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Days Day 00: Changi Day 01: Paris Day 02: Paris Day 03: Paris Day 04: Berlin Day 05: Berlin Day 06: Munich, Füssen Day 07: Salzburg Day 08: Vienna Day 09: Vienna Day 10: Florence Day 11: Cinque Terre Day 12: Pisa, Rome Day 13: Rome Day 14: Pompeii Day 15: Vatican City Day 16: Barcelona Day 17: Barcelona Day 18: Granada Day 19: Seville Day 20: Seville Day 21: London Day 22: London Day 23: London Day 23: Liverpool Day 23: Manchester Day 23: Outside London Day 24: London |
Day 07: Salzburg Wednesday, 26th March 2008
Our amazing time in Germany came to an end, but another chapter was soon to begin, as we departed Munich by train for our next destination, Austria! Or Salzburg to be precise. Most of us slept through the 90 minute train ride, and arrived at Salzburg, to find, again, the city covered in snow. First stop of the day was the Mirabell Gardens. This famous gardens was one of the location the movie The Sound of Music was filmed. It was here that Julie Andrews and the children ran around singing Do-Re-Mi. We arrived expecting that since it was spring , we would see lots of greenery and flowers blooming. Here are some pictures from the internet, of what we expected to see.    We were wrong. This was what we saw. The garden was covered in snow, not a sight of flowers. We did have a blast playing with the snow though, including a long drawn-out snowball fight and some other silly antics as well.   5 idiots and a snow covered tree Poor flowers covered with snow  The sights of the city of Salzburg were really pretty. The buildings were gorgeous and the streets so charming. And amongst these building and streets was Mozart’s Residence. Again, no photography inside. The tour of the residence was interesting, but I think if we understood a little bit more music history, it would have been a little easier to digest. Nonetheless, a visit to Salzburg is never complete without paying homage to its favourite son, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.   Staying true to our economical ways, lunch was a set lunch menu at the Uni Café of the University of Salzburg.The Dome of Salzburg was next. While we were there, there was a choir performing. They were brilliant – immaculately in tune and in perfect harmony. They were a joy to listen, and the acoustics of the dome made the performance simply enchanting. The church in itself was gorgeous (but as is the case for every other one in Europe!).  This was followed by a visit to St Peter’s abbey and cemetery. St. Peter's Abbey  St. Peter's Cemetry  Though our guidebook called it a tourist racket, we bought our tickets and took the funicular up to the top of the hill to visit the Hohensalzburg fortress. This fortress was built by the Prince Archbishops of the Principality of Salzburg, and historically, it has never been taken, except when it was surrendered without a fight during the Napoleonic Wars. Upon reaching the top, we took pictures of the panoramic views, and again played with snow. Mischievously, we started to throw snowballs off the hill trying to hit the rooftop of the houses at the foot down below. Childish. But thankfully, we didn’t hit anyone. I must imagine, getting hit by a snowball from such a height… must hurt! Or maybe… more than just hurt… Hmm…   We completed our tour of the fortress, and the museums housed within. Then we continued playing with snow… Listening to audio guides inside the museum  Hak Liang's creation: the mini-snowman    Dinner was back at the train station. Throughout this trip, fast food would be a common feature, because it is fairly economical, and its easy to order! On this occasion, dinner was at Burger King, and a strange incident occurred. Daryl and Hak Liang each ordered Triple Whoopers. But when they unwrapped their burgers, they found Single Whoopers. They headed back to the counter to confront the cashier, but he was adamant that he did not make a mistake, repeatedly saying, “No! Don’t tell me that! You ordered a single whooper!”. They began to feel like maybe there were some racist undertones to his attitude towards them. After further pressing, he finally said “I can check the register, but I will be right, and then you can get out of here.” He did. And he was wrong. He then asked them to take a seat, and that he would send the burgers to the table. At this point, they started to wonder if he was going to spit in their food. But when he turned up at our table, he started to apologise profusely, and even gave them an extra burger to make up for it. Wel,l it all turned out alright in the end! Triple Whooper Burger  That night, after another long three hour train ride, we arrived in Vienna, also known locally as Wien. Free drinks at the hostel's bar  Wombar  Once again, we met a group of Singaporeans staying in the same hostel as us. This time, they were a group of exchange students from NUS and NTU studying in UK, having their easter break. What a small world, Singaporeans everywhere.
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