Weekend in Salzburg, Austria

This past weekend (my first weekend in Germany) I traveled to Salzburg, Austria to meet a dear friend from Albuquerque who just happened to be on a work assignment in Vienna, Austria. Megan and I hopped on our respective trains Saturday morning and met in Salzburg around 11 AM. 

This is the German train station in Munich, also known as the Hofbaunhof. The train is such a great way to travel, and quick; 1.5 hours from Munich to Salzburg. I found myself relaxing on the train and I realized this was the first time I had really done so since arriving in Munich.

Let me introduce you to Megan. She is awesome: articulate, beautiful, smart, well-traveled and fluent in German. Traveling with her was such a joy. We hadn't seen each other in quite a few months and it quickly became apparent that we had a lot of catching up to do. I loved connecting with Megan and talking about everything from relationships, to German culture and its nuances, to jet lag. At this point, I had been in Germany about 4 days and was really fighting jet lag. For me, jet lag means insomnia. We decided that we'd fight the insomnia by walking -- and did we ever! Thirteen miles Saturday and 7 miles Sunday. I slept like a baby both nights. 

We stayed at this great little bed and breakfast on the outskirts of Salzburg, called Haus Christine. It was a fabulous value at 21 euros per night, including breakfast. They even had a sweet cat named Oscar (which made me miss my cat Lily all the more). It's very cloudy in all my pictures and the weather hovered around 40 degrees Fahrenheit the entire weekend. Spring has been late in this region of Europe as cold air is still coming from Russia. They say that Spring is a good 2-3 weeks late this year. 

This fortress, built in 1077, is called the Hohensalzburg Castle and overlooks Salzburg. It's hard to see in this picture but the surrounding region is mountainous, which makes the city even more charming. We took a footpath above the city Sunday morning which allowed us to see great views of the city. You can also take this elevator called the funicular.

The buildings very well taken care of and copper roofs are gorgeous. Salzburg was a fabulous town to visit -- and I can't wait to take another day trip there, hopefully next time when the sun is shining. 

Next up -- life in Munich, my apartment and food!