Salzburg
Salzburg is a city of music. It is the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the shops are filled with candies named after him (quite delicious little things), and many nights of the week quartets and small symphonies play his music at several venues throughout the town (but apparently, not on Tuesday or Wednesday nights).
It is also the city of “The Sound of Music”. There are many tours based on the movie, with references at several locations. The hop-on-hop-off bus has a special channel dedicated to it. If my sister Mary (or one of my friends also into musicals) was with me, it would have likely been the focus of the short stay. But you don’t have to be an afficionado of classical music or musicals to enjoy yourself, Salzburg can be an outdoor paradise for hikers (and in winter – skiers), its skyline is dominated by the Hohensalzburg Fortress (the second most visited place in Austria),
and the city is filled with museums, so you don’t have to be an afficionado of classical music or musicals to enjoy yourself.
The Mirabel Gardens was my favorite spot (and free). The grounds of the estate house were covered in flowers and statuary, and made for a pleasant place to stroll, sit, and people watch, since they were also a favorite spot for many others.
The trip up to the fortress by funicular (or you can choose to walk) was slightly complicated by their COVID precautions. When you arrive at the funicular, even before you can buy a ticket, you need to scan a QR code, link with either WHATSAP or another program I’m not familiar with, then show your COVID vaccination certificate, then get a wrist band. Many of us stood at the base looking confused (it didn’t help that the placard with the QR code was mainly in German, looking closely I found in English in much smaller type “scan to enter fortress). The initial worker’s English was a bit unclear, and as the line grew, another young gentleman came and helped guide us through the process. The Fortress has dominated the skyline for centuries, with many “additions” made by Bishops and Noblemen, to create what we see today. When they did the most recent renovations – they found some areas that had previously been covered up,
and it even had a type of “central” heating in the Middle Ages (a giant hole was dug into the rock under the main hall, this was filled with wood, then a screen of rocks set over it, once the wood was burned, the top area was temporarily sealed – which put out the fire and heated the rocks, the seals were removed and the heat would rise into the room.
John’s museum pick was the Salzburg Museum of Modern Art, which is located on the edge of the hill overlooking the town on a ridge about ½ km from the fortress. The art ranged from criticisms of Imperialism-
To modern sound and thoughts on the definition of music vs noise.
Practical stuff: We stayed at another A&O Hostel, where there were easily as many people our age (or older) staying in their private rooms for 60E per night. They make a great option for budget travelers, hence the age groups (the “youth” part of the hostel often stay in the dorms for about 12-15E per night). They are often located very close to the train stations, so we don’t need to find where the Uber picks you up – you just walk the block or two with your luggage.
Food and Drink: there are a number of nice restaurants – we just didn’t end up in any. The Gruner Veltliner white wine is another nice, crisp white, and even the budget bottles that cost less than 5E are very good.
One disturbing thing about Salzburg was the number of beggars (many more than we saw in Vienna). They each had a designated “station”, they showed up and went home at the same time, and all wore similar dress. We’re pretty sure we saw the “leader” checking in on one of the crew. They were mainly older, but at least one was under 25. They never left their assigned spot. They were never aggressive (like they can be in Austin, TX), but very present, especially in the area between the train station and old town.
Onward to Croatia!
We had a speaker from Moldova at our church on Saturday. He said the Russian Mob controlled the beggars. As you mentioned the “leaders”, it brought our conversation to mind. He said the ONLY thing you could give a beggar that he might be able to keep for himself is a food item. Every dollar he gets goes to the Mob boss. It sounds like they have that system here, too.
Your photo of the Hohensalzburg Fortress is beautiful! Makes the whole area look like a wonderland. And I think next time, you should pick the museum! 😀
Another friend who lives in Spain says they’ve seen it at some of the towns there since the start of the pandemic, most are from Eastern Europe/ Romania.
And John and I alternate on the museum picks – it was his turn. Mine always seem to involve lots of stairs.