As I sit on the train, which is taking me back to Bonn, and
my spring break comes to a close, I can’t help but reminisce about the amazing
cities we visited and the awesome sights we saw. Lucky for me, I got a special visitor from the
States to come and travel with me. Many of you have probably seen some of my
Instagram and Facebook posts, but my girlfriend got to come and
travel Europe with me. We weren’t sure it was going to happen, but we made it
work! Both Katie and I share a love for travel and exploring new places, so
when we knew this trip was going to happen, we were so excited!
Rendezvous in Prague
After over two months of long distance, dropped calls, and
me failing at communicating enough, we were finally reunited in Prague. What a
beautiful city it is! We stayed in an area called Stare Mesto (Old Town), which
was in walking distance of almost everything. The first day, we got to walk
around a bit and see some beautiful buildings and churches in Prague.
The next day, we took a free walking tour of the city, which
was great and extremely informative. We got to learn a lot about the city and
it’s history, which was right up Katie’s alley. Throughout the tour, the tour
guide would begin talking about something and Katie would turn to me and
predict the certain event or person she was talking about. Then a couple
seconds later, the tour guide would say that event or name. Interesting fact
about Prague: Hitler loved the city so much that he made sure there would be no
reason for the Allies to bomb the city. Thus, most of the city buildings were
not damaged during World War II. Even though Mozart was not born in Prague, he
loved the people of the city. After receiving a thirty-minute standing ovation
in Prague at the end of one of his pieces, he decided that the people of Prague
appreciated his music much more than the Austrians. So the point of the story
is that we got to go to the opera house, the Estate Theater, where he received
this standing ovation and see Don Giovoni, one of the longest running
operas (since the early 1700s). For
Katie’s first opera, this was an awesome one to get to see.
The next day, we hiked over to the new town to see St.
Vitus’s Cathedral and Prague Castle. Check out the pictures of the great view
we had of the city. After dinner that night, we went to an awesome jazz bar
that was in an underground stone cellar. The musicians were incredible and the
jazz was great. Being music lovers, this was definitely a highlight of our time
in Prague!
The next day, we did some more exploring and, among other
things, walked across Charles Bridge. When it was first built, Charles Bridge
was the only connection Prague had between Old Town and New Town. It is such a
beautiful piece of history! We also made a stop to visit “the John Lennon wall.”
This wall has graffiti art all over it, dedicated to Lennon and his stance on
peace. There was a street musician playing a variety of different songs, our
favorite being “Here Comes the Sun,” Another thing Katie and I love to do is
people watch, so after seeing the bridge and the wall in New Town, we found a
beautiful park on the river, sat on a park bench, and enjoyed the rest of our
day. There were dogs running around everywhere, playing catch with their
owners. There were children riding bikes and scooters. There were old couples
on afternoon strolls. Let’s just say, it was a great park. Since it was our
last night in Prague, we went to a nicer restaurant right on the river where we
had some Czech wine and delicious food. Katie won (as she almost always does)
on her food selection. She got a duck risotto with pumpkin and it was heavenly.
Salzburg is Alive with the Sound of Music
Our trip to Salzburg started out with a slight hiccup. I
actually got the train time wrong and we ended up getting to the train station
right as our train was leaving. Luckily, there was another train leaving in a
few hours, so I got some studying in and Katie got to nap for a bit. After
finally getting into Salzburg, we grabbed a quick bite to eat in a great little
Austrian restaurant where Katie won again, but this time in her beer selection.
She got a dark wheat beer that was DELICIOUS!
We also stayed in the Old Town of Salzburg, so we were
located right in the center and within walking distance of most attractions.
Luckily, Salzburg is a smaller city so everything is reasonably close. Our
first full day started out with a great breakfast at a great little café
nearby. Now being the Sound of Music fanatics that we are, we were anxious to
go see some of the sites where the movie was filmed. First stop: Mirabell
Gardens. This was the location where the song “Do Re Mi” was shot. Again, we
found a park bench within the gardens, and imagined Julie Andrews and all of
the children dancing and singing through the gardens. That’s when I turned to
Katie and said, “Why couldn’t we have been casted as Von Trapp children?” We
asked ourselves this question so many times throughout the trip. Afterwards,
Katie took me on a little walking tour of the city. She had downloaded a travel
app on her phone that took us to certain locations in the city and gave a short
commentary about each specific site. Fun fact about Salzburg: it was one of the
few European cities that did not experience a plague epidemic due to their
access to clean water from the Alps (they would wash the city streets every
Thursday with this water). We visited Salzburg Cathedral, the old Prince
Archbishop’s Residence, the new Prince Archbishop’s Residence, St. Peter’s Church
and its cemetery, and various other locations. We got to see the actual
cemetery where the real Von Trapp family hid from the Nazis. We also got to see
the location of the world-renowned Salzburg Music Festival (and where some of
the final scenes of the Sound of Music were shot). Unfortunately, we didn’t get
to go inside. After visiting some quaint shops around town, we decided to grab
a quick bite to eat and watch the Sound of Music (cliché, we know!). It was
crazy to see places in the movie that we had just visited. We were like kids, as
we would see something in the movie and yell, “LOOK, WE WERE JUST THERE!”
The next day was the day of the Sound of Music tour and we
were like kids headed to Disney World! It was an incredible tour and our tour
guide was hilarious. We visited different sites where the movie was filmed
including the building they used to film the back of the house and the lake
where Maria and the children fell out of a boat. We also drove by the building
they used for the front of the Von Trapp villa and Nonnberg Abbey (where the
actual Maria was a nun, not just in the movie). Another part of the tour was a
drive through the mountains and lake region outside of Salzburg, where the
majority of the opening scenes were shot (the flyover scenes). Lastly, we
visited the church where the wedding of Maria and the Captain took place in the
movie, located in a small village called Mondsee. Throughout the tour between
stops, our guide would play the movie soundtrack, which was definitely the
icing on the cake for us. This was also one the highlights of our trip!
Hallstatt Day Trip
The next day started very early (which is always hard, as
both of us are not morning people) and we headed out for a day trip to a
beautiful lake village in the middle of Austria called Hallstatt. The only way
I can kind of convey the beauty of this village is through the pictures. So if
anything, LOOK AT THE PICTURES! Even though it was a three-hour train ride
there and another three hours back to Salzburg, it was definitely worth the
travel. Interestingly enough, Nazi officers would often flee to Hallstatt after
the war ended and threw their Nazi war medals into the deep lake, in hopes of
avoiding trial for war crimes. If you ever get a chance, go to Hallstatt. It
takes a while to get there, but like I said, it was worth it.
All in all, we had an incredible week traveling Europe and
we made so many memories!
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