Bath

Last Saturday, we headed to Bath. It was finally a nice, sunny day, and the downtown core was bustling with people wandering the pedestrian area full of shops and sights.

Like Stratford, Bath sits on the River Avon. It is mostly situated in a valley, but climbs up the side of a hill. When we first arrived, we drove up the hill and got a good view of the rest of the city. The area up the hill seemed to be mostly residential, with steep, very narrow streets, but with a fantastic view. After a good look, we headed down to the city centre.

View of Bath from up the hill

Bath is another city that started out as an ancient settlement. During the period between 800 B.C. and 50 A.D. the hot springs found in the Bath area were probably treated as a shrine to the goddess Sulis, a goddess representing motherhood, nourishment and life. When the Romans took over in around 50 A.D., they called the area Aquae Sulis - the waters of Sulis. Over the next 300 years, the Romans constructed a temple and bathing area around the hot springs. However, these original baths were abandoned and ruined in a flood during the 5th century. Legend has it that the Battle of Badon was fought by King Arthur at Bath during the 6th century. The 7th century saw the founding of the Bath Abbey as a monastery. This abbey was rebuilt during the 12th century and the 16th century, then restored and renovated in the 19th century.

John de Villula, a Norman doctor and churchman, bought the city for 500 pounds of silver during the 11th century, becoming the Bishop of Bath. He was interested in the curative power of the hot springs and so new baths were built. During this time, the wool and cloth trade contributed enormously to the wealth of Bath. However, the next 5 centuries marked a decline in the city's prosperity and by the 16th century, the city was dilapidated and the abbey in ruins.

The buildings of Bath, made from iconic Bath Stone

In 1676, a book published by a doctor about the restorative powers of Bath's hot springs began to draw the attention of England's aristocracy. Beau Nash, a gambler and socialite, saw his opportunity in the early 1700s to turn Bath into a fashionable resort - and he did just that, raising money to repair and restore the city. During this time, as well, Ralph Allen owned the stone quarries near Bath. The stone mined at these quarries is called Bath Stone - the distinctive honey-coloured limestone from which most buildings in Bath are constructed. John Wood, both the Elder and the Younger, a father-son architectural duo, were the masterminds behind rebuilding the city, funded by Ralph Allen. Their idea was to recreate the feeling of a Roman city, which they definitely accomplished. Remains of the ancient Roman temple the goddess were also found during this time. With all these people and discoveries coming together, it's no wonder the city grew to be a popular spa destination and Bath's population increased 10-fold. Jane Austen lived in Bath between 1800-1805. There is a Jane Austen centre you can visit in Bath, which I wasn't able to visit, but if you are interested, here is the website for you: http://www.janeausten.co.uk/. In the late 19th century, the Roman Great Bath was found. The actual Roman Baths are below street level, but the upper portions were designed in the Roman tradition, though they are only a couple hundred years old.

Bath Abbey and the Pumps to the right

During the Second World War, buildings in the city were damaged, but mostly restored after the war. The city was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 and it is a popular tourist destination these days.

The Royal Crescent

We really enjoyed walking around the city, taking in the Roman-style Georgian architecture and the sun! Unfortunately, after we stopped for lunch, it was mid afternoon and we didn't actually go inside to see the baths; there was quite a line up to get inside, and they were closing soon. We went to see the Circus and Royal Crescent. The Circus is an area of home built in a circular fashion. If you stand in the centre, the circular nature of the buildings amplifies your voice. We could hear tour guides telling their groups about the area, and clapping their hands to demonstrate the amplification. We also just barely had time to go in to see Bath Abbey.

Good food in Bath:

Inside the Bath Abbey

The Eastern Eye: This is a fantastic Indian restaurant close to the downtown area. This was our first stop as we were hungry when we arrived. It has won various well-deserved awards and yet the pricing was fairly reasonable. After a delicious lunch, we had a coffee (included with the lunch special) which was actually amazing! It seems like a strange thing to be praising an Indian restaurant for, but it was definitely a fantastic way to end the meal. http://www.easterneye.com/

Jacob's Coffee House: Right near Bath Abbey, this coffee house drew my attention with the vintage style turquoise sign out front and the wooden interiors. I wouldn't necessarily go back for the coffee - it wasn't bad, but it wasn't the best, - I would certainly return for the cakes. We had the apple cider cake, which had a full, rounded apple flavour and wasn't too sweet. I would definitely love to try some of the other cakes. http://jacobscoffeehouse.com/

That's all for now! Thanks for reading :) Next time, I will tell you all about our trip to Dover and the discovery of my new favourite castle...

xox

All the world's a stage...

So, Friday, we ended up going to three different locations, clustered close together - Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick Castle and Coventry. Hopefully I'll be able to fit a brief description of all three places in one post... But we'll just have to see how it goes.

King Edward VI School

Stratford-upon-Avon: In case you don't know, this is where Shakespeare grew up (hence the name of the post). Many interesting buildings date back to the medieval period, as this is when Stratford was developed as a town. In fact, 1196 is when Stratford became an official town. Shakespeare was baptised at the Holy Trinity Church in 1564. In his 20s, he moved to London to act and write plays. He moved back to Stratford in 1613 and died a few years later. He is now buried in the Holy Trinity Church as well (you can visit his burial place for £2, which we didn't do). It's a nice little church, which Shakespeare would have visited while growing up in Stratford. Aside from the church, you can visit many places that Shakespeare would have lived or visited such as his birthplace, the house where his wife's family lived (Anne Hathaway's Cottage), his daughter's house (Hall's Croft) and various buildings that belonged to his mom and dad's families. You can also see King Edward VI School, which is most likely where he would have gone to school. Stratford is another town with many festivals, so keep an eye out if you are planning a visit.

Shakespeare's birthplace

It was very  exciting, as an English major especially, to visit the bard's hometown, even though it was another rainy day. However, we opted out of buying tickets to go inside the buildings. I'm sure it's all very interesting, but the tickets are on the pricey side - around £23 for access to five buildings (Anne Hathaway's Cottage, Hall's Croft, Harvard House, Mary Arden's Farm, Shakespeare's Birthplace and Shakespeare's Grave) and prices vary for visits to individual buildings. Personally, I think it would probably be worth it on a warm, sunny day - a day when you are willing to walk from place to place as there can be about 15-20 minute walk between different places; it wasn't very enticing on a cold, rainy day with a limited time. As we were getting ready to leave, the sun came out. Though it didn't get any warmer, my dad insisted on getting the quintessential vanilla ice cream with a flake in it :) To be fair, they were being sold from boats on the River Avon, which was kind of cool. Then we headed off.

Sunny late afternoon at Warwick Castle

Warwick Castle: Warwick (pronounced worr-ik) Castle is only about a 20 minute drive from Stratford. The castle is currently owned by the Tussauds Group, a group who owns tourist attractions and amusement parks around England and one or two in Europe (think Alton Towers, Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, Legoland etc). Prior to being turned into a tourist attraction by the Tussauds Group, the castle was actually a country home to the Greville Family, Earls of Warwick, from about 1604 until 1978. However, as a country home, the castle was already open to the public on and off, bringing in tourists to support the local economy. If we go back even further, the castle started out as a fortified settlement in 914 but, in 1068, William the Conqueror had conquered the Midlands. In order to hold the Midlands while he moved north, he built a castle at this spot. The style of castle he built required an additional mound to be constructed and the castle to be situated on top of the mound. The mound is called Ethelfleda's Mound. When the castle was taken over by King Henry II in 1153, he replaced William the Conqueror's castle with a larger stone castle. Throughout the centuries, the castle grew larger and the fortifications stronger.

View from a tower (Caesar Tower I think)

These days, the castle is uniquely a tourist attraction and it shows: colourful signs, games for which they shamelessly demand you pay extra and flashy shows. However, if you turn a blind eye to the touristiness, the castle is very beautiful and it is huge. We walked around the towers and ramparts, up Ethelfleda's Mound, around the gaol and into the wax museum area. The wax museum is set up as a Victorian party, decorated with furniture and wax people. There are recordings playing, as if the people are talking about a party that is going to be happening in the evening. The set up of the wax museum was very well done, to the point where I felt uncomfortable at first - as if I actually was crashing a Victorian party and intruding into somebody's home.

Ethelfleda's Mound

Pricing tip: if you are not interested in the shows, arriving about an hour and a half before closing time gets you a half price ticket. I couldn't find online exactly when the half price deal starts, but it's definitely worth the slightly quicker visit for the cheaper price. In my opinion, the entrance fee is overpriced - though the castle is beautiful. It's around £25 for adults and not much less for children and seniors. Many online reviews say the same thing - nice castle, but too expensive. If you are planning to go earlier in the day, try to at least book online as the online prices are cheaper. Click here to get to the pricing page. 

The hollow inside of the old Coventry Cathedral

Coventry Cathedral:  Since Coventry is only 15 minutes from Warwick Castle and the sun was still shining, we decided to pay the cathedral a quick visit - though we were getting tired from all the touring. Actually, Coventry has three Cathedrals, but we went to see the old St. Michael's Cathedral which is commonly referred to as Coventry Cathedral. It is a cathedral that was built in the 14th century, but, during the Second World War, was mostly destroyed in the Coventry Blitz. It is an now an open shell of the cathedral, with the tower and spire the only part of the building still in tact. It is a beautiful building, but a grim reminder of the damage of war. The spire itself is awe-inspiring and is actually the third tallest spire in England. As you drive into Coventry, you will run into mostly newer buildings - probably because all the older buildings were destroyed during the blitz. But as you approach the cathedral, you might start noticing the spire against the sky. Then, all of a sudden, you turn down a street and you are among medieval buildings with an open cathedral in the middle. Unfortunately, we arrived late, so we couldn't go inside the walls of the cathedral, but the entrances are blocked only by gates, meaning you can still have a look inside even if you can't walk inside.

The spire and tower

A few interesting facts about Coventry:

• It was officially the capital of England on and off through the 15th century.
• There may have been a settlement in this area since the Bronze age - a couple thousand years B.C.
• In 1043, Leofric, Earl of Mercia and his famous wife, Lady Godiva, founded a Benedictine nunnery in Coventry. Lady Godiva, legend has it, rode naked on a horse through the streets of Coventry to oppose a taxation law put in place by her husband.

After a quick visit around the cathedral, we grabbed a coffee from Starbucks and headed home for a tired night in.

I did it! I fit all three locations into one post! Though it may be on the long side. Hope you learned something and enjoyed reading about these historic areas in the West Midlands. These areas are definitely worth the visit, despite the heavy tourism. In my opinion, the tourism is mainly due to the fact that these areas ARE worth visiting and that they are within day-trip distance of London. Plus they give you a good feel for medieval architecture and life, especially if you can ignore some of the flashiness (especially at Stratford and Warwick).

Hopefully this weekend I'll finish up my posts following my day trip adventures from last week, but I have another trip planned for tomorrow already, so bear with me!

Until next time...
xox

Rain at the beach

Brighton beach with the amusement park pier in the back

While this week the weather warms up in southern England, we weren't so lucky last week. Most of our days were spent in windy rain, especially on the coast. After picking up a rental car Thursday, we headed south to Brighton. Going south didn't help the weather much and as we arrived at the Brighton beach, a light rain started and a cold wind picked up. The first place we stopped was a coffee shop for a warm drink. It didn't warm up, but we took a walk down to the beach anyway. We ended up eating our picnic lunch huddled behind a boat (on land) to protect us from the wind with our hoods up to protect us from the misty rain. 

The beach could be a nice enough place to visit in the sun, with beach chairs for rent, many sea food shops to choose from and an amusement park on the pier. However, it depends on the vibe you are looking for. It is a nice beach and I can also imagine it being party destination. Scattered among the sea food shops and fishing museums, there are dance clubs and bars. So far, I have only visited Brighton during cool, overcast days and for some reason... (who knows why!) the beach has been fairly empty. I can't really give a fair suggestion of what Brighton would be like on a bright, sunny day, but my impression is that it would be bustling with people and loud with music, especially in the evening. Their website boasts that Brighton "is famed for its nightlife." So I'm not going to recommend going there or not - it just really depends on what you are looking for. I will say that it is not a place to go if you want a QUIET beach getaway.

Wildlife (read seagulls) in Brighton

A good part of our afternoon was spent exploring the narrow 'Lanes' in downtown Brighton. The Lanes are an area of boutiques and unique stores selling clothing, jewelry, home decor and appliances, as well as little tea and cake shops. Since I have not yet experienced Brighton's nightlife, the Lanes are probably my favourite part of Brighton - the narrow cobblestone streets are pretty enchanting. 

The Lanes in Brighton

A little bit about Brighton: There seems to be a large art community in Brighton, though I have not personally experienced it. Brighton hosts a huge arts festival in May, the Brighton Festival, so that might be the time of year to look at Brighton if you are interested in the arts. The Brighton Fringe is the second largest Fringe Festival in the world, after Edinburgh, and also runs in May. In fact, after doing a small amount of research, you will find that there are many, many festivals hosted in Brighton, big and small. 

I have no pictures of festivals in Brighton, so here is a picture of some seagulls having a party ;)

The LGBT community is the most active in the UK and is known as the Gay Capital of the UK. Brighton Pride attracts thousands of visitors every year in early August. Maybe I'll take a trip down and finally experience the proper night life of Brighton. 

The Royal Pavilion

History: there has been a settlement in the Brighton area for over 2000 years. There is evidence of ancient sites near Brighton from thousands of years B.C. as well as a Roman villa from the Roman period (though no evidence left of an actual settlement). In the fifth century, Saxons took over the Brighton area. It was used as a port, but without an actual town until 1086. One important building that I did walk around (though I didn't go inside) is the Royal Pavilion. It was founded by the Prince Regent in 1783 and overhauled in 1815. This palace is beautiful and extravagant, marking an interest in Brighton by the royalty and the beginning of Brighton as a party town. 

Cookies and Cream cupcake at Angel Food Bakery

Good food:

Café Coho: This was the coffee shop we stopped at when we first arrived in Brighton. The coffee was delicious and the food smelled divine. We didn't try the food, as we had brought a picnic lunch with us, but we were definitely tempted. http://www.cafecoho.co.uk/ 

Angel Food Bakery: A cake shop in The Lanes. We each tried a different cupcake and they were all scrumptious. I regret not buying a dozen to take home with me. It's a small cake shop with limited seating but the cakes are worth it. http://www.angelfoodbakery.co.uk/

Angel Food Bakery

Though we were on the coast, weirdly, we didn't try any of the sea food, but theoretically it should be fresh and tasty. 

For more about what to do in Brighton, here is the link to its tourism site:  http://www.visitbrighton.com/ 

Follow me to Stratford, Warwick and Coventry tomorrow!

Hugs & kisses from England.

London Calling (again)

Well, last week was a busy week! My parents came to visit, so, of course, we had to do some exploring.  Anyway, since we were so busy last week, I didn't get a chance to post, so it'll have to be this week instead!

Since London is just a quick train ride from Slough, that is where we started our week. We would have a car the rest of the week, and we definitely did not want to drive in London - there's really no point, the tube goes everywhere... Besides, traffic is crowded and unpredictable, drivers are impatient - not a good environment for a tourist used to driving on the OTHER side of the road!

Quick tip: if you are going to be traveling around London, get a travelcard or an oyster card (the contactless payment card for London transport) onto which you can load a travelcard. You get unlimited travel in London. If you are traveling from outside of London, for instance from Slough, you can get a combined return train ticket and travelcard. It is a great deal and costs only a few pounds more than the return ticket itself. One or two rides on the underground is DEFINITELY worth it, more than that and it's a total bargain. 

Trafalgar Square

Our first priority, thanks to my artist mom, was the National Portrait Gallery, which is behind the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square (http://www.npg.org.uk/). It's a pretty cool place to visit if you are interested in portraiture - there's so many different styles from across the centuries for you to absorb. It's also interesting if you are fascinated by the stories about people. There are a lot of portraits of celebrities, historical as well as contemporary, and each one includes a brief story about the subject of the painting. It's a smallish gallery - compared to the National Gallery - but there's a lot to see and read. We spent a couple hours there. If you're not so interested in portraiture or people, but you do like art, I recommend the National Gallery (http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/).

National Gallery - Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of the National Portrait Gallery, but it's right behind this one. Take the tube to Charing Cross and you will see this gallery on exiting. Walk down the street to the right of the National Gallery and you will find a door to the NPG.

We had planned on taking a boat to Kew Gardens, but once we had finished at the gallery and eaten, we had missed the last boat. So, instead of going to Kew, we headed on a boat tour down the Thames with a different company. The tour was probably about an hour and a half altogether, which seemed pretty short. However, there is an option to "hop-on, hop-off" which we didn't take, since we had already visited most of the sights on a previous trip to England, but I imagine it's a pretty good option. We did that with one of the City Tour buses last trip and it really is pretty convenient - especially if you don't know London very well. Of course, the advantage of the boat tour is that you don't run into traffic and you get great views! (Link for both the bus and boat tours:  http://www.citycruises.com/sightseeing.aspx)

One of the many wonderful views from the boat

Victoria and Albert Museum

Because we hadn't made it to Kew, we didn't have a plan for after the boat tour, so I suggested the Victoria and Albert Museum (http://www.vam.ac.uk/), which I had loved when I visited a few months ago. It was only open for another hour and a half but we decided to go for a quick visit. The V&A Museum was founded in 1852 and named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. It's a design and art based museum, showcasing all different types of design, from ceramics to ironwork, furniture, architecture, fashion and any other design-related subjects you can think of. Since the opening of the museum, it seems as if the collections have just grown like crazy. There are millions of objects and artifacts, spanning continents and millennia, all spread through about 145 different galleries. It is now the world's largest museum of its kind. Though it is huge and impossible to see everything in one full day, never mind a mere hour, it was definitely worth the short visit and my parents enjoyed what little they saw.

Quick tip: the wonderful thing about London is that all the galleries and museums are free. If you're not sure about one or you're running low on time, just pop in and check it out. If you leave after a couple minutes, there's really no loss to you... or you might find a new favourite to return to another day. 

After a pint and pub food, we headed home for the night.

Good food in London:

Waiting in line at Leon

• Poppies Fish and Chips - delicious, though a bit on the greasy side. Portions were huge and we ate two regular size Haddock & Chips between the three of us. We visited the Spitalfields location, but there is another one in Camden. http://poppiesfishandchips.co.uk/
• Leon - Before visiting a Leon restaurant, my mom and I owned 3 of their cookbooks between the two of us. Their cookbooks are sold at Homesense in Canada, but, as far as I know, there aren't any Leon restaurants in Canada. The recipes in their cookbooks always turn out well, so we thought we should probably give the restaurant itself a try. It's a chain of restaurants with the logo "Naturally Fast Food." There are about 20 locations throughout London, so chances are you can find one nearby, especially in Central London. It was excellent and healthy, but some of the recipes I had tried at home tasted very different. Both tasted delicious just... different. It is worth giving Leon a try if you would like a quick, delicious lunch or dinner in London http://leonrestaurants.co.uk/

Until next time,

xx from London

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

Wien

I know it's been awhile, but let me continue from where I left off - Austria. Vienna, City of Music.

Vienna is so rich in a history and culture I had never really considered before. I didn't know much about Austria before going there; I hadn't realised that so many types of food, art and music had originated there - food, art and music that I'm actually really familiar with.

Viennese sausage

For instance, while I was in Austria, I learned at some point that Wien is the German name for Vienna (which is pronounce Vi-en). And that the German word for Viennese is Wiener. I had never thought about it before, but back in Canada we called those special rolls of meat reserved for hot dogs wieners. Well actually, it's just a Viennese sausage - found sold by street vendors all over the cities in Austria. 

Sachertorte

Sachertorte is another Viennese specialty. It is a dense, rich chocolate cake created by Franz Sacher in 1832. I had seen this cake in cookbooks and menus before, but didn't realise it originated in Austria. Cindy and I tried the sachertorte from the world famous Sacher Hotel. I had to make a journey specifically for the cake the morning we were leaving. It was about half an hour from our hostel, but it was definitely worth it. If you are in Vienna, don't miss out on it. In fact, the baked goods and pastries all over Austria were to die for. 

Death and Life, Gustav Klimt

Setting Sun, Egon Schiele

Another thing I didn't know about Austria was that one of my favourite artists, Gustav Klimt, was Austrian! I had seen his paintings in an exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto and fell in love with them. But I didn't really look into his background much further than admiring his paintings. Much to my delight, there were a few galleries strongly featuring Klimt paintings in Vienna. One is called Leopold Museum. This one features a collection by Rudolf Leopold, who had focused on Egon Schiele, who was heavily influenced by Klimt. When Leopold began collecting Schiele paintings, they were unknown and inexpensive. In fact, I believe Leopold may have had a hand in bringing Schiele to recognition. The museum features the largest collection of Schiele paintings in the world, as well as many Klimt and a few other artists. I absolutely loved it. 

The Leopold Museum is in an area called the MuseumsQuartier. It is full of museums, each showcasing a distinct genre or artist. There were options to buy tickets to visit a single museum, or multiple ones. Unfortunately, we didn't get there until the evening so we only had time to visit one museum. Cindy went off to the MUMOK (Museum of Modern Art) while I was at the Leopold Museum. If you have a full afternoon, definitely invest in the combined ticket and see as much as you can!

If you like Klimt, another must-see is the Oberes Belvedere. This gallery is part of a Baroque palace called Schloss Belvedere and features art from the late 19th- and early 20th-centuries. Klimt's most famous painting, The Kiss, is showcased at this gallery, which was the highlight for me. There's also a garden outside of the palace, which is probably really nice in the summer, but was pretty bare at the end of October. 

Oberes Belvedere

The Kunsthistorisches Museum has a wide range of art from various eras and areas. These art pieces were collected by the Habsburgs (an important royal family that ruled the Holy Roman Empire between 1438 and 1740 - thank you Wikipedia). Some of my favourite artists presented there were Rubens and Caravaggio, but the collection is so large there is definitely something for everyone. Besides which, the architecture, both on the outside and in, was stunning.

Kunsthistorisches Museum

There are SO many museums, galleries, palaces and gardens to choose from in Vienna. It was hard to choose what to prioritise in only 3 days, but I think we did a pretty decent job. Aside from the museums I mentioned above, we also went to the Hofburg (Imperial Palace - home the Habsburgs from 1273-1918) and Stephansdom (a Cathedral).

View from the Stephansdom

I would like to tell you about the hostel I stayed in, because it was fantastic, but I will leave that for my next post. For now, I hope you enjoyed reading a bit about Vienna!

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!