Grüß Graz

The Trapp family dances around this fountain in "The Sound of Music."


This is the view of Salzburg at night from the fortress.

Wow, what a trip.

Salzburg, Austria is such a beautiful city with so much to see that it is impossible to see everything in only three days. Unfortunately three days was all I got since I was with the class group.

We got there Wednesday afternoon and walked around for a while. That evening we went to a Mozart performance that was held in the fortress overlooking the city. The musicians were amazing.

I did not realize that it would be a dress-up event so I was grossly under dressed the entire time with an "Indiana Basketball" t-shirt and jeans. (Remember: Mozart equals dress up.)

Thursday we had an entire day to explore the city. We started at Schloss Hellbrunn on the outskirts of the city. Hellbrunn was simply amazing. Besides a castle, there is also a beautiful garden and even a zoo. After lingering in the garden for about an hour, we went to the zoo.

I am not a fan of zoos, but this zoo was amazing since the entire time we had great views of the Alps on the horizon.

Friday was our last day in the city and I spent much of the day with the two associate instructors walking around the city. The coolest thing that I saw was the Schloss Mirabell gardens.

In 1965 a few scenes from "The Sound of Music" were filmed in the Mirabell gardens. "The Sound of Music" continues to be a big tourist draw for the city. While in Salzburg, I saw several "Sound of Music Tours." These tours visited several places in the city that appeared in the 1965 musical.

Salzburg's other claim to fame is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart was born in the heart of Salzburg in January 27, 1756. The house where he was born is now a museum.

For the most part, Salzburg was a good trip. The city is beautiful and the people are nice.

The only downside to the Salzburg trip was the youth hostel where we stayed. It sucked. Quiet hours are supposed to start at 10 p.m., but it was not enforced because screaming girls could be heard throughout the night. It seemed more like a playground than a hostel.

Labels: Salzburg

Budapest looking down the Danube river past the parliament building

Budapest was nice. The citizens of Budapest are another story.

During our time in Budapest, it seemed like we were treated like crap at every restaurant. I did not figure it out until later, but there is a 15% "service charge" on all food. That means they can treat their customers like crap and still get paid.

When I found this out, I quit tipping the rude waitresses and waiters.

The one exception to this was the personnel at the youth hostel where we stayed. The staff was very friendly and ready to ask any questions we had about the city. They even made a few suggestions on landmarks we should see in the city.

The hostel its self was very nice. Although the building it was located in looked like it had just endured WWII carpet bombing, the inside was very nice and clean. We even had a balcony where we set and watch the street below. My first hostel experience was a very positive one.

In the end, I felt as though we only scratched the surface of Budapest. There is just so much to see and do that it would take more than 3 days to see it all.

When in Budapest, I highly recommend a night cruise on the Danube river. Budapest at night is simply amazing.

Besides the people, the other low point of the trip was the train ride to and from Budapest. On the way there we had to move for some reason and the group ended up in thirty different compartments. Yesterday on the way back, we ended up again in thirty different compartments because we did not reserve our seats.

Europe is definitely different from America. In America you buy a ticket and you have a seat. The same is not the case in Europe. In all I was very disappointed with the train system and I do not recommend traveling by train when in Europe.

Fly or rent a car; at least when you buy a ticket you are guaranteed a seat.

Labels: Budapest