A Perfect 8 Hours in Salzburg
A morning train from Munich wisps you through the greening fields of Bavaria, eventually offering a peak at the Salzkammergut Mountain Range. Illuminated with seldom spring sunlight for this time of year, the dramatic rise and fall of the summits escorts you into the historic city of Salzburg, Austria. Known for its living hills, the mountain air in this Sound of Music backdrop town floats a sense of wonder overhead.
On a warm day, blooms inching out of their branches’ knuckles shout that there’s nothing to fear, spring is on its way!
Leave the train station and the river isn’t far — making it a great spot to soak in the sunshine, skip rocks, admire the architectural view, and breathe a breath of gratitude.
Meander along the well paved banks of the Salzach, dusted with trees that offer shade, although if you’ve been living in Central Europe for the preceding winter, you’ll want as much direct sunlight as you can get. Crossing at Marko-Feingold-Steg guides your feet where thousands have gone before to strap engraved locks to every open surface of the bridge’s fences.
On the other side, a food market offers Austrian baked classics, meats, cheeses, and fresh produce. It’s worth a stop to nourish any hunger. A large box of local strawberries will only set you back around five Euros and last your day. The church square’s pathways lead like veins through a being, and will spit you out in front of the Fernbahn funicular that shuttles passengers up to Salzburg’s historic Festung Hohensalzburg (Hohensalzburg Fortress). Take the lift, or walk a few hundred meters up the steep hill and enjoy a captivating view of the city from an 11th century fortress.
If history is your jam, the fortress and its museum offer a look inside the walls of this imposing structure. Otherwise, a walk around its exterior wont disappoint. Taking the high pathway instead of returning down, I nearly missed the best view of the day. Peeking through an arched driveway shocked with an unmissable view of the mountains.
Festung Hohensalzburg impresses with memories of empire, but Untersberg mountain and its lower neighbors will flood your heart with an intangible impression of eternity and composure. These mountains lean over Salzburg with their sharp peaks poking above town, visible from all angles.
Quaint staircases and narrow walkways wind downwards towards the center of the city. Cohesive aesthetics of architecture on all sides open to the Salzach again, where views of green hills teetering on the ledge of spring-lushness greet your gaze. Staying near the water fills my heart with joy, and on a nice day in Salzburg, I can almost guarantee it will yours, too.
Kaffee Alchemie doesn’t flash for attention, but stop in to take a sip of Austrian coffee culture if you haven’t already. The stylish baristas and propagating plants light an already cozy space. The gently made coffee leaves little to be desired.
Today’s not a day to stay inside, so cross the river and find a sloping space of the grassy banks with the locals. Do as they do and grab an Aperol or beer at a nearby cafe, or just bask in pure sun and air. I’d recommend staying here awhile, observing, enjoying, being. There’s no rush ahead, only the joys of spring and the undeniable drug of sunlight.
When it’s time to stretch your legs, the steep staircase leading up to Kapuzinerberg observation deck will remind you how old cities are chronological collages; buildings wind around each other and crevices are filled, slowly, until streets wind and staircases traverse the oldest of the structures. Don’t forget to look up, you might miss the Mozart-rubber-duck tree. Yes, the Mozart-rubber-duck tree.
When you’ve worked up an appetite, there’s no reason not to wander towards the beer gardens and cafes under the cliffside Modern Art Museum. Joseph Brot makes incredible pastries and sells overpriced tinned fish and glass jars of kimchi — naturally, it’s adorable.
As the sun lowers, Mozart’s house and Mirabell’s Palace are on the way back to the train station if you want another sight crossed off the check-list.
If not, the pinking sky is a sight enough on its own, worth a moment of witness before the train departs.