Made it to Salzburg! Well, if you're looking to escape crazy tourists, Salzburg is not the place. At least I am not here on a weekend, or in the summer. And it's too cute to not visit. Let's back up to Sunday.  
 
I was up around 6:30 to shower, eat breakfast and pay my room bill . Gregor had a taxi for me at 8 am, as my train left for Graz at 8:30. Before I left on this trip, I had the bus ticket from Graz to Salzburg already booked on Flixbus for $10. Cheap! I figured I would get a train ticket from Maribor to Graz once I got here, or would do a rideshare or private transfer. My train had a short connection in Speilfeld, on the border. Of course this train was late, and I was getting concerned I would miss my connection, which means I would miss my bus too. I'm sure other buses were running to Salzburg, but I didn't want to figure that out. And I didn't want to get to Salzburg too late. 
 
The train was 18 minutes late, and I had 19 minutes to connect. Granted, train connections can happen in minutes, unlike airline connections, but still. There were 4 of us on this stop, and when we did, the conductor pointed to the other train that said 'Graz.' Ah, it waited! We still ran to it and then it was easy. 
 
I had about 90 minutes in Graz, so I grabbed a coffee and paid 50 cent euro to use the bathroom . I'm guessing Flixbus is the Europe version of getbybus- no frills, no ticket offices and no 'stations.' We loaded and unloaded our own luggage. But it was clean, fast and worked fine for me. The views were stunning. I tried taking video, but trees kept getting in the way and the glare was bad. Plus, I wasn't enjoying it as much because I kept trying to take stupid videos. I finally stopped and just enjoyed the views. I dozed off for a bit and woke up as we approached Salzburg. 
 
We arrived at the station, and I was going to take a taxi, but thought I would try to take the public bus and walk to my pension (hotel). I know this isn't complicated, but I still find it intimidating. And, bus drivers aren't always the nicest or most patient. Where do I find the bus? How do I get my ticket? Blah, blah, blah. I found where the buses were and grabbed a ticket at the machine that had an English option. I had instructions from Sandra at the pension to take the No. 5 to the Waschergasse stop and then walk 70 meters . It worked exactly that way. The pension is really cute and Sandra is very nice. She pointed out things on the map and looked up masses going on for me to attend, if I wanted. I changed, walked to the bus stop and walked toward the city center. 

Salzburg is stunning and everything you would expect. Cute bridges, a lovely river, hills with changing leaves, people biking and strolling, doms and cathedrals everywhere. It does feel like a fairy tale. 

I grabbed dinner at Golden Kugel, as recommended by Sandra, and had "untersberger bratwurstl," grilled sausages with kraut and bread. Oh, and mustard of course. At first I asked for a cabbage salad as an appetizer, and the waitress informed me that that was the same as kraut, only not cooked. I didn't want to tell her that I am from Pulaski, Wisconsin and kraut is practically its own food group, so I said to ditch the cabbage and just do the meal, as it was enough anyway.  It was very good, and then I went to mass at Franziskane Church, which was consecrated in 1498 and is one of the oldest churches in Salzburg. Wow! Gothic-style ceilings, concrete columns, wooden pews. The high altar was really fabulous. As I sat in there, I couldn't help but think how these kinds of churches will never be built, due to cost and just because of the effort it would take. They are truly amazing. The mass was in German. 
 

Thanks again for following along!
Jamie