So the crazy me has a list of to do’s beyond the Scuba Dives, Sky Jumping and Flying Hot Air Balloons. The other list is at times errant and instinctive leaving my better half stunned with no choice but to fall prey to it. Can you notice the devil horns on my head while I say this 😈
Ok so for Europe what was it , time to spill the beans baby , to the man who would make that happen. I begin to tell him, that one of the days all I wanna do in Europe is just sit at a quiet spot and gaze the endless parsley green fields, watch Europe’s trademark dalmatian cows grazing its meadows , cute old men sporting tweed cabbie caps catch their fish by a placid lake, rivers sledge down the gorgeous mountain valleys, and the sun sinking behind fairytale towns with one of my current favourite songs, a Bollywood number called “Moh Moh Ke Dhaage” playing in the background.
I expected the usual frowned brows on disclosing this to him but I got a little peck on my cheeks instead. I guess 12 years of knowing me and 4 years into marriage has made him give up on me totally 😂
We arrived in Salzburg on 4th of July, after spending 10 memorable days in Italy all bruised, tired , exhausted , astonished , gleaming with joy all of it at the same time owing to the long hours of walking on those cobbled alleys and streets, climbing hundreds of steps to beautiful basilica’s , breathtaking domes, clock towers , gasping at the best museums and art the world has to offer. You will read detailed excerpts on the Italian sojourn later.
An upward overland journey from Venice, we arrived in the Mozart’s town quite late in the hour by the time most tourist attractions had shut down and all that we could do was wander on streets lined up with pretty coffee shops and restaurants, little stores selling souvenirs and gifts, people crossing the bridge over Salzach river and cycling down carefree on its banks. By the way this is one of best things to do in whole of Europe, its absolutely free and something that I miss the most back in India.
Salzburg was just a point of transit for us on our way to Prague from Italy, a 12 hour long overland journey which I purposely chose over a short 1 hour flight. We just had a day in hand and it was a rather a tough choice to make between whether to cover the city and its attractions at a relaxed pace, to visit the ice caves at Werfen apparently the largest in the world and something we really were keen on before the very start of the trip or to action my bucket list which was still haunting me (Listening to Moh Moh ke Dhaage remember 😍) and here we were already inching towards the near end of our 2 weeks in Europe.
We agreed to drop the ice caves around this time and rather get a hang of the city , paying some respect to this charming Austrian town which is the country’s second most popular after its capital city Vienna. Covering all the attractions during the daytime and finding a secluded spot in the evening to sit down and listen to that song would finally get my list ticking too. This would also rest our tired , swollen blistered feet from Italy 😇
Salzburg’s major city attractions can be easily covered in a day unlike Italy where every attraction takes 3-4 hours depending upon your interest and pace. But still I suggest one keeps 3 days here in your itinerary to take some day trips to Werfen Ice Caves and visit Hallstatt a charming little village 70 km south east of Salzburg and simply go hiking & biking in the Bavarian region. We plan doing this whenever next in Austria.
After an easy day of city exploration we walked towards the Salzach river banks to find a secluded spot to sit or lie down silently next to each other and finally listen to Moh Moh ke Dhaage over and over again, At this point I had butterflies in my stomach, yes things like this can make me that excited , nervous all at the same time.
Moving towards the bridge that would take us down to the banks of the river I couldn’t help notice sky changing its color every few seconds , I jugged it off thinking its me who manifests a canvass of imagination every now and then, but then everything starts turning crimson and hues of pinks , oranges , and within minutes it starts to pour. Here goes our plan , washed out by the errant mountain rains and before I can even wink or react to this total mood dampener , I was pulled aside by my Mr. Right asking me to run and take shelter below an old tree. He quickly zips up my bright pink windcheater and says sorry baby your wishlist…..couldn’t make that happen, apologizing for Indra Dev’s (Aka indian rain god) deeds. Around this point in time I started to wonder if it was indeed better to go with our original plan of visiting the ice caves instead.
Standing under that tree, waiting for the out pour to stop , raindrops resting on my misty hair, watching specks of mud collect on my brand new white keds that I am paranoid about getting dirty, I looked up with a clown face in order to lift both our spirits, and hey what do I notice , the skies have staged a drama, its a live concert of colors, from blue grey they turn into hues of crimson, orange, amber, pink and shades only the fashion world can identify with, I turn behind and the famous Hohensalzburg Fortress a famed white and grey structure symbolic of Salzburg city turns soothing honey gold. A Fairytale moment gifted by the almighty to us , that moment I wanted to seize a kiss but was held back by my Indian ethos so I just pulled him besides me to catch hold of his hand and we walked hand in hand on the banks of river Salzach watching the sun go down ….humming “Moh Moh ke Dhage, Teri Ungliyon se ja Uljhe”.
Do you have odd bucket lists too, I would love to hear yours in the comments below !
