Hi Everyone.
Here's how we have spent the last week...
Monday 5 November.
A three hour train trip took us to beautiful Salzburg, Austria. Home of Mozart (the MO, although we didn't do much Mo-ing). The train trip over was very scenic and was such a nice way to travel across a fair bit of Austria. That afternoon was arrived to a sunny, blue sky Salzburg. We found our hotel, the Lasserhof, nicknamed by us as the 'Hof'. We took a walk over to the main part of the city, the old city. On our way over we walked through the magical lawns of the Mirabell residence (complete with 2 unicorn statues), a grand building which looks more like a mini palace which is now the council chambers and concert halls.
Once we crossed the bridge of the river, we reached the old city with its cobbled streets and its tall narrow buildings. We kept walking up the shops that lined the main pedestrian strip and saw some lovely clothes and shoes, curtosy of the many unique boutiques and designer labels. That night we went out to dinner to an Indian/Austrian/Italian restaurant called Sarans. We were served by Saran who was really lovely. The food was especially good...cooked fresh. I ordered an Indian chicken curry and Dyl had some schnitzel with parsley potatoes. Warm apple strudel with icecream for dessert. Very tasty.
Katie's Birthday: 6 November
After a lovely sleep in and a hotel breakfast, I decided to spend my birthday doing all the things that I love. After a nice pamper session at the hairdresser, we did some window shopping on the way to the lunch. The cafe had curved, white washed walls reminiscent of old beer cellers but with its modern furniture and dim lighting set the scene for a nice warm lunch. A delicious minestrone soup for me (YEAH, soup Tams...you would have loved this one) and a tortellini carbonara for Dyl. The influences on Austrian food from many other nations is incredible. Many restaurants have at least three cuisines on their menus. Great choice. After some more shopping, we stopped of at some markets near the hotel to buy some goodies. Fresh figs and strawberries, cheese, chocolate and champagne. Yum.
Later that night we went out to a special birthday dinner at the famous Sacher Cafe. They make the signature Sacher torte which is a cake like a mud cake but not as chocolatey with layers of icing and marmelade. I ordered farmer's goose (with chestnuts and cranberry compote) for dinner and Dyl had a steak sandwich - which was much more gormet than it sounds - and had some sacher torte as birthday cake. MMm. We went to a bar afterwards for drinks. It was a lovely end to a perfect (but rainy) birthday. It was very special spending it in a romantic destination with my wonderful boyfriend. (Soun ds corny, I know but its true)
Wednesday 7 November
Today we ventured over to the old city again all the way to the edge and kept climbing the mountain on our way to the Hohensalzburg Fortress. It was massive and built right on the top of a huge mountain to make it impossible to invade. Very strategic. The fortress was built by Archbishops over a long period and was modified and made even bigger over time. Within the fortress grounds are cathedrals, many state rooms and halls. It was huge and building first began almost a thousand years ago. The views from the very top of the fortress lookout was insane. A 360 degree view of the city of Salzburg. Because its in alpine country we could see snow capped mountains.
Thursday 8 November
We had all good intentions to spend our last day in cold Salzburg at the Salzburg museam, however on our way just near the church square we found the local market stalls. Farmers had displayed all their fresh produce. So many stalls of vegetables, fruits, cheeses, meats, pastries, cakes, flowers - we were in heaven!! We never made it to the museum. We bought some bread, fresh ham, some sweets and decided to keep walking around and discovering Salzburg. That afternoon we took the train back to Vienna.
*****Special Announcement from Katie*****
Thanks for all of your lovely birthday wishes!!! I loved reading through them. I miss you all so much and can't wait to get home and celebrate my birthday with you. xx
