Austria-Germany 2026 - Salzburg

When we arrived at the Hotel Sacher (archive.org) in Salzburg the doorman was waiting for us (but that's another story!). Hotel Sacher overlooks the Salzach River. We had 3 connecting rooms with a shared living area.

We wanted to eat dinner in the hotel but the main restaurant was only taking reservations. We went to the bar where they had a good bar menu. But no pasta! We asked the waiter if he could get us pasta. His reply was "I'm not allowed to say No." He arranged to get pasta from the kids menu at the main restaurant. It really didn't matter that the noodles were shaped like teddy bears.

That "I'm not allowed to say No." attitude permeated the entire service staff. Some of us arrived back at the hotel one evening without a key. I stopped by the front desk and a desk clerk joined us. On the way up in the elevator she asked us what room we wanted to enter.

Tuesday we had a tour guide take us on a "The Sound of Music" tour. We visited Mirabell Gardens (archive.org) where several scenes were filmed, in nearby Mondsee the Basilika St. Michael (archive.org), and Hellbrunn where the gazebo is.

We had dinner at L’Osteria (archive.org).

All over Salzburg we noticed these brass plates in sidewalks.

They are "stumbling stones" (archive.org) to remind us of the terrible individual fates endured by residents of Salzburg. They are placed into the sidewalks outside houses and apartment buildings where the people they memorialize once lived. There are hundreds of these all over Salzburg.

Wednesday we drove to the Berchtesgaden Salt Mine (archive.org). The parking is a little walk away. They put you in sturdy jump suits to keep you warm since the temperature is in the 50°s, The tour is deep underground (425 ft.) and it takes both a train ride and a long wooden slide to get down there. There is a tour guide who lectures in German but there's an audio guide for English speakers (that worked very well). There is a nice gift shop at the exit.

We stopped nearby at Pizza Paradiso Da Stefano (screenshot) (Rathauspl. 2, 83471 Berchtesgaden, Germany) for lunch. This was a little mom and pop place but the food and service were excellent.

That afternoon we tried to visit Eagle's Nest (archive.org) but it was pouring down rain. From the visitor center, you had to walk to the shuttle bus and then it was a 20 minute bus ride and another walk to the actual site. We headed back to Salzburg.

Back in Salzburg, we had dinner at Osteria Cavalli (archive.org).

Thursday we drove to Hallstatt (archive.org) just over an hour away. Hallstatt is a UNESCO World Heritage site and pretty much made everyone's list as our favorite place. You park just on the edge of the village and walk in. It's like you've walked back in time. It sits on the edge of a beautiful lake with swans floating in it. The streets are narrow and are lined with houses and shops covered with flowers. There's a marketplace that's not too big, just right. There's a waterfall tumbling down from the mountain. We had lunch at Restaurant Grüner Baum (archive.org) on a pier with no guardrails. You don't see that in the U.S.!

On the way back to Salzburg, we hiked Lammerklamm gorge (archive.org), some further than others.

We had dinner at Sternbrau (archive.org) in Salzburg Old Town. On the way, we left a lock on the Makartsteg Bridge (archive.org) planning to return to Salzburg.

Friday we left Salzburg headed to Munich, just over an hour and a half drive.

Other Posts:

Overview

Vienna

Salzburg

Munich

Geotracks

My Daughter's Posts:

Vienna

Salzburg

Munich

Austria-Germany 2026

My daughter put together this itinerary. Her goal was to experience "The Sound of Music", Bavarian castles, World War II history, and, oh, there happened to be a Formula 1 race in Austria that weekend!

The route was Vienna, Salzburg, and then Munich. Vienna isn't an easy place to get to from Memphis. It took us 3 legs - Memphis to Detroit, Detroit to Amsterdam, and Amsterdam to Vienna. Total travel time was 26 hours.

I had spent an afternoon in Vienna in 2006 so we at least had some idea of what to see. These included Schönbrunn Palace, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Haus des Meeres, Museum der Illusionen, Spanish Riding School, and Mauthausen concentration camp on the way to Salzburg.

In Vienna, we stayed at the Marriott Bonvoy which was the only building in the ENTIRE trip that had an air conditioned public area, i.e. the lobby. The temperature in Vienna hovered around (sometimes above) 100°.

The Formula 1 race was in Spielberg, just over a 2 hour drive with no traffic. Three of us helicoptered to the race and the others visited museums and horses in Vienna.

We rented an 8 passenger van and headed out to Salzburg, about a 3 hour drive. We found a McDonald's on the way for a eagerly anticipated hamburger.

On the way to Salzburg, we visited the Mauthausen Concentration Camp.

In Salzburg, we stayed at the Hotel Sacher. The rooms were great and the service even better. Our rooms overlooked the Salzach River.

Salzburg was the general area where "The Sound of Music" was set. We found that the filming locations were not always as they were represented in the film which is probably typical. Still, we got to see many of the iconic sights and pose at most of them.

Salzburg is much smaller than Vienna and has a beautiful Old Town just across the river. The Old Town is full of restaurants, shops, and historic buildings.

The Berchtesgaden Salt Mine is just outside of Salzburg.

We then tried to visit the Eagle's Nest but it was pouring down rain which would have impaired the view.

The next day we drove to Hallstatt. Someone compared it to Eze without the stairs.

Our next leg was to drive to Munich. You knew you were in Germany when the speed limit signs disappeared from the Autobahn.

In Munich, we stayed in the Platzl Hotel in the central city. One block away was what could have passed for Bourbon Street - beer halls, gelato stands, sidewalk restaurants.

We hit several sights in central Munich including the Glockenspiel, the Viktualienmarkt, and St. Peter's Church.

Our last day of sightseeing was a drive to Hohenschwangau Castle and Neuschwanstein Castle. I don't think we could have made it without our great tour guide.

After an exciting night of returning the van, we turned in for a good night's sleep before the long journey home. At least on the return leg, we only had one stop in Atlanta after a 10 hour flight from Munich.

Other Posts:

Overview

Vienna

Salzburg

Munich

Geotracks

My Daughter's Posts:

Vienna

Salzburg

Munich