Salzburg, Austria (part 2)

The best thing about Salzburg is its alpine setting. The closest peak is only a few kilometers from the center. When we were nearing the city we were all oohs and aahhs at the breathtaking view of the mountains.

This photo was taken from "Festung Hohensalzburg." The view gets better and better as you climb higher and higher. Prague also has a magnificent view of the city from the castle. If you take away the Alps and put red color on the roofs, the view would be more or less the same. But Salzburg does have the Alps and this alone gives it an edge from other beautiful European cities.

To quote A, "Mozart is so omnipresent here." From chocolates to magnets, he is indeed everywhere in Salzburg. The house where he was born is well preserved and was swarmed by tourists when we passed by. We also passed by his monument (in pic) on our way to the fortress. There were benches in this square and lots of flowers in their full glory.

For Christmas addicts like me, this city is the place to shop for ornaments. Yes, they have a shop called "Christmas in Salzburg" and it's open all year round. It has everything you could ever imagine buying-- angels, stars, wreaths, they've got it all. They also ship your orders if you want them to. A few meters from "Christmas in Salzburg" is "Easter in Salzburg." Eggs with intricate designs, bunnies, anything you want for Easter, they have it there as well.

The old town has stores where you could shop till you drop. I didn't shop because everything was drop-dead expensive for me. I just bought a magnet for our fridge, which is a current hobby-- adorning it with magnets from our trips abroad.

Now you know where to shop. But where to stay?

There are lots of hotels, hostels or pension houses in the city depending on your budget. We ended up at this pension house right smack in the center, just a few minutes walk from the old town. I forgot its name but it doesn't matter. I wont recommend it anyway. The price was only 46 euros for two people and we thought ok, that's affordable considering its location. But dang, in our room the floorboard creaked on each step, the bed squeaked loudly each time we moved even just a teeny tiny bit, and since we were very near the cathedral, we were at the mercy of its churchbells. They rang every 15 minutes ending at 10pm and waking us up at 5am.

So what's my verdict? With its beauty and charming people, it's hard not to heart Salzburg.