The journey to Salzburg started with me missing my 8am train, luckily, I only had to wait for another couple of hours to catch the next one. That was by far the only (slighty) stressful situation I was in, not bad at all!

Salzburg is the fourth largest city in Austria, most people know it for the Sound of Music and Mozart. The city got its name from producing salt aka “white gold”. I personally like it for the beautiful mountain ranges and its old town feel. From the Fortress, you see the fairy-tale like town.

There was a summerfest going on while I was visitng, and the whole town was out partying. For non-dancing folks, people met in the old town (“Altstadt”) and watched movies together.

Just an hour of train ride away from Salzburg, you can find natural ice caves (Eisriesenwelt) in Werfen. The ice caves are only open in the summer, and it can be reached by hiking and riding a cable car to 1641 meters. Here are pictures of the cave entrance. Since they don’t allow pictures inside the cave, you’ll have to imagine this: A freezing cave with ice growing from the ground and from the ceiling. The thickest slab of ice is 20 meters thick. Climb 700 steps of stairs will bring you to a high point where you can see naturally sculpted ice statues. You end the tour by coming through an ice tunnel. Its worth the trip!

One of my favorite spots in Salzburg is the Hellbrunn Garden commissioned by Markus Sittikus in the 1600’s. The trick fountains next to the palace are clever and intricate. There are not many dry spots in the garden since the fountains ambush people from the most creative angles. All fountains still run by hydraulic power, and each fountain extremely intricate.

Next, I visited Unsterberg which is the highest mountain in the area (1856 meters). Here, I took up the hobby of taking panoramas, but I will only show you two and a picture of a cute dog.

My airbnb host came from Germany, he invited me to watch the Euro Cup with him and his friend. He equipped me with a German scarf and we went to a beer garden to watch the Germany vs. Italy game. Of course we had to drink German beer.

Recommendations: Airbnb is about 45 euros per night, most hotels are way more expensive. For first timers, get the Salzburg card which gives you free public transportation, access to all museums, a boat ride, and a cable car ride. Visit: The Alstadt, the Fortress, HellBrunn, Unsterberg, the Dome quarters, Mozart’s birthplace (and museum), and the ice caves. If you like Sound of Music, you can take a tour to see the film locations.