Europe (2017): Salzburg, Austria

After spending a night in the world's music capital of Vienna, I embarked to the next city - Salzburg. Woke up early morning to pack my bags and straightly check-out from the hostel. Bidd goodbye to a Malaysian lady who I met last night staying in the same hostel and right after that, I walked to the train station which not far away the hostel I stayed.

From Vienna to Salzburg
Getting from Vienna to Salzburg, there are two cheapest options; either by bus or train. In terms of fare, both options are not much different with advance purchase fares from €19. I chosen to ride on the train because besides admire riding on the train, the journey time is lesser comparing to taking the bus.

Two competing operators link Vienna with Salzburg:

• The State-owned OBB (Austrian Federal Railway) - run twice an hour between Wien Hbf & Salzburg main central station. 
• Private operator WESTbahn - run every hour between Wien Westbahnhof & Salzburg main central station. It also run every house between Wien Praterstern, Wien Mitte, Wien Hbf, Wien Meidling and Salzburg. 

For more info about these two operators, check out "The Main in Seat 61" for more details.

Economy class on RailJet of OBB. The comfortable open saloons with large picture windows. Some seats are around table, some unidirectional. The best part is there is free WiFi connection in all classes. 

After less than three hours of train ride, finally reach Salzburg Hauptbahnhof - the main railway station of Salzburg. 

Accommodation in Salzburg

As I plan for my this Europe trip quite last minute, hence not many hostels were available. Even there were few available, but either there are overbudget and the location is not strategic enough. I have no choice but end up to book International Youth Hostel Salzburg. It's not that really bad - the dorm and shared bathroom is decent clean and the staffs were helpful and friendly. Just the matter of the location - 10 minutes walk from the main train station and city center. 

Date Stayed: 13 September 2017 (1 night)

Room Rate: €20 for a bed in 6 bed mixed dorm (Booked via Hostelworld)

What To Do & See in Salzburg

Salzburg is well-known for two things: First, it's the birthplace of Mozart and secondly, the American musical film "The Sound of Music" was shooting here. Right after I reach Salzburg, immediately I signed up for the Panorama Tours: Sound of Music from hostel because I will be leaving Salzburg on the next day. It offers two tours daily; leaving at 9:15am and 2pm and the duration takes about 4 hours. 

This tour is exclusively bringing visitors to visit the original film location in and around Salzburg.

The charming bus with funny and friendly guide called David

Frankly speaking, I know about this movie but then until now I haven't watch it yet. Maybe someday I should find some time to watch this. Anyone is a big fan of "The Sound of Music" movie here?

Along with the live and cheerful guide who shared the highlights of the movie, he also shared the historical and architecture landmarks of Salzburg during the tour. So here I just simplified few of the places we managed to visit and see: 

Our first pit stop: Leopoldskron Palace. We did photo stop at Lake Leopoldskron mirroring the palace, where the famous boating scene was filmed. 

The original gazebo was rebuilt especially for all the movie fans in the gardens of Hellbrunn Palace. The kissing scene of Maria and Baron von Trapp took place here.  

Basilica St. Michael of Mondsee. This church is reached international fame because the wedding scene of Maria and Baron von Trapp was filmed in the movie.

Our tour ended at beautiful and spectacular Mirabell Garden where the song "Do-Re-Mi" was filmed.

Right after the tour ended, I went and wandered by myself. Unfortunately by the time I reach Mozarts Geburtshaus (Mozart's birth house) was closed. This is where the Mozart family lived in this house and Mozart himself was born here. Now, this house has turned into a popular museum to house interesting memorabilia and letters. 

How Much I Spent in Salzburg
Here are the breakdown:

PARTICULARS	AMOUNT
	€	RM
Accommodation International Youth Hostel Salzburg – 1 night Transportation Train from Vienna to Salzburg Tour Sound of Music Food & Beverages Others Locker to store luggage Souvenirs – magnets, postcards, stamps & etc	20    24 37 18 2 11	102    123 189 92 10 56
	TOTAL:	572

Exchange Rate: €1.00 = RM5.12 as at September 2017

Unlike Vienna, spending a day in Salzburg isn't sufficient enough. There are many things and places to explore apparently, like Bavarian Mountains and Eagles Nest. I have to admit it's my own mistake for didn't plan my trip well.