A relaxing week in Salzburg

After the weeks of hiking and sleeping in huts, I desperately needed a couple of days to relax and especially a room with bathroom just for myself. I booked a couple of nights in a nice hostel a bit outside of Salzburg as it was not too expensive and especially for the shared kitchen. I enjoyed cooking my vegetables as I never have before 😉 I needed one day just to relax and do nothing, just getting my hair cut (short!).

Then I found the drive again for some sightseeing and as I realised a “Salzburg card” gives you access to all interesting sights at a small price (compared to the pretty high cost of individual entries), I started a pretty serious sightseeing. I am not a big fan of staying endless hours in a museum, watching and reading everything so I managed to see quite a lot of highlights in 48h. Salzburg is a beautiful town and easily accessible by bike (which I rented as my feet are on strike).

The perfect bike lanes along the river Salzach, running right through Salzburg

Included in my Salzburg card was even a boat trip

one of the largest medieval castles in EuropeCastle Hohensalzenburg

The golden Hall, part of Archbishop Leonhard von Keutschach’s rooms. It’s very rare to have medieval room like these still in perfect state. It also paid off that I went there at 9am as I was the first and only visitor while you usually have to wait.

View of the Untersberg from the castle. That’s where I started my trip eight weeks ago. The hill belongs partly to Austria and partly to Germany

Palace Hellbrunn, a short ride by bike from Salzburg

The castle is most famous for its trick fountains. Incredible how these funny and impressive water fountains were built 400 years ago. So many details and ways to splash people most unexpectedly with water. The Disneyworld of 1620!

The water pressure rises this golden cone up in the air. There was another cave where eight bird voices where imitated with the voice being produced only by water pressure

After being done with the town, I did have to go up the Untersberg again – where I started my hike eight weeks ago in rain and clouds. The ride up with the gondola is also included in my Salzburg card and it’s really impressive. I can see the trail and the great view I missed last time. I hike around for two hours or so, reflecting on everything that happened since my start and am so happy to close the two Alps crossings in such a perfect way.

The Toni-Lenz-hut, my first one on the trail! Much harder to hike up though

And then I got to meet again Mareike and Markus whom I met a couple of days before last Christmas in Nepal on the Annapurna trek. They now live in Salzburg and we had a wonderful night out, it felt so good to be with friends again. More amazingly, after I said that I don’t really have plans yet over the weekend until Monday they invited me to stay at their house. Mareike’s sister and her husband would be there as well.

It was amazing, I got my own room under the roof and enjoyed their hospitality so much. After weeks of being alone or with my sister it was so much fun to be five people for a barbecue, breakfast, a hike under the striking sun followed by a swim in a lake, a Biergarten and yet another hill (by car this time) and lake. Thank you so much Mareike and Markus! I hope I can treat you back one day.