Salzburg

Arrived at 11:00 and found guide for our 90 minute walking tour of the old town. Drizzled on and for 45 minutes before stopping completely and we did actually see some sun in the afternoon. The tour started on the opposite side of the river (coaches have to drop off in next street) at Mirabelle Gardens with Schloss Mirabelle at one end and the Mozart University at the other. Then across the river on the pedestrian bridge, the one used for putting padlocks on railing and fencing, passing on the way Mozart’s 2nd home and Doppler’s birthplace. The main shopping street ( expensive boutiques) has no. 9 Mozart’s birthplace and where he lived until in his teens. This is the picture of the yellow house with the Spar on the ground floor street level. The Mozarts lived floor 3 (Austrians count ground, 1, 2, 3). Off the Main Street are numerous alleys leading to small squares and we spent our tour going around these finding the main points of interest, St Peter’s (Benedictine) Abbey, ( there is a second Jesuit Abbey also with some monks on the hillside on the opposite side of the river). Salzburg Cathedral and the castle on top of the hill ending the tour in market square. We had lunch then repeated much of the walk ourselves additionally visiting the Abbey,( not as ornate as Melk)and a walk around the churchyard which is still in use today. The Abbey was established around 700, ( the cathedral is later in 774). The guide continually tested us on our knowledge of the Sound of Music by pointing out the various places in Salzburg where filming took place.
The pictures: Mozart statue, Schloss Mirabelle/ Mirabelle gardens, M’s 2nd home, main shopping street, M’s 1st home and birthplace, St Rupert of Salzburg who founded Abbey. St Peter’s Abbey, the castle,view across river to Jesuit Monastry, Salzburg Cathedral.Read more