I visited Julia's world! :)

Fifteen years ago, I lived and studied in Salzburg. That's why I chose this beautiful town as the setting for one of my books. However, I hadn't been back to Salzburg ever since writing The Boy From The Woods, so it was high time to revisit all those places I'd used in my story and see if they were like I remembered them!

Salzburg 2014 (with my sister Marije, who proofreads all my books!)

The first thing we did was walk around town. Quite a lot of the story happens in the Old Town (or Altstadt, in German) of Salzburg, so walk around with me.

The river Salzach that flows through Salzburg and features in the story quite a lot, and the castle up on the mountain overlooking the town

Höllrigl, the bookstore where Julia works, outside and inside - plus the loading/unloading quadrangle where she takes a cigarette break with Michael after their kiss. The real Höllrigl employees were all giving me some weird looks when I was taking pictures of this patio :P

O'Malleys, the pub where Julia hangs out with her friends, outside and inside.

Florian's house is in the left picture, and Michael's house bordering on the river is the middle house in the right picture. :)

The front of Mirabell Gardens, overlooking the town and castle, and the quieter woodland part where Julia goes on a real date with Michael for the first time.

After strolling around town, it was time to take the bus to Birkensiedlung, where Julia and Thorsten live. Of course, this is also where Julia's forest is. :)

Thorsten's house, front and back.

Julia's house. (this is where I used to live)

The main trail leading into the forest, and one of the oak trees in the woods.

... and this is me, going off-track to venture into the woods, just like Julia. :)

It was a wonderful, inspiring trip! If you've never visited Salzburg, Austria before, I suggest you go ASAP :) Lots of friendly people, good food, and almost everybody speaks English.