Note: I have not been keeping up with posts, not so much out of laziness, but rather because our hostel in Munich only has wifi in the lobby (and it's super slow too!) and we're on the 3rd floor >.< So this post is still about Salzburg haha.
This morning we went to another nearby cafe to have breakfast, and I got to try a Croque Monsieur for the first time! (It's really just ham and cheese on toast, with an egg sunny-side up) Afterwards, we did some grocery shopping and got ice cream before heading back to our hostel to meet for an ice caves tour leaving around 12:30pm. The tour was with Panorama Tours, and was basically just transportation for a bus full of people to/from the ice caves. The ice caves itself involved a separate ticket, and a separate tour led by their own staff. The drive to Werfen (where the cave is) was about 50 minutes, and the last segment from Werfen to the ice cave was up a huge hill with awesome views of the countryside! Also kind of scary considering it was a tiny winding road and we were on a huge tour bus.
After we got as far as we could go by bus, we had to get off and hike another 20 min to get to a cable car, which we took up another steep incline. And after that, it was another 20min hike up to the entrance of the cave. Immediately at the entrance, it was already pretty cold, and you could see your breath! So we all bundled up in warm clothes and got ready to go in! The ice cave is called Eisriesenwelt, and is apparently the largest ice cave in the world! (It's 42 km long, but only the first km is filled with ice) Inside the cave, it's pitch black (you have to bring your own lighting, in the form of lanterns that were interspersed throughout our tour group) and also below freezing! At first it was alright, but towards the end of the 1-hour tour, my feet and fingers were definitely freezing! The only downside to the tour is that because you're in a big group and there's a lot of stairs involved, there was no photography allowed! (Otherwise it would slow down the group and/or could be hazardous) I know I definitely needed a lot of concentration to make sure I didn't trip on the stairs! So instead, Stephanie Zach and I snuck photos using our phones...
When we got back to Salzburg, it was dinnertime, and we opted for Italian food at this small family restaurant that served 3 different types of pasta each day. (I got pesto) Afterwards, we went back to the hostel to grab some drinks we had bought earlier in the day, and then headed to the river (Salzach) to sit, drink, and watch the sunset. Unfortunately, the cherry liquor we got wasn't that tasty (it got too sweet after just a few sips) and we ran out of red wine (Steph was an alcoholic and drank it all haha) pretty fast. Then we had to go in search of a bathroom. And then we almost lost Stephanie after she wandered off when I stopped inside a cafe to get some apple strudel. Quite literally couldn't find her anywhere! Til a canon went off in the distance and that scared her back hahaha. (Her new nickname is Drunk Swei) Apparently she had been sitting on a bench by the river, so that's what we proceeded to do until we decided to go back to our hostel.
This morning we went to another nearby cafe to have breakfast, and I got to try a Croque Monsieur for the first time! (It's really just ham and cheese on toast, with an egg sunny-side up) Afterwards, we did some grocery shopping and got ice cream before heading back to our hostel to meet for an ice caves tour leaving around 12:30pm. The tour was with Panorama Tours, and was basically just transportation for a bus full of people to/from the ice caves. The ice caves itself involved a separate ticket, and a separate tour led by their own staff. The drive to Werfen (where the cave is) was about 50 minutes, and the last segment from Werfen to the ice cave was up a huge hill with awesome views of the countryside! Also kind of scary considering it was a tiny winding road and we were on a huge tour bus.
See the castle on the hill? And see the huge mountain on the right? Yup we went up that one.
After we got as far as we could go by bus, we had to get off and hike another 20 min to get to a cable car, which we took up another steep incline. And after that, it was another 20min hike up to the entrance of the cave. Immediately at the entrance, it was already pretty cold, and you could see your breath! So we all bundled up in warm clothes and got ready to go in! The ice cave is called Eisriesenwelt, and is apparently the largest ice cave in the world! (It's 42 km long, but only the first km is filled with ice) Inside the cave, it's pitch black (you have to bring your own lighting, in the form of lanterns that were interspersed throughout our tour group) and also below freezing! At first it was alright, but towards the end of the 1-hour tour, my feet and fingers were definitely freezing! The only downside to the tour is that because you're in a big group and there's a lot of stairs involved, there was no photography allowed! (Otherwise it would slow down the group and/or could be hazardous) I know I definitely needed a lot of concentration to make sure I didn't trip on the stairs! So instead, Stephanie Zach and I snuck photos using our phones...
That's the entrance to the ice cave, all the way up there!
All bundled up and ready to go!
At certain landmarks, the tour guide would also light up some string-like fibers that would provide enough bright light for us to admire the ice forms! The stalactites/stalagmites were really pretty! But it was super hard to take photos of them >.< The whole tour inside the cave involved traveling about 1 km into the cave, and about 700 steps each way. All in all, I thought it was a fun experience! But at 35 euros for the bus tour and 18 for entrance it was also pretty expensive!
The guide had to light fibers to illuminate the caves!
When we got back to Salzburg, it was dinnertime, and we opted for Italian food at this small family restaurant that served 3 different types of pasta each day. (I got pesto) Afterwards, we went back to the hostel to grab some drinks we had bought earlier in the day, and then headed to the river (Salzach) to sit, drink, and watch the sunset. Unfortunately, the cherry liquor we got wasn't that tasty (it got too sweet after just a few sips) and we ran out of red wine (Steph was an alcoholic and drank it all haha) pretty fast. Then we had to go in search of a bathroom. And then we almost lost Stephanie after she wandered off when I stopped inside a cafe to get some apple strudel. Quite literally couldn't find her anywhere! Til a canon went off in the distance and that scared her back hahaha. (Her new nickname is Drunk Swei) Apparently she had been sitting on a bench by the river, so that's what we proceeded to do until we decided to go back to our hostel.
Coke bottles have the coolest names here!
View from the river!
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