Europe, baby! (Part I: Vienna & Salzburg)

What do you do when you complete one year of a challenging academic life? I explore!

And so I planned a mini Europe trip with my girls to Vienna, Salzburg, Budapest & Prague. The logical route is generally the other way round, but well, we do like to do things in our own way.

We managed to visit many places within a week and so I feel it would be unfair to cram everything in just one article. Hence, I have divided my Europe tale into two parts. This article will cover Vienna and Salzburg.

Left: Beautiful Vienna; Right: Mesmerising Salzburg

Vienna, oh na na

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The first few minutes of our time in Vienna was spent finding water. Locals don’t usually speak English and so it was difficult to communicate to the shop-keeper what we were looking for. So friends, if you are in Vienna, looking for water, ask “Wasser” (German).

Schönbrunn Palace & Gardens

Side view of the Palace from the Gardens

Schönbrunn Palace, the summer residence of the Habsburg rulers, now displays the lifestyle of the era. It is a major tourist attraction along with its massive garden grounds.

We skipped the palace tour and decided to take a walk in the garden instead.

Roman Ruins at the Palace Gardens

The beautiful garden complex is quite huge and comprises of sculptures, fountains, roman ruins, a zoo, and even a gloriette! You will find a panoramic view of the city from the opposite side of the Gloriette.

Beating the heat at the Gloriette with delicious chocolate ice cream and raspberry sorbet!

The garden serves as a great photoshoot place for your social media accounts!

In the shaded part of the Palace garden

And do not miss this beautiful view of the Palace while exiting the garden grounds:

Prater Amusement Park

Vienna also offers a day of fun with family and friends at the Prater Amusement Park. There are no entry fees, but you will be charged separately for every ride you take. Being a bit of a roller coaster wimp, I liked this arrangement since one has to pay for what they actually fancy.

St. Stephen’s Cathedral

This extremely gorgeous cathedral is a “must-see”. It is so huge that it is almost impossible to capture in a single snap!

It is one of the most famous churches in Europe & is considered a symbol of Vienna.

We were lucky to be around to be able to hear the melodious chiming of the bells!

Volksgarten

Volksgarten, meaning a ‘folks’ garden’, is a wonderful place for a lovely morning or a pleasant evening walk. A photogenic place for photo enthusiasts - it has fountains, sculptures and monuments which serves as a great backdrop & not to forget, provides a good view of the Holfsburgh Palace - the official residence of the President of Vienna. And if you are tired from all the walking, you can always relax at the café!

Holfsburgh Palace, Vienna

Chocolate Museum

Sketches made of dark chocolate

Have a sweet-tooth? Visit the chocolate museum!

It takes you on a delicious trail of the history of chocolate and leads to a room full of chocolate sculptures! There are even fun chocolate games for you to enjoy. And if that’s not enough, you can even book a workshop to make your own chocolate!

Zanoni & Zanoni

Even if you have to miss out on any of the above places, do VISIT THIS CAFÉ! It is a dessert paradise! There is everything - from croissants, cakes, pastries, ice creams to liqueur flavoured shakes! I ordered a chocolate drink with whisky liqueur and it was amazing!

The Sound of Salzburg!

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The moment I stepped in Salzburg, my mind started singing the title song of ‘The Sound of Music’!

The shooting location of this classic movie, Salzburg, is added in the list of my favourite destinations.

Salzburg is also the birthplace of the famous composer - Mozart

Old City Salzburg

Though there are many places within the Old City which are definitely worth a visit, the Old City of Salzburg deserves a special mention. I could spend a whole day here - exploring its streets, eating, observing other tourists or just sitting in reflection without visiting any of its other attractions.

Hohensalzburg Fortress

Situated at the Festungsberg hill in the Old Town, the Hohensalzburg Fort provides a stunning view of the city below.

The castle tours are also available, you can check its website for the different kind of tours they provide.

Hellbrunn Palace

Hellbrunn, meaning ‘Clear Water’, was the summer palace of the then Prince-Archbishop, Markus Sittikus, who used it for his recreational activities and held lavish parties for his friends.

The palace is now a beautiful museum. My favourite here is the musical room which pays tribute to Mozart.

When you enter the premises, do not miss the pavilion used in ‘The Sound of Music’ for their popular song - ‘Sixteen Going on Seventeen’. The park where the pavilion is located was also used as a shooting location for the classic movie.

Trick Fountains at the Hellbrunn Palace

I love this place! The prince would mostly host his parties here. The garden is built in a “tricky” way such that it aided the prince to pull pranks on his guests.

A water fountain was placed under every seat, except, the Prince’s seat. When the guests were all drunk, the prince would open the fountain. And as was the rule, nobody could get up until the Prince does.

There are many more interesting things here - bird sounds totally created by water fountains, a fascinating fountain depicting power and time are some of my favourites.

Mirabell Palace & Gardens

Mirabell, roughly meaning “admirably beautiful”, was built by Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau for his love Salome Alt. The palace was named Mirabell after the Prince’s death by his successor.

The palace is now an office of the mayor of Salzburg, though, certain rooms are open for the public like the widely claimed “most beautiful wedding hall” - Marble Hall.

One of the shooting locations for ‘Sound of Music’, Mirabell Gardens displays a pretty view of the Hohensalzburg. The famous Pegasus fountain in the middle of the garden is where bits of the song, ‘Do Re Mi’ was filmed.

Mozart Museum

Salzburg, also known as the ‘City of Mozart’, is the birthplace of the talented composer.

It would be a shame to leave the city without paying a visit to the Mozart museum - commemorating where he was born and lived until the age of 17.

It showcases the early life of the musician and his family.

Getreidegasse

Fancy shopping? Then it is the place to be! It is a pretty street with many traditional shops and restaurants.

It houses the birth home of Mozart! The No.9 Getreidegasse is where Mozart was born which is now converted to a museum.

The Heart of Joy café

Being a vegetarian, it tends to get difficult at times to find satisfying vegetarian food outside. Naturally, it added to my joy when we found this cute café! It is a purely organic café with yummy food!

It is one of the top vegetarian cafés in Salzburg & definitely worth a visit!

Hope you enjoyed reading about my Austria tour! Next half of this trip is coming soon! So subscribe, if you have not already, to not miss out on this Europe fun!

P.S. You can travel within these 2 wonderful places with city passes which provides discounts at certain locations & supports transport within the city.