This was written on the 27th but have had trouble finding an internet connection.
We are on a train today which means it is a great time to let you all know what we have been up to in Salzburg.
Salzburg has been a lot warmer than the other cities we have been to so far. With temperatures ranging from 1 to 3 degrees, no snow fell while we were here but there was still a lot of snow around from previous snow falls.
Salzburg was run by Archbishops for centuries where they used the money from the Salzburg salt mines and local labour to build some incredible buildings. From the fortress you get a view of the city which takes your breath away. A maze of old buildings all the same height lining either side of the river which runs through town. The buildings built by the Archbishops stand out due to their size and grand gardens. The city is then flanked on either side by the fortress and monastery with the alps in the background. A postcard picture.
We went on two tours from Salzburg
The Salzburg Salt Mines:
This tour straddled Germany andAustria. We started off into Germany to see Hiltler's second command base which is just below the Eagles Nest (closed in winter). This command base has now been destroyed but you can see why Hilter build it here. It had views to die for over the alps and down into Austria.
We then came back into Austria and went to the Salt Mines which financed the Catholic church in Salzburg for centuries. It's hard to comprehend that a group whose key message is 'love thy neighbour' spent their time oppressing the poor and spending their money on extravagant buildings to protect themselves or enhance their personal lifestyles.
In the mine we dressed in white Oompa loompa suits, slid down slides which took you deeper into the mine, took a boat across the underwater salt lakes and even crossed between Austria and Germany while under the ground.
Sound of Music Tour:
Salzburg is the home of The Sound of Music, though Austrians are still coming to terms with this as the Sound of Music is not the real Von Trapp story and they have their own film which they prefer (and is historically correct).
Sound of Music Fact 1: If the Von Trapp family had actually gone over the mountains shown in the movie they would have ended up at the Eagles Nest in Germany, rather than Switzerland which is 400km away. Not the desired result!
We saw the Von Trapp's "film villa", the lake where they fell in the water when rowing, the gardens they danced through, the band rotunda where Leisel sang '16 going on 17' to Rolfe and the hills where Julie Andrews starts the movie off with the 'The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music'.
The tour finished by travelling through the Mountains to the Church in Mondsee where the wedding was filmed. The lakes and mountain scenery were amazing. Think of the lakes district around Queenstown with the mountains coming right down to the lake edge but several times bigger and lots more of them in one place.
Sound of Music Fact II: Salzburg has a population of 150,000 and the Sound of Music attracts 450,000 tourists every year.
The rest of our time in Salzburg we spent walking the streets soaking up the atmosphere and heritage. They had some great Christmas Markets with so many Christmas decorations and food. The Festung Hohensalzburg (the fortress) was great.We got to see how the Archbishops lived and the life of the people in their communities. The fortress tower gave you a 360 degree view of Salzburg. Stunning!
Salzburg is famous for being the birth place of Mozart. So we had a look at Mozart's home and his museum. Now we are off to where Mozart spend the later years of his life, Vienna.
BT
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