Salzburg
Our second trip outside the UK and I'd say our first real one exploring another city. It's a bit funny that it's called a city since it's not really that large. Alstsadt (Old Town) is the historic centre of the city where we spent most of our time and it's also a preserved Unesco heritage site. Everything is kept immaculate; it's rare to see litter on the ground. It was about a 10-15 minute walk from our hotel to Alstadt.So this is what we did:
Thursday night - arrived Salzburg airport, breezed through the passport control and got a new stamp. Caught the bus to Hauptbahnof (bus station) and walked the wrong way to the hotel. Realized it about 10 minutes later and managed to figure out the street signs in gothic writing to make it to the Hotel Mercure Kapuzinerberg on Sterneckstrasse. Looked for food and went to McDonald's for our first meal in Austria.
Friday - breakfast in the hotel. Bought the 48 hour Salzburg card from reception and this allowed us to get into most sights for free and use the bus. We walked down to Mirabellplatz on the north side of the Salzach river. Walked the grounds of Mirabell Schloss (palace) and the gardens - not much to see inside, the grounds are the highlight and they're really lovely. Went to Marketplatz and checked out Mozart's residence.
After that we found one of the bridges and crossed the river. Then down a quaint street, well all the steets were quaint, lined with various shops from Claire's to Louis Vuitton. Next stop was the Monschberglift to the Museum of Modern Art Monchsberg . Besides seeing some cool pieces we got some great views of the city. Stopped at Carpe Diem for refreshments and finger food. Then to Mozart's birthplace on Geitreidegasse and a couple of shops. In the evening we made our way back to the hotel to relax and managed to watch Goldeneye in German.
Satrurday - breakfast. Crossed the river and passed the Mausoleum where Mozart's father, Leopold is buried.
View of the Hohensalzburg Fortress from the bridge
Then to what was my favourite site, the Hohensalzburg Fortress. This is central Europe's largest, completely preserved fortress dating from the 11th century. To get there you have to take a cable car up the Monschberg - a quick 10 second ride. Did a tour of the fortress and saw amazing panoramic views of the city on the top.
View of the mountains from the Hohensalzburg Fortress
Then to the Marionette Museum and saw a few cute puppets, or creepy depending on how look at them. Also the Fortress Museum/Carolino Augusteum which was a history of war, weapons, and everyday life, including the state rooms that were (once) elaborately decorated. The fortress was built in the 11th century and over the next hundreds of years it was added to and improved upon by the Archbishops that lived there throughout the ages. Back down the cable car and we stopped a little cafe (Cafe Imbisse) and had a hotdog and fries. Then down to Residenzplatz where we checked out the massive Salzburg Cathedral where we lit a candle each and then walked around. It was gorgeous, destroyed somewhat in the war but restored to it's deserving magnificence - I walked all around it staring at the ceiling. We were going to go the Residenz gallery and state rooms but they were closed that day. So off to the Panorama Museum to see paintings of various city views from the 19th century.
The last place hit was the main building of the Salzburger Museum Carolino Augusteum on Mozartplatz. Since it's the 250th Anniversary of Mozart's birthday there was a large exhibition on called Viva! Mozart. After this we went back across the river and went to Sacher Cafe and I had a slice of the world famous Sacher Torte with coffee. Then we walked around and found a little coffee bar called Cappuccino and sat there for a while. For dinner we ended up getting sausages from a street vendor. Back to the hotel, packed, slept and left early the next morning to come back.
And that was Salzburg. I enjoyed it and 2 full days is enough time to see what the city has to offer. The people were all very nice and like I said before they all spoke English. I would have liked if they spoke in German sometimes though, I was all ready to use my phrase book! The trip to Salzburg had moments full of awe for me - when I'd stop and realize, hey I'm in Salzburg, I'm in Austria - and that's such a wonderful feeling. I could do this for a while yet.
posted by RC @ 8:13 AM
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