Hi friends, welcome back to my Germany and Austria series 🙂 After leaving Eagles Nest, we drove about forty minutes to Salzburg to return the rental car and check into our hotel. We stayed at Hotel IMlaur Pitter and got a free upgrade to the Double Classic room. It was spacious, clean, and the bed was very comfortable. We only stayed here one night, but I’d definitely stay here again on a return trip. It was a quick walk to the Old Town and about ten minutes from the train station, perfect for us!
We got settled and made a game plan for our twenty-four hours in Salzburg. Our first stop was at ALPZ Gelato & Cafe. This place sits at 36 on the Gelato Festival’s World Ranking of Gelato, so we were excited to check it out. (Here is the full list, might have to make it a goal to try them all) I went with the safe but always delicious choice of Oreo and salted caramel and we think Jon picked the Nutella and salted caramel . They also have very inventive ice cream sundaes we would’ve tried if we were staying here longer.
After satisfying our hanger with delicious gelato, we headed in the direction of the Fortress. It reminded me a bit of the Parthenon in Greece how it’s elevated in the middle of the city.
Jon and I stopped at a few Sound of Music sights that I’ll save for one post, but we loved walking through the Old Town. Wandering through quaint European cities makes me so happy!
We walked past the yellow house where Mozart was born that is now a museum. This picture was taken the following morning before everyone was out and about.
Jon and I took the funicular up to the Hohensalzburg Fortress, it was only 3 euros extra (13 euros a ticket) and saved our legs quite a bit. This fortress spans eight acres and has a few museums you can explore. We went at the end of the day, so we were more interested in the views than the museum. Some museum highlights include marionettes, war paraphernalia, and a history of the fortress.
This fortress was so intimidating looking that it was never attacked until Napoleon came around. Salzburg surrendered without a fight and the fortress has been open to the public since the 1860s.
The views were our favorite part of visiting the fortress.
After viewing the museums, we stayed for the sunset and it was spectacular! There are also restaurants up here that would make for the perfect dinner setting.
For dinner we tried to go to a beer hall, but as you can imagine on a Friday night, it was packed. I was in the mood for something quick, easy, and authentic so I was happy when we stumbled upon this food truck on our way home. We ordered the Bosna, which is like a Salzburg version of a hotdog. It is made with pork sausage between grilled white bread with parsley, mustard, and secret spices. We also got a side of spicy sausage and it was the perfect meal for the night. The Bosna is a famous Salzburg dish, and Balkan-Grill is the original cult-like spot to get it, but with only twenty-four hours in the city, we were very satisfied with this food truck 🙂
Such a beautiful night and city!
That wraps up our first half of Salzburg! Next up is our DIY Sound of Music tour 🙂
Posts in my Germany and Austria series:
Germany
- Munich – New Town Hall & St. Peters
- Munich – The Residenz & German Food
- Bavaria – Lake Starnberg & Eibsee
- Bavaria – Neuschwanstein CastleÂ
- Bavaria – Hohenschwangau Castle & Alpsee
- Bavaria – Zugspitze & Eibsee
- Bavaria – Walchensee, Geroldsee, & Partnach Gorge
- Bavaria – Königsee
- Bavaria – Obersee & St. Bartholomew
- Bavaria – Maria Gern, Hintersee, & Ramsau
- Bavaria – Eagles Nest