Since we had reservations for the 19:03 train from Salzburg to Munich, we had most of the day to explore. So we grabbed a map from the hostel, and off we went.
We walked through the park below on our way downtown.
Park in Salzburg
And a polite lady offered to take a picture of us in front of a fountain.
Shot in front of a fountain
After meandering downtown for a while, we walked toward the river. On the walk we heard some music coming a building. We didn't have anything pressing to do, so we decided to check it out. Turns out the building was the music building of one of the univerisities in Salzburg, and we were listening to students practicing.
After that, we found a church that we wanted to explore. While inside, I happened to notice the following on a bulletin board.
ClipArt
Apparently Screen Beans are famous world-wide. (Screen Beans are clipart created by A Bit Better Corporation. They do everything from singing, to playing various sports, to trying to solve puzzles, to hosting business meetings.)
After checking out the church, we crossed the river and hiked up a path to what we believed was a castle, but could have just been an elaborate Austrian equivalent to a state park. Set along the cliffs that encompass Salzburg are paths with spectacular aerial views of the city below. Here's a shot of Patrick admiring the gorgeous view. We decided to stop and eat lunch along one of these paths, just enjoying the quiet and beauty before us.
Looking over Salzburg
After lunch we continued along the paths. We had noticed during lunch that there was another way off the cliffs, so instead of backtracking over stuff we had already seen, we decided to take a more circular route back towards the hostel.
Little did we know that the path would drop us off in a quaint shopping district, full of little shops selling various wares. It was nice because it didn't have the feel of a tourist trap. The shops sold more than just keychains and t-shirts, infact, most that I saw, didn't sell those things, which was a nice change. Instead, most stores were artisans working and selling their trade. So we wandered through the small, pedestrian-only streets, window shopping and doing a little actual shopping as well.
One of the store fronts we passed had a lady etching some glass. The craftmanship (done by hand) was beautiful, and if I wasn't traveling via backpack and had a way to get it home without damage, I would have been sorely tempted to buy something. Below you can see a picture of her working.
Glass Artist
As we were wandering out of shopping district, I noticed a puppeteer. Unfortunately I couldn't get my camera out fast enough to get a picture of her entertaining a little girl by making the bird 'drink' from the puddle at her feet, but I did manage to catch this shot.
Puppeteer
By this time it was getting late and we needed to do some grocery shopping and grab our packs before catching our train.
Next stop: Paris!
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