In honor of my upcoming trip to Munich for Oktoberfest, I thought I’d find out a little more info about the place where we have (half) decided to take our day trip to—Salzburg, Austria. Here goes nothing:

• The Republic of Austria is landlocked in central Europe, with borders including Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, Slovenia and Italy, Switzerland and Liechtenstein
• The capital of Austria is Vienna
• 2010 marks the 150th birthday of the famous Austrian musician, Gustav Mahler. To honor him, a special CD edition of his work has been compiled
• Austria is a federal republic state with a parliamentary democracy, consisting of 9 independent federal regions
• Austria has a strong economy with machinery, metallurgical products and textiles, but the most important industry is tourism
• Salzburg itself has approximately 142,662 inhabitants and lies 436 m above sea level
• Salzburg is divided by the river Salzach. On the left side of the Salzach you will find the “Old Town” of Salzburg, while the “New Town” lies on the right side of the river

Bis bald, friends!