour bus ride to Salzburg. There were rolling green hills dotted with farms and cute little houses, tall forest green trees, fog hovering between the hills and snow covering the mountain peaks in the distance.

     When we got to Salzburg we only had a few hours there so our tour guide (a cute little old lady) walked us through part of the city very quickly so we could have time to explore on our own. She showed us the garden from the Sound of Music, and we walked by Mozart's old house, and his birthplace. The garden was small, but beautiful. Unfortunately we went through it very quickly so we weren't able to enjoy it as much as I would have liked to, and I didn't get very many pictures. 

Garden from the Sound of Music

 

     Our guide led us across the river that runs through the middle of Salzburg to the oldest part of the city where she left us to explore for 2 hours. She recommended we visit the castle on top of a hill for some great views of Salzburg and the surrounding area, so we took her advice. We took a trolley up to the top and walked around for a while just enjoying the beautiful scenery.

View of the castle on top of the hill

View from the front of the castle

View from the back of the castle

     
     After visiting the castle we made our way back down the hill to find lunch. We walked through the streets for a few minutes and came across an open air market. There were many food vendors so we picked one and ordered a bratwurst sandwich. Bratwurst is a type sausage and is yet another traditional German meal so we had to try it. I got ketchup and mustard on mine and it was fabulous. After we finished our lunch we had half an hour before we had to meet up with our tour group. We decided to pass the time by indulging in a little treat. On our way to lunch we had passed a pretzel stand filled with a variety of huge chocolate covered pretzels so we grabbed one, found a spot by the river, and enjoyed our tasty snack and the view of Salzburg.

Mmmm!

    
     Our next stop was the Lake District near Salzburg. The drive took about 30 minutes and was just as beautiful as our drive to Salzburg, but this time instead of fog being scattered among the rolling green hills, there were lakes! The lake we got to visit was named Lake Wolfgangsee. When we arrived we had 45 minutes to explore the small town of St. Wolfgang before we got to take a boat across the lake. Katrina and I walked through the streets admiring the charming buildings covered in flowers and vines. We also walked along the lake and eventually decided to sit on a dock and enjoy the peaceful beauty of our surroundings. There was no one around us, it was completely silent, the water was like glass, there was a slight breeze, and the view of the rolling green hills was amazing: it was the epitome of serenity and i enjoyed every moment of it.

 

Serenity

    
     Although I was sad to leave the dock, our boat ride across the lake ended up being just as beautiful and enjoyable. We were one of the only boats on the lake, we passed many beautiful houses (many of which I wouldn't mind owning!), and we had a 360 degree view of the one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day and I couldn't stop smiling and thinking about how happy I was at that moment.

Trina and I at the end of our boat ride