So I finally made it to Patrick’s in Italy! This past week has been so busy travelling with limited internet, so now I can post a bit about Austria.
From Zurich, it took us nearly 6 hours by train to Salzburg, but the view was incredble! We loved the Alps, all coated in snow looking like something out of a fairytale, so the journey wasn’t too much of a hardship. And Salzburg itself is simply lovely! We had light snow when we arrived, and the city was blanketed in white. On our first full day we visited the Residenceplatz state rooms, and went up to the fortress overlooking the city. It was -6 degrees and our cheeks were pink from the cold, but the view was worth it!
Our new joke is to try and speak ‘German’, which basically involves us saying ‘Jasmin/Sharon, now mit (insert random object here)’. E.g. Jasmin, now mit fortress! So we’re slowly learning! We also spent a lot of time at the Christmas markets there, where we heard carols and ate yummy food. Speaking of food, we found a great chain store called My Indigo which did delicious curries for 6 euros, so we ate there twice for dinner and once for lunch!
The next morning we checked out and went to the old city to see Mozart’s birthplace. Jasmin pretended to throw food at the seagulls and I got this shot – talk about teamwork! Definitely one of the best from the trip so far.
After seeing the Mozart house (and his original child-sized violin), we left for Vienna. Our train was unexpectedly delaye, so Jasmin organised new tickets for us and we eventually made it! Eva met us on the platform and we met Anna Maria for dinner at a local Chinese place (yum!). In the morning, Jasmin and I went to the Schonbrun Palace (another freezing cold day), and toured the rooms where Marie Therese had held court, and where Marie Antoinette had grown up. The gardens were stunning in the snow, but I have never been more cold in my life!!! We were exposed to the wind, but took photos bravely!
We met Eva and Anna Maria for lunch (Wiener schintzel!), and by the time we’s finished it was dark, so we wandered around the city. We were amazed when the snow started to fall – it was exactly as I’d imagined snow, in clumps of little snowflakes that you could see! It was so perfect that we forgot about how cold it was and just enjoyed the beauty of it.
We walked past the main cathedral in Stephensplatz, the Parliament and City Hall, where there was a huge Christmas market (which Jasmin and I went back to 2 days later).
The second day was pretty much spent shopping (after moving Jasmin to a new hotel because her flight was cancelled), and in te evening we went to see the Vienna Hofburg Orchestra perform pieces by Mozart and Straus. They were so cool, making jokes with the audience, and at the end, we couldn’t get the Waltz of the Blue Danube out of our heads!
Our last day was spent seeing the city sights by daylight, then having lunch which turned into dinner at Eva’s place with Karl (her boyfriend), Anna Maria and Suzanne (their friend who I’d actually met in Japan). We ate Kaiserschm… (I can’t actually remember the full name) and strudel (YUM), then spend the night watching Chaser’s on YouTube!
In the morning Jasmin and I went to the airport and said goodbye – she flew to London and I went to Milan, where I caught 3 trains to reach Rovereto! From what I’v seen, this is a beautiful place! It was soooo lovely to see Patrick again after all these years, and to finally meet his family. I saw the historical centre of the city today (it was raining but not too cold), and spent this evening looking at Katrin and Bruno’s wedding photos with them. It’s getting late so I’l put up a couple more photos and write again later. Night!
