Salzburg

Everything Mozart. And the Sound of Music.

Salzburg (lit salt mountain) is a city in West Austria, at the Germany-Austria border. It is located about 150km from München and 300km from Wien (Vienna), the capital of Austria. By the way, German languge is also the official language of Austria. It is also the most popular tourist destination in Austria alongside Wien, which is can be quite obvious from the pictures. Also, the Altstadt of Salzburg has one of the best baroque architecture in Europe, and was best preserved and a resulted, added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1997. However, people who have heard about Salzburg remember most clearly about the city is that it is the birth place of Wolfgang Mozart (the famous composer who died as a pauper) and the parts of the 1965 film - The Sound of Music was shot here.

Salzburg can be easily accessed from München. Which is why I feel that München is a very good place to move out for day trips. Moreover the Bayern ticket for a group of 5 people of 27 Euros can be used to travel to Salzburg and back to München on the same day. The train ride took 2 hours, which was not very long compared to rides to other places. What is more important is that we were treated to very beautiful sceneries small villages with the Alps as backdrop along the train ride, with one of the photo below as an example.

The Innenstadt

It is actually very easy to navigate ourselves inside Salzburg. The Salzbach river, of sparking emerald green, runs through the city, dividing it into two.

This photo was taken from the side of the Altstadt, where most of the tourist attractions are.

Schloß Mirabell and the very beautifully crafted garden. It is said to be built by an archbishop for his beloved courtesan, and inside the Schloß is the world's most beautiful wedding hall, where weddings often take place here. It was mentioned in Lonely Planet that one year reservations have to be made in advance to use the hall for a wedding!

The most prominent highlight in Salzburg is the Hohensalzburg Festung (lit High Salzburg Fortress), see the picture above, the structure on the top.

Located on the top of the mountain, the Festung offers a great view of the city below as well as the Alps:

The above shot was taken on the side facing the Altstadt, where all the touristic sights and action is.

The Altstadt

Because it was a Saturday afternoon, and the weather was good, the Altstadt was burstling with people and tourists. The most popular street (can be compared to the Orchard Road) that runs through the Altstadt is the Getreidegasse (lit Corn Alley). It is quite a narrow but long streets and the shops line up in a row as seen above. One of the thing which caught my attention the most was the shop signs hanging out of the shop. It turns out that actually this street is acutally famous for old-style professions and trades in the past, and tradition still continues although much of these trades have been replaced with businesses like Nordsee, Mcdonalds, Jack Wolfskin and Zara, but still it is interesting to see each of these businesses' signpost.

Mozarts Geburtshaus - The house where Mozart was born

As mentioned, everywhere in Salzburg is Mozart. Simply because Mozart was born here and spent most of his time here. Mozarts Geburtshaus also lies along the Getreibegasse. Today the house is a museum.

Salzburger Dom (Salzburg Cathedral)

The Salzburg Cathedral was and still is the epitome of baroque architecture from the 17th century. It is located at the heart of the Altstadt. To my dismay, one side of the Dom was under repair:

However, the interior turned out to be very beautiful and flawlessly designed. The colours of the tiles appeared to be like jewel gems against the pearl white wall:

The Dome ceiling of the Cathedral

The Church Organ

St Peter's Church

Actually there are quite a few churches within the Altstadt but I only popped into these 2 to have a look. Not far away from the Salzburger Dom stands the St Peter's Church. It is definitely not as well known as the Salzburger Dom and the exterior does not look as grand as the former.

However, what caught my attention was one of the room in the church below. On first look I thought that those coloured balls were electrically operated balls. Then it seemed that they are crystal balls. Actually up till now I am still not sure!

Salzburg is a great place to do a day trip. I think the city is fortunate to be blessed with the views of the Alps as well as the emerald green river that passes through it.

Mozarts Wohnhaus - where Mozart lived. Not as popular as his birthplace, probably because his birthplace lies along the Getreibegasse within the Altstadt.

The last shot of the Alps at Salzburg - At Hauptbahnhof, the train that took us back to München.

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