Hotel Villa Carlton: How Salzburg Stole my Heart

Every so often I find myself in a city or town that captivates me as much as it inspires me, intrigues me, and as such completely overwhelms me with all of this happening at once.

Cue Salzburg, one of Austria’s most charming cities that almost relies solely on tourism due to its old world charm, spectacular architecture, connection to the Sound of Music and for being the birthplace of the world’s most prolific composer, Wolfgang Mozart.With an introduction like that, its little wonder this charming small city captivates the great majority of its visitors.

So without further ado, here is how Salzburg stole my heart.It doesn’t take longer than a day to fall in love with Salzburg. A great place to start is also one of the settings for the world’s most known musical film, The Sound of Music. Inside the Mirabellgardens, visitors can marvel over the freshly cut green grass that dazzles with an array of colourful flowers – colours that change each year according to tradition.

From there, its just a short fifteen minute walk over one of the many pedestrian bridges to make your way over to the Old Town of Salzburg – a UNESCO World Heritage listed area that is both charming and hypnotic, all at once.Here inside the Old Town, be sure to visit a selection of the cities’ highlights, including: The Salzburg Dom Cathedral; Hohensalzburg Fortress; St. Peter’s Monastery; Mozart’s Birthplace on Getreidegasse; and wander around the many shops whilst there.

While just one day is enough to explore the walkable city of Salzburg, its a good idea to plan for more time to enjoy one of the day trips from the city. Whilst I would have loved to journey to Eagle’s Nest on a day trip from Salzburg or visit nearby lakeside town Hallstatt I was quite content taking the day tour from Salzburg to visit the sights and sounds of the Sound of Music tour.

The tour lasted for 4 hours in length and visited all the filming locations in the city itself, followed by locations just outside of Salzburg and finishing in the lakeside town of Mondsee.Back in the Old Town, there’s still plenty to see and do beyond the main tourist attractions that can be covered in a day. The city is so charming that it is quite easy to pass a few days here, sipping on an Aperol spritz in the summer time or a glühwein in the winter.

If you so happen to be in Salzburg during the winter seeking an authentic winter Christmas experience, you’re in luck. The city comes to life for the festive season with the world famous Christkindlmarkt and the surprisingly good Winterfest.Getting Here: Within Austria, Salzburg is well connected to Vienna by car and rail. Within Europe, Salzburg is easily accessible from Munich and Zurich, especially by rail. If you find yourself in nearby Cesky Krumlov , CK Shuttle offer a door-to-door shuttle service to Salzburg. If you’re flying in from outside of Europe, you may find it beneficial to fly internationally to Munich and catch the train to Salzburg.

Stay: WoW stayed at the four-star Hotel Villa Carlton, located next to the Mirabellgardens. Staying on this side of the Salzach river is a great way to save a few dollars and the Old Town is a mere 15 minute walk away.Eat: For Austrian cuisine with a modern twist, consider the popular Blaue Gans (blue goose) in the Old Town.

Learning to Ski in the Swiss Alps:Arosa Kulm

When I first visited Switzerland last year at the close of summer, I was amazed by the sea of colours that lay before me. The Alps seemed a world away in the distance, whilst the rolling hills in front of me were bursting with colour and summer freshness. The sky was a rich shade of blue, the air was clean, and I felt as if I was living in the Sound of Music film. Hah! No really. The last time I stayed at the Arosa Kulm Hotel in Switzerland looked like this:

Then, an entire year and a season later, I finally returned to Switzerland to experience the winter wonderland that is Arosa. It is little wonder Arosa is a favourite ski destination for families around Switzerland and visitors from abroad. It doesn’t have the snobbiness of some other (unnamed) ski resort towns, and isn’t so laid back that you can’t enjoy a friendly race down the slopes. All in all, Arosa is pretty close to skiing perfection for those that enjoy a low-key holiday with the five-star comforts of beautiful hotels like the Arosa Kulm to return home to at the end of the day.

Given that I had never skied before (in my entire life – shock horror at 23 years of age), I came to Arosa with one task in mind: learn to ski. Here’s how it went.As previously mentioned, this wasn’t my first stay at the Arosa Kulm, located at the foothills of the ski slopes. I had stayed here once before a year prior and had such a memorable stay that I was eager to get back in winter, and so I did.

For my three nights at the hotel I enjoyed a big buffet breakfast every morning, used all the hours of daylight to hit the slopes or adventure around the many hiking trails, and spent the evenings ordering quality in-room dining, floating around the indoor pool or melting away inside one of the sauna/steam rooms.