The Hills are Alive

On the train headed to Salzburg

I couldn't help but think of my mom as Doug and I boarded the train headed to Salzburg, Austria. Salzburg is well known for the "Sound of Music" musical; it's one of mom's favorites. While researching our Munich trip I realized we could easily get to Salzburg from there.

We loved traveling the two hours on the train from Munich to Salzburg. The trains were comfortable, clean and provided great views of the countryside. Unfortunately it was raining but we had our rain gear and were ready for the adventure. We had booked a tour since we knew we only had a short time in the city and wanted to see as much as we could. Susan, our tour guide, shared her wealth of knowledge with us.

Pegasus in Mirabell Gardens

Our tour began at the Mirabell Palace built in 1606 by the Archbishop von Raitenau for his mistress and their 15 children. The baroque Palace is used as a Municipal building today. The Gardens, designed in 1690, were beautifully manicured. The pink, yellow and red flowers were lovely against the green grass. The pathways lined with trees created a walkway from the Palace towards a view of the Fortress at the top of the hill. We stood around the Pegasus statue and walked down the steps where the "von Trapp family" played and sang "do-re-mi".

We walked across the Salzach River on a bridge covered with love locks. Padlocks with the initials of the lovers were locked onto the bridge signifying the permanence of the relationship. The custom began over 100 years ago in Italy but only recently became popular in the rest of Europe. The city and river got its name from the salt mines in the area. The mine in Salzburg has been worked for over 7000 years and the river was used to transport the salt throughout the region making this area an important transportation route. That, and the gold that was mined here too.

The Salzach River and Salzburg Cathedral

Wolfgang Mozart was born in Salzburg so of course we saw the house where he was born and the house where the family lived during his teen years. Mozart could already play the piano and violin by the time he was 4 and was composing music by the time he was five. I think I was still learning how to tie my shoes. There were stores selling candy made in his honor; for the tourists mostly I think. We chose not to try them and saved our treat for the awesome looking Bavarian pretzels. I think we made the right choice; the hardest part was choosing which pretzel flavor to try.

Even McDonald's sign has to be like the rest

While we walked down Getreidegasse street we saw signs above the doors that indicated what products the store sold. These signs have been used for centuries and new stores must use them still today. People have lived in Salzburg since 15 BC and due the illiteracy of the peasants during that time pictures were used to tell the story. I have been using this method as I shop for 6 months now and it is very effective.

We saw Alter Markt where dairy products, herbs, turnips and cabbages had been sold since the 13th century and also where dances and festivals were held. St. Florian's statue has sat on the well in the center of the market since 1488. Wells were important not only for drinking water but also to put out the frequent fires in the city. Cafe Tomaselli, where Mozart had his coffee, occupied a corner of the square.

The fountain in front of the New Palace

We wandered through the narrow streets lined with four story tall buildings. Laundry hung outside the open windows telling us of life behind the doors. There were no sidewalks needed as everyone just walked in the street. No cars were allowed in the old city. Almost half of Salzburg was damaged by bombing at the end of WWII but much of the old city was spared and the Baroque architecture unharmed. This helped the old city keep its charm. We rounded a corner and entered the Residenzplatz. The Residenzplatz is a large plaza in the center of the old city. The square is formed by the old palace with 180 rooms, the new larger palace (the first one wasn't big enough for family visitors), the Salzburg Cathedral and a few historic residences. Since the mid 1600's a large baroque marble fountain of horses and dolphins has occupied the center of the plaza. I loved seeing the horses and carriages lined up at the old palace ready to give rides around the old city. The clip clop of the hooves on the cobblestones helped me imagine what this city sounded like in the Middle Ages.

The ornate Salzburg Cathedral

The Salzburg Cathedral captured our attention as we stood in front of the entrance. In the 1600's it was built out of white marble from the nearby Alps but there has been a church on this site since 774. When the original church was severely damaged this current building was built on the old foundation. There were four statues at the three entrance doors; St Rupert holding a salt barrel, St. Peter holding keys, St. Paul holding a sword and St Virgilius holding a church. Inside the Cathedral were high arched ceilings covered with ornate carvings. We sat inside for a few moments appreciating our surroundings.

A large stage filled the Domplatz (courtyard of the church) because the 2015 Salzburg Festival was occurring and concerts were happening throughout the city for 6 weeks. We heard music everywhere; violins, guitars, accordions, water goblets all sounded beautiful in the hands of skilled musicians.

Inside St. Peter's Abbey

Our tour continued to St. Peter's Abbey, a monastery that has been here since 696. Mozart often played in the Abbey. When Mozart was 13 he composed the Dominic us Mass for the Abbot and later conducted his famous Mass in C minor in this church. Every year this work is performed here during the Salzburg Festival.

I especially enjoyed the painting on the ceiling depicting Peter walking on the water but all of the paintings were inspiring.

Next to the church is a restaurant founded by the monks of the Abbey over a thousand years ago. It has served traditional Austrian food since 803. We peeked inside to see the restaurant courtyard and the rooms cut out of the mountain.

We walked through St. Peter's cemetery alongside the side of the Abbey. It is where the "Sound of Music" filmed the von Trapp's escape from the Nazi's.

Hohensalzburg Fort from the Abbey cemetery

Next we headed up the steep hill to the Hohensalzburg Fortress. We decided to climb the stairs (instead of taking the funicular) and loved looking out over the city as we climbed higher and higher. It took about 15 minutes to climb and the walk was beautiful. We entered through a series of gates that could be closed with the solid wooden doors hanging on thick metal rods. Even this entrance was steep. The 940 year old fortress was well protected on this hill. There were 50 buildings within the walls of the fortress and we wandered around the huge fortress for over an hour. The Prince's bedroom was decorated with shiny buttons on the ceilings representing the stars. There were ornately decorated stoves in the rooms to keep them heated, a golden hall for meetings and a golden chamber as a receiving room within the apartment. We saw the kitchens used to prepare food. The torture chamber included many horrible instruments used to punish prisoners including stocks and a bed of nails. We climbed the watchtower with its 360 degree view of Salzburg. Thankfully the skies had cleared a bit by this time and we could see the mountains surrounding the city.

Sound of Music marionettes

One of the rooms was used as a Marionette museum so we checked out all the different scenes describing life in Salzburg including the life in the palace, the salt mines, and the life of Mozart. There was even one on the Sound of Music. The string puppets have been great entertainment in Salzburg since 1916 and are still used today to present full length opera performances.

Sadly enough it was time to leave Salzburg. We loved our time in the city. There will always be more to discover but for now we echo "so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu."