Saltzburg, Austria

We spent a day and an evening in Saltzburg, birthplace of Mozart and the setting for the Sound of Music. These two things are the main focus of the tourism here. The building our room was in dated to 1402 and it was nowhere near the oldest in town. The floors had quite a slope to them.

Saltzburg got it's name because a long, long time ago, they had access to salt mines and a river for trading. Salt was used for the preservation of food at that time so it was an important thing. They used both the salt and the river for trading and became a rich, powerful, city. Several archbishops invested money into the city as evidenced by the cathedral and other ornate buildings. They wanted to be the next Rome. There is also a fortress on the hill that was enhanced several times for protection as various regimes took power. The walls of the city expanded as the population grew. The old town area is rather small and very walkable. It is also congested as they built buildings anywhere there was room. The streets were connected by small tunnel like alleyways that went under buildings. Today, these alleyways are filled with shops and cafes.

We traveled by taxi and then train to Saltzburg from Slovenia. After settling into our apartment in the old town, we walked around the town looking at things highlighted in our gps my city or Rick Steves walk. We had dinner and called it a night.

The next morning we started with a free walking tour. Our guide, Sonya, was very good, taking us to many of the key places, giving us history lessons, and telling stories from the city. Shortly after the walk ended, we went to the cathedral for an organ concert. The cathedral has 5 organs, four smaller and one grand organ. (They used to have 7.) The organists played on 3 of the smaller organs and then on the Grand organ, and oh, what a sound that grand organ made.

Next stop was lunch at the Steiglkeller for lunch and a beer. Following lunch, we went to the Mozart museum which is in the house where he was born.

Our next stop was the Hohensalzburg fortress on the hill. To get to the fortress you can walk up hill or take the funicular. We chose to ride. Once there we checked out the dungeons where an archbishop was sentenced to for taking too much salt from the mines. He was building grand things to make a name for himself. He died there after 5 years of solitary confinement. We climbed the bell tower for the view and then walked around the wall. There were also museums there but we skipped them.

After riding the funicular down we walked to the Augustiner Brau Muln, a beer garden that was originally run by the monks at the Augustinian monestary. After their order shut down, they bequeathed it to the Benedictine ninja. The monks made the beer at one time but now they own 50% of the shares and professional beer masters make the beer now. However, they still use the old style of beer making including storing it in wooden kegs. In the garden you pay for the size of beer you want, select a mug off of the shelf, rinse it out, and gives it to the man who fills the mug from a wooden keg. Around the garden and inside there are food stands. It was a Monday and there were a lot of people there. Supposedly the weekends get very crowded. It was a fun place.

On our way to the train station that next morning we stopped by the Mirabel Gardens., outside the Mirabel Palace. The gardens and green space are beautiful. The building used to be a residence but is now governmental offices. Some of the song, Do Re Mi, from the Sound of Music, was filmed here. Most of them outdoor scenes from the Sound of Music were filmed in Saltzburg while there indoor scenes were filmed in LA. Fun fact, the story is only partly true. The Von Trapp family left Austria by train to Italy before the Nazis took over. The mountains in Austria do not lead to Switzerland as the movie proposes.Read more