Star Inn Hotel Salzburg Zentrum

... said the first...so we went with the kids directions. Unfortunately we should have went with the internet...but we ended up finding it no problems after we got a little help from a different hostel. We checked in and went to our room...we were sooo happy to see they actually had an elevator, so we didn't have to walk the 4 flights (8 flights in Canada) to our room! We pretty much just hung around the hotel for a few hours and ...

We arrived in Salzburg at about noon after a gorgeous train ride. They might take more time, but trains are definitely worth it to see some of the countryside you're traveling through. After a quick walk from the train station, we discovered our hostel, Yoho International: "easy to find, hard to leave." That was pretty accurate. After dropping off all our stuff, we walked to the city center – whoa. You might know ...

... a whole of 45mins, which definitely did not seem long enough. Even though we both despise the 'Sound of Music' (apparently the hostel in Salzburg shows it 3 times a day!), it would have been nice to be in Salz longer than a quick stop. Must make sure we go there next time....

Having said that, we have an interesting fact, that we learnt from our lovely tourguide, that we'd like to leave you with...

Apparently you can dissolve 3 times the lethal amount of salt in ...

... our heads gave us a clue that we need not be in fear of our lives (despite the fact that another 20 or so explosions had followed the first!) When we finally tracked down the source of all the noise it was to find local lads (many aged) in traditional dress firing some sort of ? antique basooka. A festival of some sort was on!
The castle had the usual array of cute stone buildings, an unusual sundial on a wall, a ...

... to munch on that he thought was absolutely fantastic.

Declan decided he wanted to see the Modern Museum and the Toy Museum, but we spent so much time at the modern museum her didn't get a chance to see the Toy Museum.

The Modern museum is absolutely fantastic, with heaps of interactive displays about pretty much anything from the prehistoric era (with lifesize dinosaurs that move and roar at you (if you are on ...

... had very good food and a nice atmosphere, except for the overwhelming smoke stench. We are no longer used to smoky environments and most of Europe has curtailed smoking in restaurants so we were a little surprised to see that in Austria it's still allowed. We enjoyed our meal, anyway, and lingered a bit over beers. Afterwards, it was a short walk back to the hotel where we all crashed until 9:30am the following day!

... pretty wrecked and made our way back to the hostel for a nap. We probably would have slept through but Chris dragged us out of bed and out to find dinner. We managed to get a table at a cosy little Austrian diner, and had a great dinner. After this we swung by a service station to buy some beer (God Bless Europe), and spend the night having a few quiet Steigl Goldbreau´s. This morning we got up early, had some breakfast ...

... also found it dull. The only item of interest in the little house was a tiny violin on which the little prodigy had composed the opera La Traviata when just two hours old. We recrossed the river and, to my joy, stumbled upon the Mozart Wohnhaus where the Mozart family used to live. This was more to Margaret's liking, being well presented, full of pictures of the eighteenth century Liberace and almost literally papered with his scores and newspaper clippings. I found ...

August 26-Monday
We left Kitzbuhel at 8:30. There was a brief stop in Berchtesgarden, in Germany, at 10:00. Up on the side of the mountain, we could see Hitler's Eagle’s Nest. It was rather chilling to see that part of history. The bunker is now a restaurant. Our rest stop overlooked a valley filled with wonderful homes. What a view! Back on the bus and on to Salzburg. Time 10:35.

... The bunker is now a restaurant. Our rest stop overlooked a valley filled with wonderful homes. What a view! Back on the bus and on to Salzburg. Time 10:35.

The scenery all along the drive was just unbelievable. I cannot adequately describe what I was seeing and feeling. I did not want to take any pictures through the bus window because I was afraid that they would not do the view ...