The Hills are Alive

Yes, in America, Salzburg is probably most well known as being the setting for the Sound of Music, but when you actually go there the hills and mountains that surround the city really seem to create an atmosphere and bring everything to life. For some reason I have always really wanted to visit Austria, a desire that I think I can trace back to a report that I did in the fourth grade. So since Austria borders Italy, Mom and I took an overnight train from Florence to Salzburg - getting in at four in the morning! (I had an opportunity to go to Vienna later on this semester, so we choose Salzburg instead.) We ended up completely lost in Salzburg at 4:30 in the morning, eventually finding the historical center, where we sat and wandered until about 6:30. We then walked over to our hotel, and were able to check in early - so we dropped off our bags and spent some time at the hotel until things started to open up in Salzburg. The hours that they hold there are very short, things start to open around nine (sometimes eight), and everything except restaurants seem to close between four and five.

We stopped by a really beautiful cafe for breakfast, where we basically had danish and an absolutely delicious slice of cake with cream and nuts, and then headed over to the Salzburg Museum. While we were there, Mom was looking at a painting done of the famous Cafe Tomaselli in 19o8, only to realize that it was the same cafe we had just eaten at! That was pretty funny, to realize that we had been in a cafe that has been running for over 100 years and didn't even know it at the time!

If any of you have talked to Mom since she got back, you may have heard about the extraordinary number of churches that Europe has - and that includes Salzburg. So as we spent the rest of the day exploring the historical center of the city, we admired the inside of a number of cathedrals. We also took a tour of the magnificent music halls, wandered through St. Peter's Cemetary, and admired the many objects and stories displayed in Mozart's birthplace (which was amazing! I especially enjoyed seeing his first violin). We ended the night by walking through Mirabell gardens which surround Mirabell Palace. The gardens are well known for being one of the main filming locations used in the Sound of Music - Do, Re, Mi sequence, and sure enough I recognized them despite the many years it had been since I'd seen the movie. (Of course, I had to watch it the first opportunity I got after visiting Austria!) Actually, speaking of the movie, just watch the Do, Re, Mi scene and you'll pretty much see Salzburg in all it's glory. Seriously, pull out your copy, borrow someone else's, or look it up online, and just take the five minutes and watch it again. It's probably better than any photos I can put up, just keep in mind that in most of the sequences I can now say "I was there." or "I know what that is in the background."

The next morning, we took a bus out to Untersberg Mountain, and then took a cable car up to the top for a beautiful view of the Austrian Mountains. It was that perfect kind of weather where it was warm and sunny, yet there was still a ton of snow everywhere because it hadn't yet melted. Unfortunately, I didn't have good shoes for walking around in the snow, and kept slipping all over the place! Back in Salzburg, we took the Funicular (a steep train track) from the city to the giant Fortress that dominates the landscape of Salzburg. In one of the rooms, they had a small marionette museum set up, and there was one that you could attempt to play with. I learned that if I ever wanted to be a puppeteer, I would need a lot more practice! By the way, each of those marionette's are made out of hard wood, and they are heavier than they look. We stopped by St. Sebastion's cemetary, and then took a trip out to the Hellbrunn Palace. It was still the off-season for tourism in Austria, so the actual palace and the other buildings were closed, but we spent quite a bit of time wandering around it's gardens and then walking up a hiking trail. I was randomly following the signs to something that I only knew as the Stone Theater, more just to have something to aim for. I'm still convinced that that was the best impulsive thing that I have done in a while (so thanks Mom for just following me)! To me, the stone theater was completely amazing and a source of great amusement. It is just as it sounds, a theater made of stone - carved into the side of the cliff. But it's not only a stage, it has steps, multiple entrances that all lead back into a dark room (that probably functioned as a sort of green room) and a passage from that led out the side into the canyon that the theater was built into. It was kindof like a stone playground, with small tunnels, steps to climb, and short but twisting passageways that all seemed to connect up with either the main stage or one another. I felt like I was playing on the playground back in elementary school again.

Our overnight train to Vienna was going to leave late that night (actually I think it was technically early the next morning), so before heading over to the train station to wait, we were wandering around the city one more time. Mom wasn't hungry, so I just decided to grab a sausage from a street vendor for dinner. Those are so common in Austria. Of course, when I got there, everyone getting food that late at night all seemed to be locals, and I didn't have the slightest idea what anything was. I ended up literally just asking for the first type of sausage listed, which you get with a roll and your choice of a sweet or spicy mustard. It was actually very good, and was my most "authentic" Austrian meal while we were there. All in all, a good way to end our short but incredible stay in Salzburg.