Salzburg: The Hills Are Alive with the Sound of Music

The quaint town of Innsbruck

Next stop on our Europe tour? Austria. I've always wanted to go to the Christmas Markets in Austria (I'll have to take a second trip to get that crossed off my bucket list), but Salzburg met all my expectations. We stayed very close to the center, and the city is small enough that within just the couple of days there I could easily find my bearings and get around quickly.

One morning we visited a local town called Innsbruck, that was incredibly picturesque and offered more stunning views of the colorful landscape and architecture. I always like to try to find an unique offering at foreign McDonald's, and I did just that by trying an apple pastry at a local McDonald's.


Salzburg is most notable for being the birthplace of Mozart and the site of many of the scenes in Sound of Music. We visited Mozart's home, and during a walking tour of the city we were able to see many of the backdrops of the movie. We also later took a short bus ride to Mondsee to see St. Michael's Basilica, which is where the wedding scene took place.

We ended the stay in Salzburg by taking a Danube river cruise to our next destination: Vienna!

Mirabell gardens straight out of Sound of Music

Love locks strewn across the Makartplatz Bridge

The Salzach river with the Hohensalzburg fortress in the distance

Brightly colored buildings in Mondsee