Exploring the outer areas of Salzburg
All week we have been setting ourselves up to live in Salzburg and flitting from one must do to the next, however it is Samstag today - the weekend so we have nothing else to do other than be tourists and explore.
The morning started off by wandering down the beautiful Linzer Gasse street to our favourite bäckerei to pick up some treats. Today’s were croissants, apfelstrudel, topfentasche (flaky puff pastry filled with a sweetened vanilla cheese) and Jessy’s favourite a cinnamon scroll. Back at the apartment we begged the kids to come out and explore but Daniel had a very important gaming update that he couldn’t miss and Jessy was not happy with me for taking her phone away from her due to being on it too late at night so she didn’t want to come either which was a shame. I said to myself things would be different in Austria that we would live a different life and not keep reacting the same way. Back home if the kids didn’t want to go, Ben and I would usually not go and would just stay home, but we are not doing that here and we are letting the kids make their own decisions but it is not affecting us and what we want to do, so that is very different and it is actually working out really well. The kids come out when they choose and they have a great time when they do because we are not forcing them and when they don’t come Ben and I can usually explore a little further and that is what today brought.
Our intention initially was to find the ice skating rink (Eisarena Salzurg) Volksgarten at Hermann‑Bahr‑Promenade 2, 5020 Salzburg. This was only a 15 minute walk from where we stay and took us along a level path along the river and through a cute park. The park opened up to the building, however we discovered it was closed and wouldn’t open until October. Not a worry we weren’t actually planning on going ice skating as it was a balmy 34 degrees outside which we were enjoying but good to know for the future as we all love to ice skate.
It’s early days yet but it is very prominently on our minds to find our next apartment. From our conversations with Hannes, the real estate agent and other locals it is not easy to get accommodation. Firstly the leases are for a minimum term of 3 years (they do explain you can break your lease after 1 year and 3 months notice). Within that requirement you must pay a bond of 3 months rent and also of course pay rent in advance. The most popular website that the locals use to source accommodation both rental and sales is https://www.immmo.at. Another website they use is https://www.willhaben.at. The next hurdle we are noticing is there are plenty of 2 bedroom apartments for rent (which they call a 3 room apartment), however not so many 3 bedroom apartments (4 room apartments) which is what we need. We promised Daniel that he would get his own room (as he is currently sleeping in the lounge room).
The apartment we are in we absolutely adore (and Daniel actually has the lounge room all to himself as his bedroom and he said he would be happy to stay here and Jess loves it too so I have actually broached the topic with Hannes to see if he would be interested in us staying on a more permanent basis and he said he will look into it and get back to us.
We thought while we were in the area we may as well see some districts in case we need to find a new place so we wandered around Parsch a district on the east side of the city which was very quiet and a family area, we also then walked over to the old town area and had a look around Linzer Gasse which was far too industrial and just full of apartments which took us to Nonnatal a district tucked at the foot of the fortress hill (Festungsberg), this area was very traditional with cute villas and homes but we still prefer the Haupstrasse area where we currently are. Nonnatel had a beautiful trail leading up to the fortress which we took behind some Villas. The walk offered scenic views over the city roof tops and the mountains, but today for some reason I am feeling particularly jet lagged and so I needed to stop every 5 minutes while walking up the hill just to catch my breath. The Hohensalzburg Fortress walls are very impressive and this is one of the largest and best-preserved medieval castles in Europe at almost 1000 years old!
The walk continued around the fortress and came out in the Kapitelplatz in the old town (Alstadt) where there is a sculpture of a large golden sphere with a statue of a man on top. The interpretation is that the sphere contrasts with the surrounding historic architecture symbolising the intersection between modernity and tradition in Salzburg with the man on top expressing human presence and the human condition. I just liked how bizarre it was and how it has now become a landmark of the Kapitelplatz square.
We were getting hungry by now as it was broaching on 11pm Aussie time which was 2pm Austria time but it took us another 2 hours to pick a restaurant, there were that many, and the problem was were looking for traditional German food. I’m talking a goulash or a bratwurst or spatzle or anything German and it was a feat in itself to find this which is ridiculous. There are at least 50 Italian restaurants at every turn and I am not kidding, pizza and pasta for the plethora. We have also eaten from this region and don’t get me wrong it was spectacular but we found it so difficult finding a hearty German feed. There was burger cafes, sushi, indian, asian and other european but not necessary traditional restaurants. We finally found an adorable restaurant called “Old Fox” - Alter Fuchs and we had fun interpreting their menu with our google translator. We decided on the Rindssaftgulas (beef goulash served with bread dumplings) and the Salzburg Bierfleish (ragout from pork in beersauce with spaetzle) and they both were exactly what we wanted and so flavoursome and delicious. The goulash was the stand out dish and our favourite with a rich taste of sweet paprika, onions, spices and it had a velvety thick sauce when mixed with the dumpling was so satisfying.
Bellies full we grabbed the kids some burgers on the way home and headed back. The kids were rested and Jessy and I made up and played some banana peal and watched a movie and then headed to bed.