We visited Mozart's birth house
A little fun in Mirabell Gardens
An evening at the Dublinar
Day 5: Monday, April 9, 2007
Salzburg in Our Own Clothing
We were awakened at 7:15 by a ringing phone. Our luggage had arrived and the front desk was calling to give us the good news. Nick couldn't wait to give the porter a big tip when he brought our bags.
We all met down in the lobby and crossed the street to the train station. We picked up pastries and fruit for breakfast and loaded up on the train bound for Salzburg, Austria. During the ride, Tommy and Shea got stuck in a cabin with a group of very talkative Catholic girls on a mission trip. They talked for the entire 2-hour trip.
We arrived in Salzburg at about noon. Salzburg is one of the most beautiful cities in Austria. It's nestled on the foothills of the Alps and has a big river running right through town. We walked from the train station for about 30 minutes and showed up at the wrong hotel. The Hotel Wolf-Deitrich was easily confused with the Hotel Wolf. We got some directions, loaded back up and headed toward our correct destination. The Hotel Wolf was more like a bed-and-breakfast — it had small rooms, both in size and number. We checked in then ate at a nearby restaurant called Picnic. It had an American theme and served salads and sandwiches.
Salzburg is famous for being Mozart's birthplace. After lunch we headed over to Mozart's Geburtshaus (birth house) and took the tour. Mozart was born in 1756 and lived in the house until he was 17-years old. There wasn't a whole lot to see and we finished in less than an hour. From there we walked through the Mirabell Gardens. The gardens were filled with flowers and statues and offered up great views of the famous Festung Hohensalzburg — the "Fortress on the Hill."
We were pretty worn out so we went back to the hotel and rested for a couple hours. That night for dinner we chose a place called Gablerbrau from a recommendation in a guide book we had. We were all disappointed with our meals. The restaurant was attached to a hotel and the food tasted like standard hotel fare. After dinner we were in the mood to down a few beers so we walked around the town center searching for a place that was open. Since it was Easter Monday our selection was limited. We ended up at a smoky little place called the Dublinar. You can tell from the name that this bar had an Irish theme and the waiter authenticated the place with his Irish accent. We drank weissbier and cider until the early morning.