Recently, while visiting one of my best friends in Linz, we took a day trip to Salzburg using our Interrail passes, because…why not?! Though we didn't visit many of its most famous attractions, we did have some lovely vegan food, walk along the beautiful river and generally enjoy the atmosphere. This, I have realised, is probably my favourite way to experience a city, whether I've been there a dozen times before or it's brand new to me: pick a food destination and then wander around, mostly without an aim!
Pin this post!
We arrived, greeted by the nearby mountains and a beautifully blue sky. Just walking down the unremarkable streets from the train station into town, the colours were so brilliant. It was almost too much!
We headed towards the Salzach river that flows through the city, and wandered along its banks for a while, finding shade where we could. I was reminded why I love Austria in summer so much!
In the old town, the signs advertising almost every shop, restaurant or other business caught my eye. I guess these are indeed something Salzburg is quite famous for, and along Getreidegasse, perhaps the most touristy street (Mozart was born there), it was quite obvious. Many are very elaborate, with different metals worked together to form the overall piece, but it was the simpler ones I liked best.
We then found ourselves heading towards the Mirabell Gardens, made famous by the Sound of Music, and attached to the palace of the same name. Pristinely manicured, it's almost frightening how beautiful it is! The naked, wrestling Greco-Roman style statues are a nice touch, too.
Finally, time for food, we ended up at our main destination: Heart of Joy, a vegetarian café and restaurant with many vegan options. There was soup, curry, sandwiches, salad and of course…cake!
Certainly there is more to see in Salzburg than this, but for a short day trip, this felt like enough for me. Call me a lazy traveller, perhaps: I'm OK with that.
Have you been to Salzburg? What was your favourite thing about the city?
