S and I finally went on our Honeymoon in September – our first real vacation! I’m going to share it in reverse order, just because. Our last stop was Salzburg, Austria along with Steve’s sister M and her new husband A – also on their Honeymoon. What a pretty little city! And so close to Munich – 90 minutes by train if you catch a fast one!
We got in late at night and made out way to our hotel – Gasthaus Hinterbrühl. It was very inexpensive and clean. A little old-fashioned and smoky, but the price and location can’t be beat. The Inn is located in part of the old city wall and the shared bathrooms remind you of that – there are little tiny windows in the thick walls and you can just imagine crossbows sticking out of them.
Our first day there, we decided to head over to an old salt mine (salz in german) located in the hills outside of town. There was a little recreated Celtic village to demonstrate how the first settlers in this area would have lived. Apparently, this mountain is one of the longest continually habited places in this part of Europe – because of the salt. There was also a truly horrifying animatronic robot child in one of the huts that scared the bejeezus out of me.
Then we went down into the mine. And we got to dress in theses spiffy duds:
The tour was pretty interesting, but the highlight was getting to use some of the wooden slides that the miners used to descend. I think the longest one we went on was 60 meters long. Wheeeeeee!
That night, we ate dinner at the Rupertkirtag Festival that was happening that weekend. The Altstadt was filled with rides, candy, roasted nuts, carnie games, and, of course, a Biergarten. Being Salzburg, there was also a lot of music, too.
The next day, we decided to head up one of the hills and visit Hohensalzburg Fortress. It was huge and old and interesting, but most of all, it had a great view:
Then we hiked along the ridge of this mountain and ended up (as we tend to do) in a Biergarten at the Augustiner Brewery.
That evening, we celebrated M’s birthday and went to a concert at Schloss Mirabell. It was a stunning location and a small, intimate concert. Four musicians and maybe 40 in the audience. Lovely!
The next morning, we headed back to Munich – without even visiting one of Mozart’s houses! S and I definitely will be back. It was a great (but short) visit and it seemed like we barely scratched the surface.
Lara On The Move 