Salzburg, Munich, and Mondsee in $4 shoes

…and no calluses! With a Salzburgian hostel as our home base this weekend, I set out on a school trip to see Salzburg, Munich, and Mondsee before heading back for classes today. Yes, that’s a lot of cities in one weekend. No, I won’t be trying that again.

It’s hard to talk about all the Mozart chocolate (Seriously, whoever told me the Mozart was some sort of composer didn't know he's really Willy Wonka) or history (it’s…everywhere) in Salzburg when there was an Austrian style gnome garden hidden in the Mirabell gardens.

Fat stone Austrians aside, Salzburg was pretty awesome. This view of the city is from Hohensalzburg castle, home of the bullwashers….and some bummed out Turks.

And how is it that there is a legend about the devil losing a bet in the construction of basically every cathedral we’ve seen? Fraunenkirche (the cathedral) in Munich was no exception. Munich also has some other crazy things, like a lot of bratwurst, Hofbrauhause (which can hold 3,000 people...and right now has part of my left middle finger), and an enormous Glockenspiel in the Plaza Marian in the town center, which my incredibly non-Glockenspiel-oriented mind says this was incredibly overrated.

Munich came and went, and before heading back for Gaming we stopped in Mondsee. If you’ve ever been to Chatanooga, TN, Mondsee is like Chatanooga meets the Alps. And if you haven’t been to Chatanooga, TN, you should go there so that you can understand what Mondsee is like. Or…you could just go to Mondsee. It was so perfect, tucked away, with nice people and the church where the wedding in the Sound of Music was filmed. So when there’s no crazy people stalking the Von Trapp family, it’s quaint as all get-out, and just beautiful.

And that’s that. There are so many stories that made the weekend special, the story of trekking up to the Hohensalzburg castle at night, meeting one of Oberammergau’s Pilates at a concert in Munich, the story behind my finger getting lost at Hofbrauhause, and the zen-garden in Mondsee, but those things are to be told in due time when I see you all again. And please know I can’t wait to see you all again and hear how you’ve been.

I can already tell Rhode Island syndrome is starting to set in because right I just want to curl up in my bed and read a book. I’m so thankful just to be here in Austria with so many awesome people and opportunities growth. I just pray that I can make the most of my time here!

Peace and Blessings,
Mary