the wonderful sound of music

Austria, I finally made it there this time and it's been an adventure.

I must say, the weather was terrible, but Salzbourg made it worth it so much. I took a train that lasted for 8 hours, with a transfer at Zurich. Having been deprived of sleep due to work and other things, I pretty much slept the entire way there. I got to Salzbourg around 16h, getting to my hostel in about a 15 minute walk. My hostel is:

Youth International Hostel:
Paracelsusstraße 9, 5020 Salzburg

I stayed in a 6 bed-room. It's super clean and they show the Sound of Music every day at 7pm. Breakfast is not included in the price, but it's buffet at 3,50 euros.

Right after dropping off my stuff, I made my way to Mozart's birth place. It's fairly large, 3 floors to be exact. I would have spent more time in there, but I got there at 5pm and it closed at 5:30.

No worries, because after, I spent most of the time exploring old town. And subsequently, I found this:

And had this:

Feast your eyes on an apple strudel and espresso

Love affair in a pastry. So darn delicious. If I ate this everyday, I may have a heart attack soon. After more wandering in town, I found a traditional Austrian restaurant that was fairly cheap and had a pretty filling dinner. Of course, I got back in time to the hostel for the showing for the sound of music :))

The next day, I was totally prepared for the Sound of Music tour. Recognize these?

Remember the part where the Nazi soldiers were walking right after the wedding??

Do Re Mi!

Wedding! "How do you solve a problem like Maria?"

Church with wedding scene

Von Trapp house front

"I am 16, going on 17..."

Behind the house of Von Trapp, where Maria and the kids fell in

I certainly had a swell time with this tour. I also got to see the abbey that Maria was in. In all, Salzbourg was absolutely amazing. I'd would go back again if I ever had the time.

Vienna.

Oh Vienna, I can't say I didn't like you, because I did, but I enjoyed Salzbourg more. Mostly, I did a lot of walking around and went to 3 museums: Haus der Musik *9 euros (where I got to perform in public :)), Mozart's house *8 euros , and the Jewish Museum *5 euros. (*prices for students). I would highly recommend the Haus der Musik. It is quite the experience, if you love music or just want to see how the human ear works in relations to music. Some pictures from Vienna:

St. Stephen's cathedral

Royal Hapsburg palace

trop bon

Large espresso with orange liqueur

Coffee house from the old times: Café Centrale

It snowed all of Sunday (Easter), but I still managed to see many things including mass in St.Stephan's Cathedral. I bought some Mozart chocolate and ate a ton of pastries. Well, Austria, I imagine, I'll see you quite soon in the near future.

Back to meetings, to the hectic work life. I think I need more coffee.

It's off to Lyon this weekend! I can't wait to go home.