Salzburg, Österreich

What a ridiculously full day we had today. Visited Schloß (German for Castle, the symbol ß is actually a double 's', so the word is pronounced 'shloss') Hellbrunn, which is a 20 minute bus ride out of the center of Salzburg. Parts of 'The Sound of Music' were filmed here, and it has a delightful walking tour of the Wasserspiele (Trick Fountains) where you get squirted by unseen water fountains. Markus Sittikus, a Prince and Archbishop in Austria, had the Wasserspiele constructed to amuse the elite during their visits to Hellbrunn.

After Hellbrunn, we walked around Salzburg and checked out several attractions, including Residenz (where the ecclesiastical elite in Salzburg lived since the late 1500s) and Mozarts Wohnhaus - where Mozart lived with his family.

Salzburg has been a series of highs and lows...

High: Eating a delicious "dürüm" (kind of like shawarma - spit-roasted meat with vegetables and sauce wrapped in a thin tortilla-type bread) from the 'Kebap' shop before hopping the train to Salzburg.
Low: A stiflingly hot and noisy train ride to Salzburg.

Low: Being drenched in sweat climbing up the stairs on the side of the mountain with a heavy backpack to get to our hostel.
High: Discovering the phenomenal view of Salzburg from our bedroom window.

Low: Walking around Salzburg on a hot and humid (feels like 30 Celsius) day.
High: The Wasserspiele tour.

Other very memorable events that R. and I have shared in the past few days - drinking 1.5 L of water in a 4 hour period due to the heat, washing our clothes in the sink in our room with freezing cold water and then hanging them all over to dry off (we even have a clothesline, the room looks ridiculous), and savoring a Mozartkugel. If I can just sneak in a piece of apfelstrudel and some gelato before leaving for Slovenia on Monday morning...