Ein Tagesausflug nach Salzburg

It’s Thursday and it’s a toss up between going to Innsbruck or Salzburg. Both are just over the border in Austria. I decide on Salzburg because it‘s closer and I have left it a bit late for Innsbruck. But also, there is a big ski jump tournament happening in Innsbruck today and tomorrow; I expect the trains and the city would be busy.

I walk to Munich Hauptbahnhof. It looks like it snowed a little overnight, but not much. I get to the station at 0822 and buy my ticket. Although the Bayern-ticket does cover across the border into Salzburg, it’s not valid until 0900 and my train leaves at 0856. I don‘t want to risk it. As I‘m still early I buy a delicious Rosinschnecke (raisin snail shaped pastry).

The train departs on time at 0856, calling at München Ost, Rosenheim, Bad Endorf, Prien am Chiemsee, Burnau am Chiemsee, Übersee, Bergen, Traunstein, Teisendorf and Freilassing. From Rosenheim there is a lovely old lady sitting next to me who tells me about where to go in Salzburg.

The train arrives at Salzburg at 1042. I decide to make my way to the river. It’s been snowing and the footpaths and roads are icy. It‘s quite treacherous and I have to watch my step and slow down. I don’t have specific plans other than visiting the large fortress on a hill in the town. Everywhere is quite crowded with tourists so I decide to head straight for the fortress. There is a long queue for the funicular railway up the side of the hill, so I decide to walk. It only takes about 15 minutes.

I walk around the fortress. It‘s very interesting, but I‘m mainly there for the views. After a long wait, I get my turn to walk around the insides and up to the tower. The view is spectacular, but the wind is icy cold. I have left my gloves off to take photos and they are freezing. But it‘s worth it. I take my time taking in the panoramic views and taking quite a few photos.

After a bit more walking it’s time to head home. This time there isn‘t a queue for the funicular railway so I take the very quick ride down. I make my way back to the station through some more lovely streets. The train departs at 1415. I‘m feeling quite sleepy now and doze off for a couple of stations. As we get nearer to Munich the cloud cover is breaking a little and I get to see the snow dusted fields in better light