Travel Diaries 2k15 - Part 2

On our last day in Switzerland, we took a car on rent and drove to Austria. We drove from Interlaken to Innsbruck, a six hour drive. But because we began at 5 in the evening, we reached Innsbruck at 12:30 am. During the drive from Interlaken to Innsbruck, we had to take many diversions due to rain, snow and hail! Much to our relief, we got back onto the autobahn and everything was fine from there.

The first place we visited in Austria was Innsbruck. This town isn't very big, but it sure has lots of things to do. Just about 40 km from this city, there is the Swarovski World, which is really good. They've got clouds made of Swarovski crystals, glass walls filled with the crystals , they've got a maze which when seen from a certain height looks like a hand. We really had a good time in Swarovski world. The old city is one long lane, with shops on either side. These shops mainly consist of souvenirs and alcohol. There was this restaurant called Mamma Mia, where I ate the best pesto spaghetti I've ever had. When I think of it, I still feel the taste of it in my mouth! 

Innsbruck has a few museums, great hotels and very helpful people. As we drove around Innbruck in the Hop-On Hop-Off bus, we saw residential houses which were painted in all colours possible. They took us to a point from where the whole town was visible. And the view from there was something like this.

 

Innsbruck has a huge sports centre, where people from all over the world come to train themselves and to compete. The main garden in this town, Congress, has a wide variety of trees, which grow in every direction possible. It also has a small play area for children, which is made very creatively.

During our stay here, it rained and the sky was at its colourful best. We saw rainbows, shades of blue, violet and grey in the sky. It was as if somebody has painted the sky! Our stay here was superb, although one bad thing did happen to me. I left my Favorite pair of headphones in my hotel room. But now that I think of it, it isn't such a bad thing as I've left it in one of my Favorite cities! 

Vienna. Vienna, Vienna, Vienna. I don't know where should I start from. This city has really made an impression on me. And might I add, a very good one. We stayed at "Hilton Vienna - Danube Waterfront" which has an excellent view!

We stayed in Vienna for 3 nights and during the course of our stay, we explored the city in all ways possible. We used the tourist buses for different tours of the city, we used the metro and even drove around occasionally. Vienna has this place called Marienplatz(somewhat like a city centre) which is a long lane consisting of the State Opera, a Shopping Arcade and superb eateries. Marienplatz has something for almost all age groups: for the youngsters there are many brands to shop from, for the children there are a few rides to enjoy and for the elderly there are these horse carts which offer rides around the area. 

We visited the Schonbrunne palace, which was home to Wien Royalty. This palace had numerous rooms and everything was explained to us on a microphone that we received. It was beautiful and as we were exiting the palace, we saw many newly marrieds leave the premise. We then came to know that it was also a famous wedding spot! 

We visited the Spanische Hofreitschule ( Spanish Riding School) which has Horses of Spanish Descent. The horses they have are gorgeous and of all ages. 

The other places we visited during our stay here include the Museum of Crime, the Museum of Natural History, the Museum Quartier & The Prater. We even got to see the outskirts of the city which was quite different ok the Herat of the city. 

During our stay here, we visited an outlet mall - Parndorf - a 45 minute drive from Vienna. This place is perfect for all the shopaholics who buy in bulk and are looking for reasonably priced branded products.

All in all, our stay at Vienna was just something else. Given a chance, I would definitely love to visit this city again. It was something different, not like a cliche city you'd expect to see. It was modern as well as ancient, in some ways.

The next place I was visited in Austria was a town named Salzburg. This town is famous for many reasons, one of them being that the movie - "The Sound Of Music" was shot here. 

This town is so cute, specially the area around the house where the movie was shot. There was this small but cute lake near the house which was surrounded by greenery from all sides. There is a shady area beside the lake, where people could take a stroll, or even sit and just enjoy the view. Right opposite this lake, there is a mini golf course where my brother and I played a game of golf. I lost, unfortunately :P A little ahead of this house is the Hellbrun Palace, where the Prince of Austria would get his colleagues stark drunk and then play hilarious pranks on them! The tour of this palace was a lot of fun, more so because we got a superb guide! 

The public transport in Salzburg is well organised, with buses going to almost all parts of town, each bus having a time schedule which they adhere to. There is a  bus station about 5 minutes away from the hotel we stayed at (Wyndham Grand) so we would walk it up to the bus stop every morning, to go into the central part of Salzburg. This town isn't very crowded as compared to Vienna, and the people are friendly and welcoming. 

There is this lock bridge in the centre part of town where couples put locks which each other's name on it, as a sign of love and loyalty. This lock bridge , along with a few other bridges connects both parts of Salzburg over the river that flows through this town. Salzburg has superb shopping , so much so that an entire lane is devoted to all shops of high end brands. In this lane, no cars are allowed to enter. It is strictly for pedestrians. All over the city, there are many shops which have clothes, food items, home decor and much more.

[From Salzburg, we also went to the salt mines, in Bavaria(Germany) which I will write about in my next post.]

There are many places to eat in Salzburg like Burger King, McDonalds and some superb Pizza places. The ice creams available here are cheap and have a lot of variety. Most of them are freshly made and they are utterly scrumptious! Salzburg also has a beautiful garden, called the Mirabelle Garden which has pretty Fountains and well sculpted statues. A stroll in this garden is something one shouldn't miss, when in the town of Salzburg.

Overall, Austria is a beautiful country, with amazing people and a lovely weather. One should surely visit this country at least once!