Salzburg, Austria – done in 24 hours

I’m not sure if it was the excitement of arriving to a new place or the unmarked streets, but this place was a bit tricky to maneuver around. I don’t think we came to an intersection that had any 90 degree angles, but that just added to the character of this city. Stores built into sides of mountains, caves sitting outside of castles and uneven stone work has an enchanting look to it.

Most of the following pictures were taken from the car as we entered the city and swerved in and out of traffic, pedestrians, one way streets and bike paths.

This photo was taken during an uproar of laughter as we had circled the same path over and over looking for a way out. We finally came to a stop light that would lead us in the correct direction and as we approached our ever so desired right turn, we saw this. All of those signs are shouting, “you will not turn here!”, Hilarious!

After completing the maze of Salzburg, we spotted out a long strip of walkable streets and thought we’d give it a try.
The ambiance through here gave us both the feeling of “the holidays”. All of a sudden I had the craving for a hot beverage, a blanket and the sound of family and friends talking of old times by the fire.
The neatest part of the is quaint city is all of the hidden passage ways. If you blinked you may miss a minature doorway, or tiny alley leading to another road with more hidden paths. We decided to take a chance and see where it led…an open market, score!

To the 100% success rate of finding an Irish pub in every country… Austria, check!

Inside this pub looked like a scene from a movie. Small little arches decorated with stone and wooden columns, tiny chairs surrounding rock blocks and tall tables coming out of the ancient walls.

We stopped in to rest the feet and on our way out, Marshall says a simple hello to a girl sitting by herself. The smile that illuminated from this kind woman was felt instantly and then it began…

Meet Niki, she’s from Budapest, which happens to be one of our destinations on this road trip! What a great opportunity to get some suggestions from a local. Here are some snap shots from our evening that started with a hello and ended dancing till the sun was peaking over the castle on the hill.

Jay is the name of the gentleman next to me. He’s from Boston and added even more of a great vibe to the evening. I do believe he was the one that pointed out that we were in Austria, listening to American classic rock, watching euro futbol, in an Irish pub with a Hungarian and Belgium being served by a bartender from New Zealand. How much fun is that?!

By the end of the night sweet Niki had invited us to stay at her place when we get to Budapest and she would show us the local side of Hungary… Priceless!

The morning brings us stretched out in our car-o-accomidation with the idea of a quick hike before we depart for our next stop.

Real quick story: we wanted to climb to the top of this hill that had almost 400 stair steps and a stretch of hills. Remember the tricky roads? Well, trying to find a parking spot near the bottom was not looking possible. Through Marshall’s “Bond” moves, we find an open lot that had no signs. Were we legally allowed to park here… Would they tow our car?

After 30 seconds of debating the consequences, we both smiled and said “Let’s do this!”. Forget the casual hike to the view point, we have a time limit now to prevent the car from being locked up on the back of a monster truck. I truly wish there would have been a film crew following this 8 minute trek that should of been a peaceful hour of panoramic views.

To give you the best idea of this event, I’ll post every attempt to capture a view while sprinting up hill weaving in-between tourist. When viewing these pics, try to imagine the sound of “happy” coming from us, you know, the kind of laughter that force your eyes to water while searching for your next breath.

A sprint back down the hill and off we go. Next stop… Vienna!