Last Tuesday I went to Salzburg. My goals for my day were to see Schloss Hellbrunn (Palace Hellbrunn) and to buy gifts for all the people on my list. To go all the way to Salzburg and only want to see one thing might seem strange to you, however, I have two reasons behind only wanting to see Schloss Hellbrunn.
1) I visited Salzburg in the summer of 2009 when I studied abroad in Berlin for 3 weeks. On that trip to Salzburg, I saw many of the things Salzburg offers from the fort to some of the churches and the outside of Mozart’s house.
2) I visited Schloss Hellbrunn with my family when I was 7 or 8. I remember loving it, I remembered the big trick table that shot water at people when they sat down, and just having a lot of fun. I wanted to go back in 2009 to see it as an adult, but did not get the chance.
After my recent visit, I could easily understand why my younger self enjoyed it so much. Schloss Hellbrunn was built in two years by the archbishop of the area. The actual palace is nothing special, but people came to visit the palace for its trick fountains, the zoo the Archbishop had, and the many rare plants and artifacts he had. The trick fountains consisted of water fountains that would squirt across the walking paths, a water organ, and water that would make wooden figurines move. There were many grottos there from a Poseidon grotto to a dragon grotto. These provided cool spots to visit in the summer heat.
After Hellbrunn, I returned to the center of the city and spent the next 3 to 4 hours shopping. I can now proudly say I have gifts for all 13 people I wanted to get gifts for, plus a souvenir for me. Salzburg was a lovely city to walk through, and an overall enjoyable day. I also enjoyed traveling by myself as it made the experience very relaxing.
This is one of my shortest posts, but it is exam time, and I had my first one this morning. I felt ok about it afterwards, so now it is 3 more written exams, 3 oral exams, 2 presentations, and 2 final papers to go before I am home in two weeks. In that time I will post one more blog for sure in order to fulfill some College of Charleston Scholarship requirements.I also hope to post another after my final side trip to Hallstatt this Friday. After those blogs, if there is anything else you are really wanting to know about my life in Austria feel free to leave a comment.
Thanks for all the prayers.
Alexis
Abroad in Austria 