Before the Easter weekend, we went to Salzburg. I’ve been before and thought it would make a good destination for the boys. It’s a small city with all the sites in a smallish area and is as beautiful as a city can be. We stayed in a cosy guesthouse about 15 minutes out of the old city and spent our evenings on the balcony staring up at the magnificent view of the snow-capped mountains that surround the city. The house is a family operation, it is decorated in traditional Austrian style and was all decked out for Easter with bunnies and brightly coloured eggs adorning every windowsill and branch. Our breakfast comprised of ham, salami, cheese and various spreads to go with a basket of fresh bread rolls and hot coffee. The other meals of the day were supplied by the kind folk of Salzburg in the form of hot-dogs, cheese-infused sausages, fries and schnitzel. Oh and cakes. Austrian’s really know their cakes.
We had cake and coffee at a couple of places in town, one was Cafe Tomaselli. Run by the Tomaselli family for over 150 years, this place oozes with old Viennese charm. The women waiters carry around trays of cakes from their selection in the cake cabinet and the men waiters then come an take the coffee order. It is extremely civilized and I can’t believe we made it through our visit with no incidents from the younger, less controlled members of the family. The other cafe was smaller but served equally delicious cakes. The whole city really celebrates the Easter month and there are decorated eggs everywhere and coloured ribbons hanging from branches. It was a grand time and we ate some wonderful meals (oh and yes, we saw some lovely historical sites as well, but we all know that travel is all about the food).