Dorint Salzburg

... of the first class cabins because my fellow travelers did not have passes, and it would have been more expensive for their tickets - not to mention that all of the trains I have used require reservations with the pass and the reservation fee would have been higher for myself. On the way to Salzburg I was in a first class car, and I was thankful! I shared my car with two "older" couples from the U.S. I say "older" because they were ...

... and we boarded the big bus for our tour. Our guide Wally introduced himself and was immediately full of good and bad jokes and kept us informed and entertained the whole way through.

The bus took us into Bavaria in the south of Germany to visit Eagle’s Nest, which was a building built at the very top of a mountain to be used as a conference centre for Hitler. It was a 50th birthday present to him from his men, and when the Allies bombed the mountain at the end of ...

... walking and asked them. German ladies on va ca from their families for the weekend. They were nice enough to let us follow them to their hotel. They asked if their was room for us. Now the next part I give credit to my mom as she read my email from train station and lit some candles or something I'm sure. We ended up getting the last room in the place for about 99 euro. Clean room. Clean sheets. Wi fi. And a shower ...

Our first night in Europe was also our first stay in a hostel. For those of you that don't know, a hostel is a dormitory style hotel. We all stayed in the same room in bunk beds. We also shared this room with a gentleman from Switzerland who had just driven 1300 miles from Russia.

After checking in, we walked around downtown and found an interesting ...

... very unique. The Hofkirche church had 28 giant statues guarding Maximilian’s cask, and the inside of the church was very unusual. We preferred Innsbruck to Salzburg in terms of scenery and atmosphere but enjoyed both.

We decided to leave Innsbruck and find a campsite close to the castles in Germany that we wanted to see the following day. The campsite that we found near the castles looked promising, but on our way we found ...

... cheesy dish that were divine!! Definitley some of my favorite food of the trip. The river is really beautiful that runs through town, and I had picnics along the banks both during the day and at night. I really felt at home in Austria; something about it reminded me of Tennessee and the simplicity of life in beautiful natural surroundings. I hope to return someday!!

... on the expensive attractions. The stuff we knew we wanted to see would have cost at least 30€ anyways so then we could keep seeing more stuff for free! If we would have paid for everything individually, it would have cost close to 65€, but we only paid half that! We were pretty proud of that fact.

We took the bus from the train station to the hostel, or at least the closest stop to our hostel. It wasn't too far. We were able to check in ...

... added November 14, 2008) Isn't that so Canadian of me? Not "I'd totally win the Olympic shopping event", but rather "I'd place top 10". Yup. I came. I saw. I was just glad to have a chance to come out and participate with all of these great competitors and take in the amazing atmosphere... :) Highlight of day 2 in Salzburg? I ...

... super cold and it was raining L. I had just one day or rather half a day in salsburg and there was so much to do. I wanted to take the Sound of Music tour and also wanted to see Salzburg. The sound of music tour lasts for 4 hours so if I took that there will be no time for anything else. So, I decided to take the bus to city centre and walk around in the old town. I saw Mozart's house, The residenz and the Fortress. The residenz is truly magnificent. It takes you back in ...

... I sat and watch them for about half an hour and took off. The rest of the day was filled with just walking the streets and seeing what was out there. Since I started late, my sight seeing was done early. The next day I was much more motivated. The girls in the room were trying their hardest to convince me to tag along on the Sound of Music Tour that they were taking that afternoon. I kindly declined but wished them a really great time singing, Doe-A Deer a Female Deer, with ...