My IT band bothered me yesterday walking around Salzburg, so I knew I shouldn't run today, but I wanted to have my own adventure in this city in the way only running can give me. As a compromise, I rented a bike from our hotel and went out into the crisp morning to discover Austria.
I went everywhere. I rode along the river until there was no more path beside the river, and then I rode some more, navigating the bicycle lanes that were integrated into the traffic patterns of the city. I circled back and rode along down the other side too, until eventually I needed to come back to the hotel, and even then I rode right on past the hotel to squeeze in ten minutes more of landscape rushing past my eyes and breathing in the Salzburg air.
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| My bike ride adventure |
I got ready for the Sound of Music tour with a proper Austrian breakfast--cold cuts and fresh bread...yumm. our tour guide was Heidi, a sarcastic older Austrian woman. She took us out of Salzburg and through the surrounding area on a bus tour, showing us some truly spectacular scenery, including what Heidi called "the million dollar view" by the Mondee See, the headquarters for Red Bull, and more views of the Alps. She took us to see the church where Julie Andrews gets married in the movie (not the church they really got married in), the gazebo where they sing "16 Going On 17", and the lake with the back of a house used as the Von Trapp house in the movie. She also pointed out to us a path that leads to the park with the gazebo and mentioned that on the way is the gate where Julie Andrews runs by singing "I Have Confidence".
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| Heidi's "Million Dollar View" |
After stopping for a quick lunch of schnitzel on a sandwich as well as my first ever Red Bull, we were back on the bus and headed to the Red Bull Fussball Stadium for a tour. I didn't think it'd be anything particularly thrilling, but I'm happy to say it was so much cooler than I'd expected. We got to go in and see the stadium and hear about its history and a little about the team, not to mention visit the box seats, team dressing room, and come out to the pitch the way the players do! I was also slightly astounded at the lack of media advertisements around the arena...there seemed to be just one website that was advertised, and all of the Red Bull logos had been covered up because when their team doesn't play they don't advertise. I like the lack of advertisements--it wouldn't take away from the game that way. I guess Red Bulk gives them enough money that they don't need to rely on other ads.
We had a free night after dinner, so a group of us decided to climb up to the top of the castle. Wow. That's all I have to say about that. It was a steep climb, but it was well worth the effort. I'll post a picture of our view. Simply breathtaking. We were lucky enough to get up there in time to catch the sunset so that was an unexpected perk. Being here makes me wish I was with everyone I love so that we can share in the beauty together; they say a picture is worth a thousand words but there is no way it can convey the sheer awesomeness of this landscape.
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| Sunset view from top of fortress |
After climbing back down from the fortress we caught the end a Musikfestival that was happening at Mozartplatz. It was pretty cool hearing the music in German and seeing the atmosphere and all the people who came out for it.
Emily, Kelsey, Megan, and I decided to try out the sauna once we got back to the hotel. I'd never used a sauna before, so it was a pretty interesting experience...I lasted about 20 minutes. I'm not quite sure why people subject themselves to such a thing; I'd much rather just go out for a run.
Definitely a long, full day, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Until next time.
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