I arrived at the Munich train station with just enough time to find my Railjet train now switching from the German train lines to the Austrian. The Railjet colors are a grey and red, and the first class cabin was mostly a 1 - 2 configuration. They have a very cheery serving star that come through First Class so that you do not need to go to the dining car, Austrian chocolates are provided as welcome gifts, and the menu was quite decent and inexpensive. The train is another high speed so similar to the ICE from Germany. Smooth and simple. In over an hour we were pulling into the beautiful town of Salzburg. Rain was forecast but it was still alright so I made the ten minute walk to the Sheraton Salzburg Hotel which is right on the beautiful Mirabell Gardens, next to the Palace and the river. I had a great welcome in the cozy lobby and was treated to a suite upgrade facing the park. I made my way up to my room to find a large entry way, a big closet with iron and ironing board, and then another room which was massive with a sitting area, a desk separating the room in two with a swivel television that could face towards the chairs and sofa or to the far end of the room with the bed, and then off to the side the large bathroom with shower and tub. I am not sure who would be watching television because the view out over the park, the castle, and up to the hilltop Festung Hohensalzburg is breathtaking through two sets of double windows that open to make you feel like you are right in the center of the park. I also found a lovely welcome bar of the local chocolate, plenty of bottles of water, and another hand written note from the hotel manager.
I wandered up to the Club Lounge and was immediately impressed. I had chosen this hotel over the tiny Hotel Goldener Hirsch, SPG’s luxury collection property right next to Mozart’s birthplace. I had thought since this hotel was connected to the conference center that it would be businesslike and modern. The hotel itself had plenty of old world charm from the lobby to the restaurant and bar which all flow out onto the beer garden and the terrace in better weather, but the Club Lounge was a modern surprise. The views from here and the large outdoor patio were amazing. The service was excellent and the offerings were very good, beer, wines, sparkling wine and snacks throughout the day, with more elaborate offerings from 6:00 pm until 10:00 pm, a lovely long stretch of time for a Club Lounge with the food constantly being replenished for the few of us using the lounge since the fast majority of the guests in the hotel were with a Japanese tour group and they had all of their events planned out. I had a quick piece of cake and glass of wine before heading out to explore.
As many people will know Salzburg is home to Mozart and to the movie the Sound of Music. The music of both is evident all over the town, and since it is fifty years since the movie was made there was a great deal of nostalgia surrounding it. Years earlier on my backpacking trip with my friend Alison she had said how familiar everything looked, I had never seen the movie, but when we found out it was filmed there, she was ecstatic. I of course was forced to watch the movie soon after that. Fifteen years since my last visit and nothing had changed. I had fallen in love with Prague on this current trip, but Salzburg gives it a run for the money. The gardens are beautiful and seem to flow right out onto the river, the scenery of the snow capped mountains, churches and old buildings rising up the hillside to the fortress are just magical. I made my way across the river and walked down the main pedestrian street with hotels, shops, and Mozart’s birthplace. Since it was now raining (the hotel thoughtfully has two umbrellas in each room) I had my umbrella out with hundreds of others as people squeezed through the narrow pedestrian only walkways, going from church to church. There is so much to see, I walked into as many of the churches as I had time for before beginning the climb up to the fortress. There is the funicular to reach the castle if you want but I opted to take in the full scenery on the walk. I made it to the gate, stopping along the way for pictures and to take in the view. It was only forty-five minutes until the fortress closing time so I decided I would do the castle itself the next morning. I continued on a little beyond the castle to get a view back towards it. All wonderful. I made the trek back down and had a quick walk around the other main pedestrian shopping street but everything was closed for the May 1st holiday. Once back at the hotel I brought my laptop to the Club Lounge and worked for a few hours while relaxing with wine and wonderful canapés.
The next morning I woke up early and made use of my in-room coffee machine before heading down to the gym. It is a good gym for cardio, but the highest weights they had were ten kilos, so no good for biceps/triceps for me. Every other hotel I had stayed at in Europe on this trip had dumbbells going up to twenty kilos. Cardio for me it was then. As with most hotels on this trip there was a sauna but as like many of them in Europe they are closed in the morning, only open in the afternoon or evening when one has come back from a day of hiking or sightseeing. My family had this tradition as well. I always find it a little strange since the sauna is there and for those of us who do manage to get up early in the morning to work out it would be nice to make use of it then before starting the day or another trip. I had a quick shower before heading up to the lounge for another wonderful breakfast. I was offered omelets if I wanted one made for me but I was fine with the German breakfast and the eggs, bacon, and sausage that were provided as well as many juices, yogurts and sparkling wines.
I made the quick walk back over the bridge and this time skipped entering any of the churches, instead heading right to the Festung Hohensalzburg. It is eight euros to enter, but once you finish the climb to the top and reach the castle itself you are greeted with amazing views. The hilltop fortress contains cannons around the edge, inter-connected courtyards and a variety of museums included in your ticket price, including marionettes, torture and the history of the city and Austria. After a forty-five minute walk around (I would recommend more time and a stop for lunch) I hustled back down the hill to the Hotel Goldener Hirsch, except I could not find it. Google maps told me it was right beyond Mozart’s birthplace, but I kept looking up and around. Finally I saw the tiny sign. No grand entrance, no big lobby. Just a small door with a buzzer and the logo of the hotel. Very exclusive. Since you need to buzz to get in and I was running out of time I just took a quick exterior shot and headed back to the hotel for a quick cappuccino in the lounge and a shower before heading out to the station.
Salzburg is like something out of a dream for me. It is insanely picturesque. of course as with Rothenburg and Prague there are plenty of tourists and this was just shoulder season, but the town is so charming and the buildings are truly magnificent. The Sheraton Salzburg exceeded my expectations in locale and particularly in location and service. The Club Lounge and its staff were top notch and rivaled my Bangkok experience (which now seemed like a different lifetime but was only two weeks before). The only downside was the gym, but very minor considering there is plenty of hiking to do in this beautiful town and the Sheraton is a great option.
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