Are A Few
Hours Enough to Enjoy a City?
We were
already in Innsbruck, Austria so why not visit Vienna and Salzburg, too? Vienna
is two hours east of Salzburg, which is two hours east of Innsbruck. The
solution was simple. Leave Innsbruck by 7:30 am, arrive in Vienna by 11:30 am, and
retire in a Viennese Airbnb by 6:30 pm, giving us seven sight-seeing hours. The
following day, we leave at 8 am, arrive in Salzburg at 10, and head back to
Innsbruck at 5 pm, giving us seven hours, too. Or so we thought.
The
Case of Vienna
We lost each
other at the Innsbruck Hauptbahnhof (Main Railway Station). As soon as we found
each other again, we jumped onto the train that was leaving. When the conductor
checked our tickets, he told us we were going to Munich, in the opposite
direction! We reached Vienna at 1:30 pm and had only five hours to enjoy the city
of 2.6 million!
We still
covered quite a few landmarks (StephenPlatz, Mozart Haus, KarlsKirche,
Secession Building, Hofburg Palace, Museum Quartier), but we were running from
one to the other with just time to take photos. It was not how to enjoy a city.
Long lines at the Café Sacher prevented us from tasting the original Sacher
torte, and we ended up having those ubiquitous puffers being sold on the
sidewalks for lunch.
At the end
of our frenzied walk, we had a quick dinner at Café Raymond, enjoying some wine
and a slice of, albeit not the original, sacher torte. Our Airbnb was only four
subway stops away, so we slept well but felt sad. Even seven hours would not have
been enough for the Viennese allure.
The
Case of Salzburg
But we had seven
hours in Salzburg, smaller with a population of 150,000. From the Hauptbahnhof,
we walked to the Mirabell Palace on the way to the Old Town Square. It was at
this beautiful palace and garden where Maria (Julie Andrews) and the von Trapp
children sang Do Re Mi.
Across from
the Palace, there was a raging Thursday farmer’s market at the Church Plaza. How
lucky could we be? It was a haven for local food, produce, plants, and even dry
goods. We did not leave until Bill had a version of the famous apple strudel
and I got a 15-euro leather purse.
A bridge glistening
from the number of love locks (the sun shone on it just right) led directly to 9
Getreidegasse where Mozart was born. Just a block away is the historic center
of Salzburg called Residence Platz, a large stately square named after the
Residence of the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg. In front of the building,
beside the Cathedral, and in the middle of the Square is the beautiful
Residenzbrunnen fountain, another point in the Sound of Music Tour.
The Salzburg
Cathedral, St. Peter’s Abbey, and the Residential Building define the lovely Dom
Platz where carriages can be hired for tours. Happy newlyweds were doing it at
the time. You can see the Salzburg Fortress up the hill (you can also see it
from the Mirabel).Finally, aA huge golden ball embellished the interesting craft
stands.
The Visitors
Information Center at Mozart Platz (with a statue of the man) recommended
Swelter’s for an early dinner. My husband had wiener schnitzel while I loved my
griesnockerlsupp. Wine capped our memories of the Sound of Music and Mozart, street
food and shopping, and the love bridge.
Would You Rather Go On or Off the Beaten Path?
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