My first Europe trip - Day 4 of 15 (Austria: Salzburg)

We finally are able to escape from the hot weather of Italy. It's foggy, cloudy and cool as we approach Austria.

We had lunch in Autogrill again, but this time in Austria. This Autogrill is much bigger, with more food choices and bigger shop. However, the people (both the staff and customer) seems that they did not understand English as much as Italian. So my lunch turn out to be $20Euro but very small portion.

After lunch, we are going to Salzburg. Should be another 2-3 hours drive.

However, after about half an hour, nightmare starts. Traffic jam!

We are almost completely stuck. Can't see the head of the queue.

Some people get off their car, run to the side of the highway. I almost want to do that too if I'm a guy.

I thought there is some road accident but turn out it's the road construction. One lane is closed and there a traffic light to regulate traffic. Green light is on for 1 minute or 2 then 3 minutes red light. But the frustrating thing is, there is NO crew working on the highway at all, so why still use this light to stop the traffic! End up we are stuck on the highway for 5 hours!!! By the time we get to Salzburg, stores are about to close.

We just walk by the birthplace of Mozart, and the old street with many shops. Getreidegasse (also known as Grain Lane) is a busy shopping street in the Old Town section of Salzburg.

As we enter Salzburg, the feeling is so different from Italy. In Italy everything (especially traffic) looks so chaos. Architecture is great but worn down. Traffic is messy, people in general is not as friendly. Graffiti can be seen every where. But Austria is different, the buildings are well maintained. Very clean city. Even the people I met in Autogrill seems more friendly and helpful.

I would definitely say Austria is on top of my re-visit list.

Surprisingly, the Chinese food we had for dinner tonight is good. Much better than the one we had in Italy. Amaze that there is decent Chinese food in Austria too.

I also want to mention the hotel. It's the best so far! Modern, clean and on the 10th floor with view! The breakfast room is even on the 15th floor with the whole view of the city and nice choice of food. It's also quite close to the railway station. Hotel Europa (Rainerstrasse 31 A-5021 Salzburg) I'll remember that!

Europe Trip Day 4