Oktoberfest in Salzburg, Austria
Originally posted on September 24th, 2017Hallo! Today's post will be all about my day trip to Salzburg and how we accidentally ended up at an Oktoberfest festival (oops but yay!)
I had been wanting to go to Salzburg for a good while, as it's one of the oldest cities in Austria and the birthplace of Mozart, and the city is quite beautiful. You'll see what I mean in a second. My travel buddies for the day were Bennett from NOLA and Gijs from Belgium. Our trip was a bit spontaneous (as in everything was booked less than 24 hours before our trip), but from experience, those usually end up to be the best trips. Here's a quick snap of my new exchange buddies:
We took the train at 6:40am on Saturday (crazy, I know) so that we could take full advantage of the day. The trip took about 3 hours, going through some of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen. There was a lot of fog, adding to the dramatic view. I was so in awe that I forgot to take pictures!
Once we arrived, we walked to the old town and little markets that were set up by the river that divides the old town from the more modern part. We had breakfast in the sunshine to prepare for the walking that awaited us.
From there, we found Mozart's house located on a busy and beautiful street, as well as an old church set into the side of the mountain.
After some window shopping, we headed towards the festivities for what turned out to be Oktoberfest. Most people were wearing the traditional clothes, so it felt like I was transported back in time. There were stalls for dessert, beer, and food everywhere, with carnival rides and games to add to the fun. We completely forgot that Oktoberfest had begun not too long ago, so it was a pleasant surprise to see all the festivities. Add sunshine and warm weather, and you have a perfect day!
The hardest part of our trip was to climb up to the castle/fortress set at the very top of a giant hill. Let's just say that we burned the calories of all the food we ate right before we made the "hike" up (haha).
When we were done with the fortress, we decided to walk around for the remainder of our time. The walk includes gardens, the oldest cemetery in Austria, the oldest church in Salzburg, fountains, and what Gijs dubbed as the "creation of the fist bump."
And that about sums up my day in Salzburg! I know it was a longer post, but there was just so much that I wanted to share with y'all because it is one of my favorite trips so far. I'll definitely be back in the winter to see what it looks like covered in snow. Until next time!