Believe It or Not

Before I move on, I just wanted to do a quick post about the hostels we stayed at in Austria. In Salzburg, it was the Yoho International Youth Hostel (http://www.yoho.at/). It was a nice hostel - clean, friendly, good price and right downtown. They have an in-hostel bar plus they play The Sound of Music every night. It had been awhile since I had seen the movie, so it was a good refresher and I was able to recognise all the standout locations the next day :)

The hostel in Vienna was call Believe It or Not Hostel. It was definitely one of the best hostels I've ever stayed at. It was more like an apartment with two rooms, a living room and a kitchen. With only two rooms, there are limited options - I think it was one room with 8 beds and the other with 12. However, it's set up so it's like you have your own private little alcove with a locker and bar to hang your towel. It was clean and extremely friendly, making it feel very comfy and homey. The owner (I'm so sorry, I don't remember her name) came in every morning and made breakfast while chatting with the visitors. For some reason, the link for the website isn't working, so I hope nothing has happened to the hostel since October, but here is the Trip Adviser link http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g190454-d2477848-Reviews-Believe_It_Or_Not_Hostel-Vienna.html. If you go to Vienna, I recommend taking the time to research this hostel. Quick tip: if you arrive at night, the building seems a bit uninviting. We were quite apprehensive when we arrived, it seemed almost like an abandoned building in the entrance. But, never fear, climb the stairs, find the door that says Believe It or Not, ring the bell - once you're inside, you will not regret it.

Anyway, that's it for Austria for now. There's so much more I could talk about - we had some great adventures on our day trips from Salzburg - but perhaps in the future if there's a lull in my traveling. This week I'm hoping to write about the England day trips I made last week :) Starting with a post later tonight!

Until later...
<3

Austria

Well, it's been a busy month and a half! October was full of planning and marking and filling out reports. Luckily, this last week was a much need week off. What better way to spend a week off in England than by traveling to Europe with my roomie??

Another day, I hope I'll have time to write more about England, but for now, a little bit about... Austria!

After landing in Vienna, we immediately took a train 2.5 hours through the picturesque Austrian countryside to Salzburg, birthplace of Mozart and setting for The Sound of Music. Thanks to some touring around Salzburg, I learned that the name means Fortress of Salt, due to all the salt available in the region.

We easily found our hostel, a Yoho International Youth Hostel, about 10 minutes from the train station. Just as a side note: I would definitely recommend this hostel. It was clean and friendly with reasonably-priced food offered in the morning and evening. Plus they played The Sound of Music every evening.

Once we had dropped our luggage off, we took a walk around the Old Town (also a 10 minute walk from the hostel). Old Town Salzburg is full of Baroque buildings and has remained fairly unchanged in the last few hundred years. A majestic castle overlooks the beautiful city.

Besides exploring the collection of churches, shops, and otherwise beautiful buildings of Salzburg, we also wanted to explore the area around the area. There are so many day trips to go on near Salzburg, hiking in the mountains and visiting smaller towns.

Well, I won't get into all the details now, but hopefully I can post in the next few weeks. I'm trying to get a good routine down so that I can find a balance between my work and personal goals. Wish me luck!