Salzburg - the city of salt

When you do Inter-Rail you can have two approaches: be a total control freak or play along as it goes. If you know me, you will know I will fit into the former. Before we left, my boyfriend and I made sure to have all the hostels booked and to know all the trains we had to get and alternatives. I wasn't prepared to be stranded in the middle of Montenegro.

We flew out of London Luton in the early hours arriving in Budapest. The excitement was surreal. The holiday for us only began when we first reached our first destination: Salzburg. The train there was outstanding! As you looked out the windows, you were surrounded by the most comforting green hills composed of cute little Austrian houses. Little did we know that this was going to be the best train of the lot, with a bar, clean toilets, air conditioning and all the things in the U.K. we take for granted. As we travelled from Budapest to Salzburg, we got a sneak peak into Veinna - a destination for the future.  The sun started to set as we got nearer our destination. It was beautiful.

Our firs sights when we first stepped out of the train

Okay, in hindsight it isn't the most memorable picture out there, but at that moment in time, it was perfect. The air, in spite of it of being 8 in the evening, was still keeping us warm. The mountains were a striking difference to the landscape I am used to. They had such a wonderful relationship with the clouds. My boyfriend was more eager to get to the hostel, so we made our way. Staring into each and every little shop we walked past, through an underground and a construction site, we found our first hostel: Yoho!  There was a sense of excitement and relief: we had made it, but were still anxious to know how our first encounter in a shared dorm would be. We walked up the stairs and made our way to our little hostel room. Well, it wasn't so little. We were sharing with 8 others. One of the things that took me by surprise was this unspoken rule by the travellers: at 12am you respect its time to sleep. Or maybe that was just the luck we had everywhere. We tucked into bed and dreamt away...

Up early as birds the next morning we made our way to a little cafe. Ahh European breakfasts - pastries and croissants. Delicious. The sun was shining and bringing everything to life. I was slowly falling in love with Austria. We wandered around and found ourselves in the Mozart gardens. They were absolutely astonishing! The trees and bushes were vivid green, contrasting with the sharp red, orange and yellow tones of the flowers. Your eyes didn't know where to look: at the astonishing gardens, the interesting statues, the buildings? Or the castle that hid behind you? Of course, being summer and Austria, the place was packed with tourists - but that morning, it wasn't going to get in the way.

The rest of that day was spent strolling around the bustling streets of Salzburg:  from its remarkable castle with some of the most beautiful views, to its bustling streets.

View from the Castle in Salzburg. Taken by me.