One of the top reasons we travel is to eat! Yes, you heard that right! Food is an expression of the culture of the place. When you eat a dish at its place of origin in its original form, it is usually delicious and worth travelling all the way there! While Austria may not be a foodie’s destination, there are some really good gems there if you find the right places. Here are some of the best dishes we had during our trip.
Apple strudel (Apfelstrudel)
We had never heard of this dish before we visited Austria. After a long walk through Salzburg town, we walked into a bakery that looked very inviting. And we picked the item that looked the most delicious – the apple strudel.
The first bite (as is usually the case with new dishes) was tentative – it had a crispy outside, the inside was warm and mushy with the sweetness of apple and spice of cinnamon. Within moments it melted in the mouth! We’ve had many trips and countless dishes after that but that apple strudel is still one of the highlights! A must-eat if you are visiting Salzburg. And we recommend trying it at a local family-run place instead of the big bakery chains.
Wiener schnitzel
One of the most famous dishes in Austria and counted among the “national dishes”, the schnitzel is actually quite a simple meal. It is basically a thin slice of meat (usually chicken or veal) that is pounded, breaded and fried. It is usually served with a side of salad with a vinaigrette dressing, potatoes and a slice of lemon.
Luckily the ones we had were good, but there is always a risk of the meat being too dry. So, look for a good place and head there for an authentic experience.
Pizza
Pizza in Austria? If your trip doesn’t include Italy and you happen to be near the Italian border (Innsbruck, Tirol and even up to Salzburg), then you can find plenty of authentic Italian pizza places. On our first night at Salzburg, we found a small restaurant in the neighbourhood where we stayed and were mind-blown.
Cafes in Vienna
Vienna has a strong cafe culture and you can find plenty of them while walking around the city. We specifically wanted to visit Cafe Sperl as we had read about it during our pre-trip research. It was beautiful inside with warm lighting and we managed to get the cozy seats near the window. Sitting there in that cafe from 1880, we felt like we were transported back in time. We ordered Wiener schnitzel, Viennese cold coffee, a “tall brauner” (double mocha) and a cheesecake while we soaked in the atmosphere.
Check out our complete itinerary for Austria here. If you enjoy reading our blog, do leave your thoughts in the comments section below. Your comments keep us going!
In our experience of travelling, Austria was one of the easiest to plan transits between cities. Everything was online and even while we were there, it was easy to find our way thanks to the readily available maps. We entered Austria from Prague by train and started our trip at Salzburg.
Travelling in Austria – Buses
Austria has a really good network of buses. For our travel from Salzburg to St. Gilgen and beyond, we took the local Postbus service. For long distance travel, you can check Flixbus (https://global.flixbus.com/) and GetbyBus (https://getbybus.com/en/) who are aggregators. Do check out the ratings and reviews of the operator to make sure you pick the right bus for your travel. They can charge you for heavy luggage, so keep change handy. But we would recommend the trains which are very efficient and fast.
Travelling in Austria – Train
You can get details of the Austrian train service OBB on their website here (https://www.oebb.at/en/). The trains are clean, fast and efficient. Booking tickets is easy and we had a very smooth experience. We booked on OBB for our trip from Bad Ishcl to Hallstatt, Salzburg to Vienna and Vienna to Budapest.
Other Tips
Make sure you keep enough buffer between transfers in your journey so that you don’t miss out on a bus/train. It is always better to reach a place early than deal with the frustration of missing a connection.
We always recommend making your bookings atleast a week or two in advance to ensure that you get a seat (preferably, a reserved seat). Also, advance bookings can get you some good deals! Keep your eye out for these.
Where to Stay
If you have checked out our Croatian blog, you would have come across our Golden Rule – to have our stay close to the main attractions while having access to the transit systems. The access part is kept at higher priority as it is convenient when you’re moving in/out with your luggage. We found it very convenient everywhere in Austria as the cities have been designed with great connectivity.
Salzburg: We stayed at Hotel Turnerwirt which was less than 3km from the city centre. There was a bus stop very close to the hotel and was at walking distance from the Salzburg Gnigl station.
Salzkammergut: We made our base at St. Gilgen as it gave us a nice central location to plan our day trips. There are many lovely homestays in St. Gilgen and we stayed at one called Eislbauerhof which had a really nice view of the lake and the entire valley.
Vienna: There are a lot of places to pick from in Vienna. We stayed at an Airbnb with the only criteria that it was very close to a metro station (mainly because we were staying just for one night). Had we planned for a longer stay, we would have picked something close enough to the palaces and museums.
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The capital of Austria, Vienna is also considered a hotspot for art and culture in the whole of Europe. With beautiful palaces, museums where you could spend days exploring, operas, musical shows and old coffee shops, Vienna has a lot to offer everyone who visits.
Vienna was the last stop in our Austria trip. It was a short stay – just one day. We arrived at the Vienna train station from Salzburg and left most of our luggage in a locker there – we had to be back the next day for our train to Budapest, so it didn’t make sense to carry all our luggage around the city.
We picked up a 24-hour travel pass and took the metro to Schwedenplatz, which was the starting point of the Ring tram. We picked up some sandwiches, sat on a bench and made our plan for the day. We had a couple of must-do items on our list which we had to fit into our route and the rest depended on our mood and energy levels. As we got to the end of our sandwiches, we had decided to skip the Ring tram and instead do a walking tour. We took the metro to Stephansplatz where we started our walk. Our first stop was the St. Stephan’s Cathedral – a beautiful and imposing Gothic style building with huge pillars inside.
We continued our walk behind the cathedral to Mozarthaus (yes, he had one here as well in addition to the ones in Salzburg and St. Gilgen. We kept walking past the Trinity Column and St. Peter’s church.
The Trinity Column or Plague Column is a very interesting sculpture – made over a period of more than 10 years by various sculptors and indicating the transition to the Baroque era.
The Trinity Column
A narrow street then took us to Michaelerplatz and the famous Hofburg Palace. Built in the 13th century, this palace served as the imperial residence of the Habsburg dynasty. As we walked in, we could see many horse carriages with tourists going around the square. We skipped the Spanish riding school and went to the Imperial Treasury. The place was unlike anything we’d ever seen – dresses of knights, archdukes and kings, gold embroidery, crowns with rubies and diamonds, crown and jewels of the Holy Roman Empire, staffs embedded with jewels and even a cradle which was gifted to Napoleon II.
We then walked to the Vienna State Opera (Wiener Staatsoper) and found out that there was a performance that evening of Swan Lake. We had read on a blog that they usually gave out really cheap standing tickets right before every show – you just had to be at the right place at the right time. We asked around and found the counter – we were told to come back at 7 and we could get tickets.
Our next stop was the Natural History Museum – one of the best in the world!
The Natural History Museum in Vienna – a must-visit!
There are close to 40 halls with exhibits spread across the two floors of the museum. Each one was dedicated to a different aspect of the earth – gems, meteorites, mammals, dinosaurs, mammoths and plenty more. It reminded us of the movie “Night at the Museum” where these artifacts came to life every night (that was the American Museum of Natural History). While we spent over an hour in the museum, it still felt like too little. This is definitely one for next time.
Look out!Walking with dinosaursWhat is the first word that came to your mind – was it Hogwarts?
We were hungry by now and looked for the famous traditional Viennese cafe – Cafe Sperl. It was beautiful inside with warm lighting and we managed to get the cozy seats near the window. Sitting there in that cafe from 1880, we felt like we were transported back in time. We ordered Wiener schnitzel, Viennese cold coffee, a “tall brauner” (double mocha) and a cheesecake while we soaked in the atmosphere.
The cozy interiors of a Viennese cafeCannot visit Vienna without having a wiener schnitzel!
Stomachs full and minds refreshed, we walked to the Naschmarkt – the most popular market in town. You can find all kinds of cuisine here – Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Italian and of course, Austrian. We even found Indian spice shops there!
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It was almost 7pm and we had to rush back to the Opera to get our tickets. Thanks to the earlier visit, we knew exactly where to go and we managed to get 2 tickets for 6 euros (the normal tickets cost well over 150 euros per person!).
Yaay! We got tickets to the Opera!
As we climbed up to the third floor, we could sense the history of this place. Built in the 1860’s the opera can seat over 1700 people. The marble staircases and portraits on the walls reminded us of Harry Potter.
Some more Hogwarts? This time inside the State Opera House
We also felt out of place looking at the richly dressed people entering the premium seating area – we had worn the best set of clothes we were carrying and we were nowhere close to fitting in. We entered the standing area – we could see the entire hall shaped like a bowl with the stage on one side. The orchestra was seated at the lowest level just below the stage – there were all kinds of instruments – violins, cello, harps, you name it, it was there! The curtains slowly opened and the chattering audience instantly went silent. There were more than 50 performers and they all moved so gracefully in one fluid motion that they felt like one unit. The music transported us back to childhood when we had heard the Swan Lake track in Disney movies. The ballet dancers balanced perfectly on their toes and as they twirled round and round, we had goosebumps. I even noticed some happy tears from Nam and a few others around – it really was moving!
An experience of a lifetime!
The show paused for the interval and we decided to head back to our room. It had been a really long day starting at St. Gilgen and we had been walking all day. While our minds wanted to stay till the end of the show, our bodies needed the rest as we were only halfway into our trip. We took the tram to Schwedenplatz and the metro to Stephansplatz. For dinner, we picked up some hot dogs (the “wurst” kind). We had to take two more metro rides to get close to the Airbnb we had booked. The host had a ton of rules (he seemed a bit crazy about cleanliness) and the apartment was quite basic. Most Airbnbs we’d stayed at so far had been good without much hassle and this was our first weird experience. Thankfully we were dead tired and crashed as soon as we hit the bed.
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We woke up at our farmhouse in St. Gilgen admiring the view of the lake and mountains.
A morning view can’t get any better
We had an early start to finalize our plan for the day (yes, we do leave some things flexible till the end). It felt like a plan with a lot of dependencies but we decided to go ahead with it anyway.
After a quick breakfast, we got on the 9:10am bus to Bad Ischl. Bad Ischl is a beautiful town with a long legacy of royalty. It is more famous for being the place where Emperor Franz Joseph used to live and the place where he signed the declaration of war on Serbia (which set in motion the events leading to World War I).
We walked to the train station and bought 2 sets of tickets – one from Bad Ischl to Hallstatt and the other from Obertraun to Bad Ischl. Our train to Hallstatt arrived at 10:20am – it went along the river and then the banks of Hallstattersee. We reached the tiny station at Hallstatt right on time for the 11am ferry which would take us across the lake and to the town.
We arrived on schedule at the Hallstatt train station
The lake had a lot of swans and ducks floating around and it was a beautiful sight. We were given a heads-up by a local earlier in the day that Hallstatt would be full to the brim with Chinese tourists – apparently they were so obsessed with Hallstatt that they made a copy of the town in China! He was right! As we approached the town, we saw the iconic postcard view of the village from the ferry.
Some buildings had their private garages for boats!
We wandered around the town for a while – there were steps leading up to small pathways between the houses. After a few hundred steps, we realised that we were not headed anywhere in particular and decided to find the path to the salt mines (before the other tourists could get there).
It was fun walking around exploring the lakeside town
It was tough to pull away from just standing and admiring the beauty of the town – cute houses with blooming flowers and small balconies. The houses on the lake had garages in the water for boats to park in. But we kept moving and were right on time for the 11:30am funicular which would take us up to the salt mines.
The funicular ride was exhilarating – especially with this view
The view from up top was beautiful – we could see Hallstatt, the lake and Obertraun (another small town) on the other side.
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We hiked up the path to the entrance of the mines. On the way, we saw a few signboards – the green fields we could see around us were actually graveyards from more than 3000 years ago – over 1500 graves of the salt mining community. We also saw a pre-historic meat factory where over 150 pigs could be cured at once!
We were given a coat and pants to wear before entering the mines.
Suited up to enter the salt mines
Our guide, Lukas, led the way and off we went into the narrow tunnel. The hole grew narrow and colder – we could see the salt crystals sparkling all around us. There we were – dressed somewhat like miners and several metres below ground level inside those ancient mines. The mine was divided into many horizontals with slides connecting them.
The slides connecting the different levels of the mine
Along the way, we saw videos explaining how sea salt ended up inside the Alps in Hallstatt – an effect of continental shifts and receding seas. Around 7000 years ago, people noticed animals drinking water from the mountain and tasted the salt – and they loved the flavour! They started digging towards the salt deposits – initially with animal horns and over the years, improving to iron and bronze when the respective Ages came in. In the modern era, liquid methods are used to extract salt instead of breaking into the sides of mountains.
The salt in the hills has also helped preserve fabrics, tools and wood from this time. We saw a wooden staircase from the Bronze Age – one of the oldest well-preserved wooden structures from that period.
The pre-historic wooden staircase preserved by the salt
We were nearing the end of the tour and went down the longest slide yet – we reached a speed of 25 kmph (and got a photo as well!). We exited the mine in a small train (the kind you see in adventure movies). As we exited, we collected our souvenirs – a free box of salt! The overall tour took about 2 hours.
Now, we had to rush – we took the 2:15pm funicular down to the town. As per our calculation, we would have just missed the bus to Dachstein. Luckily, that particular day, the bus was at 2:24pm and we walked in just as the driver was preparing to leave. The drive to Dachstein Seilbahn took about 10 mins. We bought our tickets for the cable car and the ice cave (Eishohle). The 2:45pm cable car took us to the top. We then hiked up the hill – it was a beautiful forested area – thick woods with just this narrow path curving through.
Hiking up the steep path to the ice caveBenches to enjoy the view
We could see snow at the next level of the cable car – sadly we didn’t have time to go there. The 15-min walk brought us to the entrance of the cave – there were about 10 people waiting to enter as part of the next batch.
The temperature plunged the moment we entered the cave – from sweating after the steep hike in the sun to shivering! As we walked into the cave, it felt like a scene from a movie – a dark cave with a bunch of people going deeper into it. The temperature kept dropping and got to around 0 degrees celsius. We saw the grave of a bear which was found by the early explorers who had discovered the ice cave in 1910. The next level was full of ice! We were awestruck – it looked like water had been flowing through here and somebody just snapped their fingers and turned it to ice – the currents were literally etched on the ice and it was smooth and shiny.
Gigantic ice structures inside the cave
It was amazing how the ice remained even though it was so hot outside. Our guide told us that there was a tunnel effect which kept it so cold inside.
The cave was made of limestone – and here, unplanned, we crossed out a bucket-list item. Stalagmites and Stalactites! Ever since we had read about them at school, we both wanted to see them in real life – and here we were – in a frozen cave hidden among the forests in a remote part of Austria. Some of these were covered with ice shards and looked like the dangerous traps in video games which would fall down when someone is passing below. On other levels, we saw imposing ice structures over 30m tall and waterfalls that had frozen over! We then climbed up to the upper chambers where we could hear the sound of water gushing. This was the point where water would enter the mountain and freeze as it reached the lower levels. During the rainy season, the force of the water would melt some of the ice but freeze again to form additional layers – as the layers were compressed due to the pressure, it was difficult to melt. In fact, the deepest layers of ice could be up to hundreds of years old! It was really an amazing sight! We reached the exit door and our guide asked us to stay back. He had hardly unlocked it when the door went flying out due to the pressure difference!
We took the cable car back down and were right on time for the 5:20pm bus back to Hallstatt. We walked through the town, took some more pics and got on the 6:15pm ferry. The train from the Hallstatt station was at 6:32pm. We reached Bad Ischl at 7pm. Thanks to the long days, we could still explore the town in sunlight. We walked around the town and saw the river, the Kaiservilla and some of the famous hot baths.
Walking around Bad Ischl – the place where World War I was declared
The streets were beautiful and quite cute! We saw a burger stand (Borni Burger) where we ate some burgers and walked back to the bus station. We took the 8:24pm bus to St. Gilgen – this was the last bus in that direction which had a stop at St. Gilgen! It was almost empty – just three people including the two of us.
We generally plan things well during our trips but this one has to be the most precise we’ve ever been. And there was a lot of luck involved too. We managed to visit Hallstatt, the salt mines and the ice caves in Dachstein (and even found time to hike around a bit!). Everything fell in place so well that we managed to travel on the exact buses and trains that we had planned. It is also testament to the amazing accuracy of the Austrian transportation networks. Would we have loved to spend more time at each of the places we went? Yes, of course! But with the time we had, I believe we were able to make the most of it.
Once back at St. Gilgen, we sat out on our balcony and watched the sunset. The moon was also rising in the clear sky full of stars – it was one of the most beautiful moonrises we’d ever seen – the moon climbing up behind the mountains with its reflection in the lake. We left our curtains open and slept watching the moon and stars.
The next morning, we woke up early, said goodbye to the beautiful lake town of St. Gilgen and headed onto our next destination – Vienna. We took a bus to Salzburg and then the train to Vienna. The train was unusually late – the 8:08 train was coming in at 8:28 – something that would be considered very normal in India. This gave us time to pick up a quick breakfast of sandwiches and croissants from the nearby Spar. We boarded our Railjet train to Vienna Hauptbahnhof and off we went! Check out our entire Austria itinerary here.
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There are few places in the world which can rival the pristine beauty of Switzerland – Salzkammergut is one of them! Salzkammergut translates to “salt domain” and lies to the east of Salzburg all the way to the Dachstein mountains. The region is also called the Lake District as it is home to over 30 lakes nestled in between scenic hills and mountains. The geography of the region also makes it an ideal place for resorts and skiing during winters. It is also home to the iconic Hallstatt – which I’m sure a lot of you would have seen somewhere on the internet! So let’s get right into our journey!
Iconic view of Hallstatt
Base location
You would need atleast 3-4 days to properly explore the region and some of the must-visit sites. To make it easier, you will need to pick a good base location. Some people prefer to stay in Salzburg and make day-trips. The upside is the connectivity from Salzburg. The downside is that you will need to make multiple trips up and down and since Salzburg is on one corner, the journeys are usually long. Another option that people choose is to stay at multiple places as you move along. We decided to go for the third option – pick an alternate base location. And we chose St. Gilgen.
St. Gilgen
As we looked at options for a good place to stay, St. Gilgen caught our eye. It was located about 30km east of Salzburg, was right on the banks of the Wolfgang lake and was also on the bus route from Salzburg to Bad Ischl which could provide us the connection to Hallstatt. Also, the town of St. Wolfang and the Schafberg peak were a boat ride away. We booked our stay at an organic farmhouse overlooking the lake – it was beautiful! Surrounded by meadows, the place looked right out of a story-book.
Our stay in St. Gilgen
We had a really nice view from up there – we could see a church and the town down below, other farmhouses, mountains densely covered with trees, the giant lake and snow-capped peaks in the distance. We spent the first evening just admiring the view from there.
The view from our room
The sun set after 9pm – so we had plenty of time!
St. Wolfgang and Schafberg
We had a nice and simple breakfast in the cozy dining area of the farmhouse – different kinds of cheese, ham, bacon, breads, jams and fruits (most of them from the farmhouse itself). The place reminded us of the place we stayed at in the village of Rastovaca in Croatia. We walked down towards the town and the lake – there were many ducks wading about in the water. Mozart had a house here as well!
Our plan for the day was to cross the lake and get to the peak of Schaberg. Right now, the peak was covered in clouds and we couldn’t even see it! We hoped and prayed that the sun would get stronger and clear them out. At the ticket counter near the lake, we bought a combo ticket which would give us access to the ferry and the cog-wheel train. We took the 11am ferry and got down at the Schafbergbahn stop.
The boat which would take us across the lake
We decided to take the 12:50pm train to the top (giving more time to the sun to do his job) and walked along the lake to a place called Reid Falkenstein. It was a beautiful path – perfect for cycling. I hoped we could someday have enough luxury of time that we could just spend a day or two exploring the places around this lake.
There is no shortage of beautiful paths to walk down
We walked back to the train station for the climb up the mountain. It was an amusing sight! The cog-wheel train had its engine at the back (the engine was literally pushing up the rest of the compartments!). It began its steep climb and it got steeper as we went up (it is the steepest in the country).
The climb was really steep as you can see hereThe engine literally pushed up the compartments!
We spotted the hiker’s trail – that’s what you would take if you decided to hike all the way to the top – it was equally steep and we were glad that we were on the train instead! It took about 35 mins to get to the top. We reserved our seats on the 2:45pm train back before going on to explore the peak.
Crossing our fingers earlier in the day (and delaying our climb to the top till noon) seemed to have done the trick – we got a very clear view from the top. And what a view it was! We could spot our farmhouse in St. Gilgen (it was a tiny speck in the distance). We climbed up further to the tallest point and more lakes came into view – Mondsee, Attersee and Fuchsl.
We could also spot another lake and the snowy peaks of Dachstein in the distance. It was easily one of the best views we had ever seen!
There was a nice little shop tactfully placed right there – we picked up a hot bowl of goulash (soup) and an ice-cream (no prizes for guessing who ordered what) and sat on a bench enjoying the view.
Nothing like some ice-cream and hot soup on a mountain-top
Once we were back to lake-level, we walked to St. Wolfgang town and explored it till the last ferry back at 5pm. We picked up a pulled pork semmel (a kind of burger) at a shop there – one of the best burgers we’ve had!
Swan spotting at St. WolfgangOn the ferry back to St. Gilgen
We’d found a nice place for dinner at St. Gilgen (Wirt am gries) where we had schnitzel, chicken with asparagus and rice and some really good chardonnay wine. It was a beautiful place with outdoor seating – the weather was nice with clear skies the entire day and Schafberg peak glinted in the distance.
You can spend hours admiring the view at St. GilgenChicken with asparagus and riceSchnitzelZoom in to this pic to see the train station at the peak of the mountain
A beautiful town in the west of Austria, Salzburg is the perfect example of where nature meets culture. Sitting on the banks of the Salzach river, Salzburg is home to the legendary Mozart and has everything from beautiful gardens to palaces to an amazing medieval fortress and of course some amazing food. Salzburg literally means “Salt Fortress” referring to the huge salt mines around the area.
Arriving at Salzburg
We spent an entire day exploring the town during our Austria trip (check out our complete itinerary here). We arrived at Salzburg by train from Prague – we had to change into another train at Linz before reaching Salzburg. From the train station, we took a bus to our hotel. It is easy to navigate your way around in Austria – there are maps everywhere and with some amount of prior research, you can easily use public transport without having to sacrifice anything in your itinerary.
Bus 130 dropped us near our hotel, Hotel Turnerwirt. The place looked straight out of a story book.
Our stay in Salzburg
We pulled up our luggage along the creaky wooden stairs to the 3rd floor and settled in. We looked for a good eatery nearby and found a Pizzeria. Salzburg to the west of the country and you can find some good Italian food here. We ordered a wood fired pizza with ham, cheese, tomato and mushrooms. The ambience was really nice with “antique knick-knack” stuff around. The pizza was amazing and we ended up loving the crust even more than the toppings – it was so fresh and crunchy!
Our first meal was this amazing pizza and wine!
We walked back enjoying the clear night time sky and hurried to make it to the hotel before they closed their front doors.
We woke up early and checked out of the hotel. We took the same bus 130 back to the railway station and kept our luggage in the lockers there. You can find such lockers all over Europe – they are super convenient, cheap and mostly automated. Shoulders light and hands free, we picked up a couple of sandwiches and walked to a nearby garden. We sat there at the park bench and munched on the ham and cheese sandwiches while observing the life of the locals – there were some folks in formals rushing to work, an old man walking his dog in the park, a couple of kids cycling.
We sat there in the shade enjoying our sandwiches
We always make it a point to take such time out so that our trips don’t become a series of checkpoint races.
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Let the walking tour begin
Our next stop was the Mirabell Palace and gardens – beautifully manicured gardens with flowers of all kinds. It is the kind of place where a photographer can go crazy – as if on cue, we saw a video shoot happening there.
The Mirabell gardens with the fortress in the background
We also took our share of pics, posed with the dwarves and walked on.
Beautiful backdrops everywhere!Who posed better?
We stopped at a small bakery on Linzerstrasse where we had one of the best foods of the entire trip! Apple strudel (or Apfelstrudel) – a pastry filled with apple, it was crunchy, sweet and melt-in-the-mouth! Food that makes you want to go back again and again!
Heavenly apple strudel!
With happy tummies, we continued our walk on the stone path along the Salzach river. These walkways were beautiful and perfect for an evening stroll. They also offered amazing views of the fortress.
Scenic walkways along the riverWe were walking towards the fortress on the other side
Along with these walkways, there were cycle paths. There were cycles everywhere – we even saw a modified cycle which had a baby pram tagged along with it! We crossed the river at the Mozart bridge and landed at Mozartplatz. We walked past the museums (we’d heard they weren’t great and decided to reserve our museum visits for Vienna) toward the Salzburger Dom cathedral – a huge cathedral with intricate paintings and sculptures which were symmetrical all the way around. We were right on time to hear the giant church bell ringing and echoing everywhere. We also visited the crypt below the cathedral – it was eerie down there with all the coffins!
Our next stop was the top of the fortress we’d been seeing right from the time we reached Salzburg – the Hohensalzburg Fortress. Built in 1077, the fortress has stood the test of time and is a majestic landmark overlooking the entire town. You can choose to take the funicular to the top of the hill or walk up – we chose the funicular as it was something we’d never seen before and wanted to experience the ride! We opted for the audio guided tour of the fortress and were given earpieces which looked like hand-held phones. The views from the top were spectacular! We got a panoramic view of the town, the river snaking its view through it and the hills on the other side with snowy peaks.
Snow capped peaks in the distancePanoramic view of the city
Inside the fortress we got to see the story of the town of Salzburg and how it evolved over the ages. There were also pictures showing how the fortress itself changed over the years. It was really pleasant walking through the cool corridors of the fortress. We saw the giant horn – the Salzburg bull which when blown could be heard for many kilometres. In recent years, the fortress was used to house prisoners of war during the World Wars before it was turned into a museum/tourist attraction.
After the tour, we took the funicular back down and proceeded to St. Peter’s Abbey. It had a cemetery with the graves beautifully decorated with flowers.
St. Peter’s Abbey
We also explored the catacombs whose steep stairs cut into the mountain. We walked up into a small hall where a girl was playing a piano. We stopped for a quick bathroom break and then walked to the old market.
The market area also housed Mozart’s birthplace.
Mozart’s birthplace (which now has a Spar below it!)
We picked up a couple of fish burgers from Nordsee and ate it sitting by the bank of the Salzach. We topped it up with cherry ice-cream. Our day in Salzburg was coming to a close.
A quick coffee break
We picked up our luggage from the train station and took bus 150 to Sankt Gilgen which was going to be our base in the Salzkammergut region.
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Looking for a country in Europe where you want to experience the beauty of nature? Austria may not be the first name that comes to mind. We are pretty sure it is among the most beautiful places we’ve visited (if not the most beautiful one). Nature is at its full glory with beautiful lakes, rolling green hills and mountains blooming with flowers in the summer and turning into the most amazing ski resorts in winter. It is one of those places where you want to keep going back and is home to some amazing food, culture and sights.
Austria is nestled between 8 countries in Eastern Europe
Austria (or Österreich in German meaning the “eastern realm”) is a dream choice for itinerary makers – it shares its borders with Slovenia and Italy in the south, Hungary and Slovakia in the east, Czechia and Germany in the north and Switzerland (and Liechtenstein) in the west – giving travellers many options to plan short trips to the neighbouring countries.
Best time to visit
June to August is the peak tourist season as is the case in most European countries. If you want to avoid the crowds, plan your trip in April-May, early June or September – the prices will be lower and you will also get good weather. Having said that, Austria is great for all seasons especially because of its ski resorts which come into action in the winter. And of course, you don’t want to miss the Christmas festivities in Vienna while you’re there anyway.
Austria is extremely well connected by rail and bus. You can enter the country at any of the major cities and then use the rail and bus networks to explore the country. We didn’t have to look for cabs or private transport anywhere – just make sure you have the bus and train timetables handy so that you can plan your travel. The buses usually run on time and you don’t want to end up a minute or two late.
Indians can enter Austria with a valid Schengen Visa.
What is the ideal number of days to spend in Austria?
This is an important question to answer as you don’t want to miss out the best places the country has to offer. As always, it also depends on your budget (both in terms of number of days and money) and we have a strict limit on our number of days – so optimization is key. We would recommend that you spend atleast 5 days in Austria to cover Salzburg, Vienna and the Salzkammergut. Here’s our itinerary along with some of the options to help you decide!
Our Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive at Salzburg by train from Prague (with a changeover at Linz). Walk around the town, explore some of the local food.
Day 2: Explore the town – Mirabell Palace, Hohensalzburg Fortress, Mozart’s birthplace and the Cathedral. Everything is within walking distance so you don’t need to worry about transportation. Here is the blog detailing how you can plan your day in Salzburg. Take the bus to St. Gilgen in the evening. Night in St. Gilgen.
The majestic Salzburg fortress on the other side of the river Salzach
Day 3: Take a boat across the Wolfgang Lake to Schafberg and take the cog railway (Austria’s steepest) up to the peak with the spectacular panoramic view of the Salzkammergut – one of the best things you’ll ever see! Explore the town of St. Wolfgang. Boat back to St. Gilgen.
A panoramic view from the top of Schafberg – one of the best you’ll ever see!
Day 4: Morning bus to Bad Ischl. Train to Hallstatt and connecting boat to cross the lake and reach Hallstatt town. Explore the town and go up to the salt mines (the oldest salt mine in the world). Bus to Dachstein to explore the ice caves (yes! Ice in summer!). Bus, boat, train back to Bad Ischl. Explore the town and back to St. Gilgen. Salzkammergut has many gems – read our detailed account and don’t miss out on them
Day 5: Morning bus to Salzburg and train to Vienna. Explore the city, visit the palaces and museums and attend the Opera. Here is our Vienna guide. Night in Vienna.
Read our Vienna blog to find out how you can watch the Opera!
Day 6: Train to Budapest.
Here are some suggested changes based on the type of person you are / group you are travelling with:
Culture and History Buffs: Vienna is the perfect place for this. You should definitely budget 2-3 days in Vienna to explore the museums (especially the Natural History one) and palaces in more detail. There are also a lot of iconic spots around the city and some really good cafes which you shouldn’t miss!
Time is not a Constraint for me: Add Innsbruck to your list of places – it is a short train ride away from Salzburg. You can also spend more time exploring the Salzkammergut.
So this was our itinerary. Check out our other blogs on how to make the most of your Austria trip here. We absolutely loved Austria – especially the smaller towns! If you want to enjoy nature and culture, pick Austria and you will not be disappointed!
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Amman is the capital city of Jordan. It is the largest city in the country and lies sprawled across hills and valleys. Our first reaction upon landing in Amman was that of awe – we felt like we were somewhere in Europe with lush green meadows and great roads. The stereotypical “Middle-east” image in our minds was shattered.
The city of Amman lies spread across seven hills
Throughout Jordan we found good roads
It lies on the ancient King’s Highway – the main trade route connecting Africa with Mesopotamia. Neolithic human settlements have been found in the areas around Amman dating back to 7000 BC. The city was named Philadelphia by the Greek when they took over the region around 250 BC.
We checked into our hotel and went straight to the Roman theatre. This was built by the Romans around 150 AD when they controlled the Levant. We did not expect to see Roman ruins of such quality in Jordan!
The Roman Theatre in Amman
That’s us sitting somewhere near the top
Next stop – Amman Citadel. The Citadel sits atop one of the seven hills which make up Amman. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Ammon in 1200 BC and was subsequently occupied by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Greek, Romans, Byzantines and Umayyads. Thanks to this legacy, the Citadel is considered to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world. Inside the Citadel you can visit a variety of sites including the Temple of Hercules, the Umayyad Palace, a Byzantine church and a museum holding some of the ancient archaeological finds. You can also get some really good views of the city from the top.
Later in the evening, we were back in Amman and out to explore the amazing food scene here. We had one destination in mind – Hashem’s Restaurant! This is one place you cannot miss – in fact, their website claims that “if you haven’t tasted Hashem, you haven’t been to Jordan”. This is one of those places that really lives up to the hype. Before I get into what we ate, let me try to recreate the experience. We sat down at a table (we had arrived early and didn’t have to wait for it) and waited for someone to hand us the menu. Instead, one of the waiters came over and covered our table with a plastic sheet. Within a few minutes, our table was covered with amazing looking dishes. We learnt that Hashem’s has a standard menu – Hummus, Falafels, Baba Ganoush, Ful Medames, French Fries and a lot of salad. We were handed some pita breads which we held and waited for plates. But none came. We looked at other tables and got the cue – the plastic wrap on the table was the plate! It was easily one of the best meals we’ve had on any trip.
Don’t miss the restaurant assuming it to be an alley
Was it the best falafel we had? Yes, at the time of eating it. But we didn’t know that the best was yet to come!
Tummies full, we explored the markets in downtown Amman. We’d read about a sweet shop – Habibah which, apparently, had the best Kunafa (or Kanafeh) in town. We were introduced to this heavenly dessert in our Dubai trip. The one we had at Habibah took it to another level! Crunchy semolina topped with pistachio and sugary syrup. As you bite into it, you get the warm and gooey cheese filling. Absolutely amazing!
Mouth-watering deliciousness
On the last day of our trip, we visited the Rainbow street which is lined with restaurants and pubs. It is also home to the famous Falafel Al-Quds – THIS is the best falafel we’ve ever had! Fresh out of the frier, the falafels are packed into a sesame bread with fresh tomatoes, pickles and tahini. We picked up one and walked along the street eating it. The moment we finished it, we wanted more. And back we ran to get another one. It is the kind of food that sits strong in memory and can give you cravings any time of the day.
One thing you would have noticed is that all the food mentioned so far was vegetarian – in fact, it is so good that you don’t really miss meat. However, when in the Middle east, don’t miss out on the shawarma. We headed to Reem Shawarma – a hole-in-the-wall place where you can grab some of the best shawarma you’ll have.
Look at the number of people waiting to get those shawarmas!
To sum it up, Amman is a foodie’s paradise. Make sure you set aside time specifically to explore the food scene – you won’t regret it one bit!
Stuffing myself with one more kunafa before we leave!
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Two of the most iconic places in Jordan are Petra and the Wadi Rum desert.
Petra
Petra is one of the most prominent symbols of Jordan. The name Petra is derived from the Greek word “petros” for “rocks”. The rock in the region is rose in colour, giving it the name “Rose City”.
The capital city of the Nabataeans, one of the nomadic Bedouin tribes around the 4th century BC, Petra is considered to be an archaeological wonder. The city is a masterpiece in rainwater harvesting and stone carving – the smart Nabataeans turning the mountainous barren terrain to their advantage by converting it into an oasis. They used dams and canals to control flash floods and stored water for the dry season.
It entered the list of the New 7 Wonders of the World in 2007 – we ticked off our second Wonder of the trip, having covered the Egyptian Pyramids just a few days back (blog coming soon). Petra has appeared in many movies, the most remembered one being Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. This has, in fact, become a strong tourist hook for the ancient city, with Indiana Jones hats being a popular item in the souvenir shops at the entrance!
We arrived at Petra on the evening of Day 3 of our trip (read the itinerary and trip guide here). After checking into our hotel, we headed out to the town of Wadi Musa (meaning “Valley of Moses”) – this is where you will typically stay when you are visiting Petra. We entered a restaurant that looked local enough (too many touristy ones all over the place) and had a couple of shawarmas. You cannot go wrong with shawarmas in Jordan and this one was no exception – it was amazing! Tummies full and happy with the shawarmas, we headed out to explore the town. The night was starting to get cold and as we suddenly felt a warm gush of air smelling of baked goodies. Like Jerry floating towards a block of cheese, we walked straight into the bakery and ordered Kunafas (or Kanafehs) – the most heavenly dessert of the Middle East! They assembled the cheese and semolina in a pan and heated it over coal. As the cheese melted, we also stole some warmth from the hot coals. The dish was then topped off with pistachios and sugar syrup. Words can’t describe the awesomeness of this plate of dessert – writing about it makes me want to go back just to eat it!
Kunafa – the best dessert ever!
Before you turn in for the night, make sure you pick up some energy bars, biscuits and snacks for the next day.
It was Day 4 of the trip, we woke up early morning and walked to the entrance gate of Petra. The gates opened at 7am and we made our way to Al-Khazneh (the Treasury). We soon entered a gorge (called the Siq). It is the narrow entrance to Petra which runs for almost 1.2 kms – the rocks on both sides have been smoothened by flowing water.
The narrow gorge
You can also see canals carved into them to channel water. The reveal of the treasury was something out of a movie with the gorge getting narrower and allowing only peeks of the structure.
Peeks of the Treasury as we made our way to it
We exited the Siq and finally got a full view of the magnificent Treasury. The rising sun’s rays had just started falling onto it revealing the intricate designs – it is said that the best view of the Treasury is in the early morning light.
The first rays of the sun falling on the Treasury Al Khazneh
As soon as you get here, a bunch of locals (most of them look like Captain Jack Sparrow for some reason) will offer to take you up to the cliff for a downward looking view. As we had time on hand, we decided to go for it – take a look at the views!
The view from the overlook
You can get pics like this one from up there
The path to get there
We would not recommend this if you are afraid of heights as the climb is quite steep and the cliff is, well, a cliff!
Moving on, we saw plenty of caves, some tombs, a theatre, temples and a path leading further up towards the end of the trail.
Tombs and caves along the way
You can spot them almost everywhere you look
Starting to feel tired 😛
The climb gets steeper and tougher from here but at the end is the Monastery – a gigantic structure (similar to the Treasury).
The Monastery
You can rest here and eat those snacks you’ve been carrying while enjoying the view. On the way back, we got to see a different version of the Treasury – the sun was high in the sky now and gave the entire place a rosy glow (no wonder it’s called the Rose City).
That’s us
Bye bye Al-Khazneh!
It was also a lot more crowded now as we could see tour groups gathering. We had avoided them all by coming in first thing in the morning. Phew!
We stopped for lunch at one of the restaurants outside the gate. We ordered a plate of mansaf. Mansaf is a traditional dish of lamb cooked in a yogurt sauce served with rice – this is the national dish of Jordan. It was amazing! So simple and yet delicious! Tummies full and happy (I guess this was a constant state throughout our trip), we drove along the King’s Highway , the Desert Highway and towards the Wadi Rum desert.
Wadi Rum
We reached our desert camp by evening. The tents were nestled in between a tall sand dune and some tall rocks. After a Bedouin-style BBQ dinner, we spent some time attempting to star-gaze, but clouds played spoilsport.
Our desert camp
The next morning, we were taken on a desert safari. As we entered deeper into the desert, the landscape changed dramatically. It felt like we were on some other planet – thanks to the Red colour, we assumed this was what Mars would look like. In fact, movies like The Martian, Red Planet, Transformers were actually shot here! It is said that the movie Lawrence of Arabia, with scenes shot here, gave the first major boost to the Jordan tourism industry.
There were gigantic boulders strewn all over and we were told that many of them contained inscriptions from over 10000 years ago. In fact, this led to Wadi Rum being classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There were camels wandering about in the distance.
Rock climbing
Other worldly feels
The whole desert is red!
We were taken to a tent where we had tea (part of the package) and returned to our camp for checkout.
Our last stop of the trip was the Dead Sea. Read all about it here.
If you enjoy reading our blog, do leave us a comment below – your support keeps us going! You can subscribe to our blog for all the updates and travel tips. For a lot more pics and stories about our latest travels, follow us on Instagram @fridgemagnet.tales. Do check out our Insta story highlights to re-live the trip through our eyes!
Jordan is a history-lover’s paradise. With its location at the crossroads of Asia, Europe and Africa, Jordan is indeed a melting pot of history and cultures. Archaeological remains dating back to 10000 years ago have been unearthed here. It is also religiously significant – being situated in the Levant region (with Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Palestine as neighbours) – there are many sites of religious significance here. Let’s explore some of these places.
A Greco-Roman City
On our first day in Jordan (complete itinerary here), we visited Jerash – one of the most well-preserved Greco-Roman cities in the world. It is situated north of Amman – a one-hour drive. The city, originally known as Gerasa, was an important point in the trade route of the region. It flourished for centuries – its decline started when sea routes started gaining prominence. A major earthquake in the year 749 destroyed much of the city.
Our driver, Ameen, got us the entry tickets and saw us off at the gate. Make sure you have some comfortable shoes on – it’s a long walk exploring the ancient city. The entrance is via a large gateway called the Hadrian’s Arch. Inside, spread across a large area, you can find
A hippodrome
A circular plaza outlined with pillars
Temples of Zeus and Artemis
A colonnaded street
A Byzantine church
Theatres
A Nymphaeum.
The Colonnaded Streets in Jerash
The valleys were in full bloom
We got some nice pics thanks to our friends who had joined us
A panoramic view of the ancient city with the new city on the right
Hadrian’s Arch – the entrance
We could actually see chariot marks on the stones!
Walking through the colonnaded street was one of the highlights – the stones which formed the street were the same on which people walked centuries ago. There were even marks left by chariot wheels! As we were visiting in March, the valley was a lush green and beautiful – the panoramic view of the city was amazing. We spent around 2-3 hours here before heading back to Amman.
The Place Where Moses saw the Promised Land
Our first stop on Day 2 was Mt. Nebo. A one-hour drive from Amman took us to the historic hilltop where Moses is said to be buried. It is said that Moses was granted a view of the Promised Land from here. On a clear day, you can see Jerusalem on the other side of the valley. We visited the church there – it had some really amazing mosaic floors.
On top of Mt Nebo. In the distance is Israel
Intricate designs made of mosaic on the church’s floor
The Mosaic City of Jordan
15 minutes away from Mt Nebo is Madaba – the town famous for its mosaics. We visited the famous Greek Orthodox St George Church. There are some really detailed mosaics inside and the most famous one is the Map of Madaba. The map is so famous that the church is even referred to as the “Church of the Map”.
All the portraits inside the church are mosaic
Here’s a closeup
A Giant Crusader Castle
A 2-hour drive from Madaba brought us to Al-Karak or Kerak, a city famous for the large castle on one of its peaks. It is located on the King’s Highway – the ancient trade route. The castle was built by the Crusaders, a group of Christians who waged religious wars to conquer the Holy Lands from Muslims. As with all other things in Jordan, it didn’t last long in their hands as different kingdoms came and went. We spent about an hour exploring the castle and proceeded on our drive to Petra.
Exploring Kerak Castle
The castle sits on top of a hill along the King’s Highway
With our driver Ameen and the Shobak Castle (another Crusader castle in the region) in the background
A Sea Where You Cannot Drown
We visited the Dead Sea on Day 4 of our trip. We were super excited for this unique experience – you must have seen photos of people floating on the sea reading magazines. What makes the Dead Sea so impossible to drown in? Well, it is one of the saltiest water bodies in the world! In fact, it is almost 10 times saltier that the oceans! The salinity makes it impossible for plants and animals to live around it. It is also the lowest point on Earth – more than 400 metres below sea level.
As we drove towards the beach, the road sloped downwards, and we passed by a sign which said that we were at sea level. And as if on cue, we heard a loud cracking noise. Every single water bottle we had got compressed due to the pressure change! This is like the opposite of what happens when you travel to high mountainous regions where packets of chips blow up like footballs.
We’re at Sea Level and going downhill!
Every single bottle was crushed due to the pressure
The Dead Sea is unlike any other water body – so don’t jump right in. The first feeling you get when you enter the water is a burning sensation. Due to its ultra-salinity, any scratches or wounds you may have, start acting up. This settles down in a couple of minutes. Take care you don’t get too much water into your eyes – you’ll probably end up running back to shore looking for clean water. (Tip: keep a bottle of clean water on the beach before entering the water for such emergencies). As hard as we tried to sit down, we were getting pushed right back up. In short, it was fun! We spent plenty of time wading and paddling around and clicking some pics (of course!).
Amman Beach Resort – the one we visited
Floating in an ultra-saline lake at the lowest point on Earth
We didn’t choose to cover ourselves in the mud there – if you get a chance, give it a shot.
Our skin felt really soft – apparently the high salt and mineral content helps in exfoliation and gets rid of dead skin cells. In fact, an entire industry has come up which uses the Dead Sea mud and minerals to come up with skincare products! There are many shops along the route and you can pick up a few as souvenirs.
If you enjoy reading our blog, do leave us a comment below – your support keeps us going! You can subscribe to our blog for all the updates and travel tips. For a lot more pics and stories about our latest travels, follow us on Instagram @fridgemagnet.tales. Do check out our Insta story highlights to re-live the trip through our eyes!
Fridge Magnet Tales 