Salzburg
Of course, we’re here because of the Sound of Music (evidently Austrians do not get this avid interest, but finally decided to cash in on Americans’ crazy devotion), but oh, this city is so much more. It’s truly beautiful. We have a hotel in the old town, a Radisson – Altstadt Hotel – and it’s very old, redone, and the front desk people are lovely. The inscription on the paint outside says 1332 and 1992.
Tricia and I are in a crazy room, the Kaiser Suite, which was the servants attic, I’m sure, but made into a great giant room. Tricia said she was game for the sleeper sofa, but I was up most of the night and watched her turn a 360, so clearly not that comfortable. We’ll share tonight. I also realized that if you’re in the attic, there are no opening windows, but the balcony, and the fun of it, and the luck for being short, all makes it a very fun and surprising room.
We took the train from Munich and then a cab to the hotel, all so easy. We got lunch at a place that took forever, but was seriously good. The headline on the menu said the highlighted recipes were based on a cookbook from 1719 from the restauranteur and they had the cookbook on display! Amazing. I had one of the highlights, vegetables cooked in a pot, so good. Then we ordered a tray of apricot desserts to share, but they brought us all one and we were in heaven. Apricot cannoli, sorbet, stewed, cake, soup.
Then Flynn took some time off in their room watching a show and Holly, Tricia and I did the Rick Steve’s audio tour. The buildings are beautiful, a lot of Italianate which I wouldn’t want on my house, but love to see in big grand buildings. There were bombings here too, but not as destructive as Munich.
Turns out this the reason so much is Italianate is because this was the Rome over the alps. The prince here was also the archbishop so both religious and political leader for the area. He was the voice of the pope in this area.
Even though Americans think of Salzburg as the home of the Sound of Music, which it is, people in Salzburg think of it as the home of Mozart. Even though Mozart left here at 25 and didn’t look back, Salzburg needed a big tourism boost and his sister and father helped create a museum in his birth house after he died. The Mozart Foundation started the Mozart Museum in 1880 and it’s great – it was my last stop for the day. His wife and two sons supported this and took care with his music to preserve as much as possible.
Walking into Mozart Plaza:
This is the Cathedral that St. Rupert started in 690? Something like that. The cool thing is that if you back way up, you can see the statue of Mary welcoming all to the city and she’s set so that two angels on the front of the cathedral holding a crown look like they’re putting it on her head.
Inside
Mozart’s baptismal font (a lot of other people too before and after), had etchings of key stories from the Bible. At first, I thought they were Grecian because that’s what they looked like, but nope. It’s from 1320.
Here’s the fort with a piece of modern sculpture in front of it.
Great fountain that was built in the 1600’s for horses to take a bath:
Bench next to the cathedral – the one unintelligible word means “without”.
Amazing catacombs, don’t know the story, but so old. The view from the caves up top shows the churches basically on top of each other with a small cemetery where if you didn’t keep renting the space you go moved out – all of you and your monument. This is where they filmed the Von Trapp family hiding in the cemetery in the convent.
Next to St. Peter is a restaurant that claims to be the oldest in Europe, maybe the world? The visitor that is claimed from that year was Charlemagne. It’s a beautiful restaurant, with music in the evenings, but sadly, can’t to – no time!
St. Rupert (660-710AD) put Salzburg on the map, built the fort, built up the salt, he re-established the monastic community at St. Peter’s and laid the foundations of Salzburg Cathedral. He also founded the Benedictine nunnery beneath the fort he started. His niece Erentrude became the first abbess. This is the nunnery where Maria knocked on the door and asked to be a novitiate.
So – a lot to learn and explore and I’m left with questions and more places I’d like to see, but lucky to even get 2 nights and a full day here.
Reb's Walks! 