Despite the rain that stayed with us most of the day today, we still had a great time south of the German border in our visit to Salzburg, Austria! Here's what we discovered today:
After a 7 am wake-up call and another try at the adventure of German breakfasts, we made the 2-hour drive to Berchtesgaden, enjoying some incredible views of the Alps, rivers and forests along the way. We made our first stop at the Berchtesgaden Salzbergwerk for a salt-mine tour. We got fitted in our very attractive outfits, took a train through 600 m of mountain, and walked through the hundred+-year-old facilities. Highlights of the tour were two trips down steep wooden slides (and the fun, yet slightly embarrassing photos taken mid-slide...) and a boat trip across one of the "salt lakes" complete with light show.
We then traveled to downtown Salzburg for some lamb burgers and cafe goods for lunch before meeting our tour guide. The tour was short and to the point due to some pretty constant rain showers, but we still were able to see some amazing things- the Dom (Cathedral) where Mozart was baptized, the Benedictine monastery, the Festung (fortress)- one of the oldest still maintained in Europe, the Mirabell palace and gardens- a gift from the archbishop to his girlfriend and family (whoops...), and several scene locations from the famous film "the Sound of Music." We also saw just some really fun modern things, such as giant pickle statues, a life-size street-art chess set, and the "love locks" on one of the central bridges- locks with newly married couples' initials chained to the bridge and whose key has been thrown into the river, locking the couple in love forever. Finally, we toured Mozart's birthplace and home for his first 16 years and ended with some shopping in the famous "Getreidegasse."
For dinner we enjoyed some pizza and Doener kebabs in Munich and enjoyed one last walking tour of the city. Tomorrow we head to Hildesheim to finally meet our host families!
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