Austria is a country rich with history, beautiful places, traditions and activities that are distinct to the area. Visitors are drawn as much for the scenic beauty of this Alpine republic’s provinces as they are for splendid cities like Vienna (Wien), the historic capital, and beautiful Salzburg, birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. One of Europe’s smallest countries, Austria is predominantly a nation of upland areas and high mountains, with the Eastern Alps occupying a good 60 percent of its territory.

Trip in December 2011 | €1 = MYR4.60

First stop was Salzburg, stayed for 3 nights then took train to Vienna. From Salzburg we make a day trip to Hallstat. People says, stop by Hallstat when u are in Austria. Indeed it was a beautiful place to see and capture your great moment there. Its a small town and of course very touristy.

Day 1 Salzburg | 24 December 2015

We stayed at Best Western Plus Amedia Art Salzburg for 3 nights, double room with ensuite bathroom costs us €172 (around MYR791). One of the best hotels I’ve been to, the staff were extremely welcoming and polite. The hotel room was huge, clean and cleverly designed, which have some touch of Mozart’s music.

Location is not in the center but there are bus stops right in front of the hotel that will take you to the center or to the main station in few minutes (buses run quite frequently during the day). Nearest train station, Salzburg Gnigl is just 300 metres away.

Since we arrived hotel at night time, we only had a chance to eat dinner at the nearest eating place then back to hotel and rest.

Day 2 Salzburg | 25 December 2015

Today we spent full day in Salzburg Town. Didn’t purchase any special passes for transportation, from our hotel just hop on city bus and drop-off at Salzburg Makartplatz bus stop. From here, we start our walking tour towards to Fortress Hohensalzburg.

Places we were encountered while walking towards Fortress Hohensalzburg;

• Dreifaltigkeitskirche, Catholic Church. This building just right on your left once u stop at the Salzburg Makartplatz bus stop. This is nice Roman Catholic church in the center of Salzburg. Anyway, we didn’t go inside the church. we proceed to walking to the next places of interest. 

• Mirabellgarten ( Mirabell Gardens). A beautiful formal garden but only once the flowers have bloomed. Until then it’s just a bit bland and waiting for late spring/summer. Visit during winter, only few flower can be seen here. Mirabell Gardens is one of the most important shooting locations from the famous Hollywood musical “The Sound of Music”. In the film, Maria and the children dance around the Pegasus Fountain in front of the palace, singing the song “Do Re Mi”.
• Mirabell Palace. Mirabell is a woman’s name from Italy, a compilation of two words: mirabile “admirable” and bella “beautiful”. Mirabell Palace and Angel Staircase open daily from 8 am-6 pm and admission is free.

• After that we walked towards the Salzach river and enjoy the riverview of Salzburg. As your eyes roam across the city of Salzburg, it’s almost as if you are leafing through the pages of a fairy tale.

Day 3 Hallstatt | 26 December 2015

Today we make a day trip to Hallstatt, 75km from Salzburg. Catch a bus to Bad Ischl Bahnhof (Bus terminal) about 1 hour, then you’ll have to transfer to a train. Then get off the train at Hallstatt Station and take a ferry across the lake. This route will take you past some of the most scenic lakes of the Salzkammergut.

Day 4 Vienna | 27 December 2015

Early morning catch a train to Vienna, 2hour 30min journey. Our initial plan was skip Vienna from our itinerary. Since direct train to Prague was canceled and changed to new route which is stop at Vienna first then connecting train to Prague, why not we detour in Vienna. It’s like we have won a jackpot!.

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