Salzburg

This tourist attraction, which lies in western Austria, right across from Germany, derives its name from Salt (= Salz in Deutsche) – a commodity that was very important in the medieval times and the town turned to be important on the trading route.

My trip was fairly impromptu and I was driven to the city by friends from Munich. The drive was about an hour. After a comfortable stay in a neat hotel, the Saturday morning was started with a traditional Austrian café. This café had wood paneled walls, a high roof with that was decorated with very European motifs. It was lively as all tourists had a relaxed brunch over newspapers and coffees. The newspapers were held together with wooden frames – something that I had never seen.

The Mocha coffee was strong and nothing like the chocolate syrup sold at the cafés in India. The delight of the morning was the numerous pastries and cakes presented on heavily laden trays carried by maids around the tables. How could one resist those absolutely delicious looking desserts presented right under your nose! So, I helped myself to several pieces of sweet sins.

Having fortified thus, I started off to the fort (a castle, really). On the way, I saw the majestic Dom Cathedral with ornate designs on columns, walls and the roof – a classic example of baroque architecture. The church is huge and sits right in the middle of the south part of the town. The castle overlooks the cathedral, and is reachable by a train ride of two minutes and 10.5 Euros. This price includes the guided tour within the castle. I think the castle can be reached even on foot though I am not sure if that gets one to inside the castle. But one can still climb up the stairs if one wishes to look at the town down below.

Once up there, I got a good view of the meandering Salzach on which the rafts had once transported the salt. And then my fingers froze as I was clicking the pictures. It was freaking cold and I had happily forgotten my gloves back home. So, off I ran into this Marionette Museum housed in one of the rooms of the castle. It was cold still but protected me from the wind.

The tour itself took about 30 minutes and we were given hand held devices so that we could listen to commentaries in a language of our choice. Sadly, the tour took me to the very top of the castle and hence to freaking freezing weather again! But anyhoo….I survived to tell the tale.

Back down, I have had enough of sight seeing for one day – a sentiment felt by my friends too – and off we went to yet another café and to several hot cups of coffee and more desserts. Later, dinner was corn ricotta on vegetables. The waitress insisted that it was traditional Austrian fare but I thought it seemed more Mexican. But it was delicious.

Later we had a walk out in the town while it snowed but was a bit warmer than the morning, and I got good glimpses of the town with all important buildings lit up.

The next morning was yet another café, the Mirabell Palace gardens, and two other churches – one in baroque and the other in Gothic style. The latter had actually been destroyed in the Second World War and they rebuilt only part of it – minus the spires.

On the journey back, we stopped at Chiemsee – a vast lake back in Germany. The lake has two islands – one of which is a palace and the other is a women’s monastery. We didn’t visit any of those but there is a promising weekend get away for the summer as it is about 30 minutes drive from Munich. The Alps overlook the lake and it’s a very beautiful sight!

Thus ended my trip to Salzburg – the town where Mozart lived, the castle that never fell in battle and the location of the movie Sound of Music.

Here are the pictures. Click to go to the web album: