The Hills Are Alive! With The Sounds of Salzburg!

LOCATION:

Salzburg, Austria

 

I knew two things about Salzburg before heading there - Mozart and The Sound of Music (though I have never seen the movie and couldn't hum a Mozart tune if my life depended on it!). Our first afternoon was spent exploring, and we headed first to the most visible icon - the cliff top fortress of Festung Hohensalzburg. It was built in 1077, and has since been home to many prince-archbishops. We took a guided tour and my favorite parts were the torture chambers (never actually used for torture) and the magnificent views once we climbed one of the towers.

The mighty fortress, looking up from ground level.

 

Beautiful views of Salzburg to one side.

 

And stunning alps-views to the other side!

 

After walking down from the fortress, we went to the baroque Dom zu Salzburg. It has origins dating back to 774, but has been through many renovations - the latest of which occurred in 1959 after the dome was destroyed by an arial bomb.

 

The cathedral from the front.

 

And from the side with a view of the dome.

 

One of our goals in Salzburg was to attend a concert featuring Mozart music, but the timing didn't work out quite right so I settled for a picture of a statue of the composer instead. He was born in Salzburg in 1756, and lived in the area for most of his life.

Mozart!

 

One of the more surprising things about Salzburg were the sheer cliffs that seemed to surround the city. It looked like buildings were built right into them! I suppose its only natural that people start to climb these cliffs, so I decided to try out my rock climbing skills.

Just kidding - this is not me! Crazy though, right?

 

My guidebook recommended a beer garden, called the Augustiner Braustubl. On our way there, we got blissfully lost and had a little impromptu hike to work up our thirst. Along the way, we found remnants of the old city walls, and more stunning views of the alps.

 

The city was fortified during the 30-years war, in the 1620s.

 

Is this place for real??

 

After our hike we finally found the beer garden. It was one of my favorite stops - they only serve one kind of beer (brewed by monks - holy beer!) in ceramic mugs that come in two sizes. The place is so popular, it draws nearly 3000 customers per day!

Getting our mugs filled.

 

Erin enjoying the frosty cold beer.

 

Our final stop in Salzburg was to scope out some of the scenes from The Sound of Music. I do know a little about the movie - especially the part when the Von Trapp children learn to sing "Do, a deer, a female deer... Re, a drop of golden sun..." This scene takes place in the Schloss Mirabell gardens, which were quite beautiful. It was dusk by the time we finally went there, meaning most of the crowds had disbursed for the evening.

One of the scenes from the movie, with the fortress on the hill in the background.

 

Finally, some beautiful manicured gardens actually in bloom!

 

So pretty - tulips are my favorite!

 

Having seen Vienna, Salzburg, and several smaller cities via day trip, I feel pretty comfortable with my knowledge of Austria. I particularly loved Salzburg - it was so pretty, and seemed to be the right mix of old and new, nestled down in the valley below the magnificent alps.

 

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