June 20-21: Two Days in Salzburg
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I’m not normally a “Europe in 10 days, if it’s Tuesday it must be Belgium” person. But when I had the opportunity to go to Munich and found out it was only 2 hours from Salzburg, I couldn’t not go and see as much as I could.
Day 1
I arrived at the Salzburg Hauptbahnhof (Main Train Station) about 5 minutes late; it looks to me like there is construction around the train station that is slowing things down. I had found a cheap hotel somewhere on the Internet, and per the hotel clerk’s instructions I dragged myself onto Bus #1 (2 Euros) and took it to Braunhausstrasse, then walked a few meters down Maxglaner Hauptstrasse to the Hotel Astoria (58 Euros per night, including breakfast). Although it’s slightly out of the center, the bus was a perfect orientation to the city. On the way I saw places I would want to return to later: Mirabell Gardens; Mozart’s Residence (Wohnhaus); a walking street with tons of people on it; and a path and bridge along the river.
As pleasant and inexpensive as the hotel was, I soon found out it is not wheelchair- or heavy suitcase-friendly. I had to go up several steps to enter the hotel, and even the elevator was down a set of stairs. Going down is easier than going up, though, so I took the suitcase down more steps, took the elevator up one floor, then took it down two more steps to get to my room.
I dropped off my things, freshened up, and looked at the free map and brochures I had picked up in the lobby. I was very tempted by Fraulein Maria’s Bicycle Tours, but when I called to make a reservation for the 4:30 tour there was no answer. Instead, I took the bus again to Mirabellplatz. By the time I got off it was pouring rain and I was glad not to take a 3.5 hour bike tour! I walked first into a church that had been bombed in WWII and restored afterwards. Then I crossed the street and walked around Mirabell Gardens. Even in the pouring rain it was beautiful. The fountains, the immaculately sculptured gardens, the unicorn statues, and the baroque figures were all breathtaking. I later read in a guidebook that the fountain was used in the filming of “Do-Re-Mi” in the Sound of Music, but I remembered the arched trellis better.
From Mirabell, I walked to Marktplatz (Market Square) and decided it was time for some coffee. I found a passage to an Italian cafe so Italian the server spoke to me first in Italian. I ordered an Americano (it’s embarrassing to order that, but I like coffee with some water in it!). I asked for a piece of strudel, but he suggested something else instead. It turned out to be a profiterole—fried dough with chocolate filling and cream on top. And I asked for one portion and got three profiteroles. Oy.
From there I walked to Mozart’s Residence, not to be confused with the house he was born in (Geburtshaus). The residence museum cost 6.50 Euros, or I could by a combined Wohnhaus/Geburtshaus ticket for 10 Euros. But they said I wouldn’t have time for both (it was already after 4 p.m.), and that the Geburtshaus is on the other side of the river. I decided just to buy the ticket to the Wohnhaus.
The furnishings inside the residence were rather basic, I imagine because they don’t really have any information on what his house looked like. There was plenty of other things to enjoy though. There were original letters written by Mozart to his friends and family about things like his successful opera concert and the death of his mother in Paris. There was a small collection of pianos and pipe organs he had played on. There were maps and descriptions of various travels around Europe with his family. There was an explanation of his relationship to father-figure Haydn. Best of all, the English audio guide (included in the tour price) played Mozart selections as well as explaining his history.
After the tour of the Residence, I walked across the river to the Altstadt (Old Town). I saw the Rathaus (town hall), and lots of modern shops in old buildings. I saw a well dating back to the 1100s. I saw the University Church. I saw a place for dinner that looked interesting, but it wasn’t 6 p.m. yet. I walked on and found another place with an interesting menu. I walked in and at the back was a bar shaped like a horseshoe, and not much bigger than a horse’s shoe. There was disco ball and music blaring. I thought about pulling up and having a drink, but there was no place even to sit. I started to walk out, and it started pouring rain. I came back and a middle-aged woman had given up her seat for me. I had some cheap wine and older-tasting beer, but it was worth it to watch the silver-haired, mustached owner turned DJ playing songs and dancing to them.
For dinner (on the silent recommendation of one of the horseshoe bar patrons) I went around the corner to another café for Flammkuchen. There were two choices; one was Schinken and the other I could not understand. I took the one I couldn’t understand, which turned out to be hot peppers. Yikes! That’s the last time I’ll take that one.
Day 2
By the time I was up and ready for breakfast, it was past the 9:30 bike tour time. One of the places listed on the tour, though, was Hellbronn Palace. Using a brochure in the hotel lobby and the kindness of bus drivers and strangers, I found my way to the Rathaus bus stop and Bus 25 which took a relatively short ride out of the city to Hellbronn Palace. I got there just in time for a tour offered in German and English. The tour guide helped me understand why Hellbronn’s nickname is “Lustschloss” (The Humorous Castle). There were a series of trick fountains that could get people wet, and canals lined with miniature mechanical dolls depicting daily life in Salzburg a few hundred years ago. On a hot summer day it must be delightful, but on a cold day with on-and-off rain it was a bit harder to enjoy.
After the fountain tour, I walked around the palace residence (absolutely lovely), and took the path down to the “Sound of Music Pavillion”, the gazebo where Liesl sang “I am 16 going on 17” and where Maria and the Captain sang also. I was a bit disappointed to learn that the gazebo was not original to the palace; it was built for the movie and given to the city of Strasburg by the movie producers. Still, that was nice of them to give that to the city, and it was great to see the gazebo where that part of the movie took place.
I decided to skip the 27-34 Euro lunch at the palace, and the 3 Euro Wurst with roll didn’t sound appetizing either. I caught a bus back to Rathaus. I started walking towards the restaurant I’d seen yesterday, but it was closed! I forgot I was in Western Europe on a Sunday and not only are stores and supermarkets closed, but so are many restaurants. I headed towards a popular wurst stand in the main square, but by the time I got there it was HAILING. I didn’t want to stand out in the rain and eat, so I headed up the road and found Saran Essbar. I felt a little cheesy eating someplace with Rick Steves’ (“Europe through the Back Door”) picture on it, but it looked nice and warm.
As tempting as the goulasch with breaddumplings were, my eyes were drawn to the Indian chicken curry. In fact, when they accidentally brought me a sausage and potato platter, I sent it back and I’m glad I did. The curry sauce was lighter and thinner than what I get at Indian restaurants in the States. The best part though was the FRESH CORIANDER. I’ve never had that in my life, and it was worth every penny.
When I finished lunch it was still raining, which gave me an excuse to stay inside for dessert. They didn’t know what Americano was, so I ordered an espresso and their homemade struedel with ice cream. Yum!!!!!!!
By the time I left, it wasn’t raining as hard. I found my way to the Residence of the archbishop, and walked around its impressive “apartments” (rooms). With its impressive painting collection, treaty rooms, private chapel in the bedchamber, and a “blue room” (with light blue wallpaper), it evoked images of the Hermitage, the White House, and the Vatican all in one.
After the tour, I went upstairs to the art gallery. I was irritated to have to check my purse, even if it was for “security” (so I wouldn’t swing my bag around and hit someone or hit a painting, it was gestured to me). I had to walk through the small gallery once to cool off, and once more to enjoy the collection. By the time I left the museum, it had stopped raining. I wandered to St. Peter’s Cathedral, and around the impressive cemetery. Neither words nor pictures do it justice.
At last, I found the path to the Festung (Fortress). There were two ways to go: the Festungsbahn (tram), or the “steep and difficult steps”. Since it had stopped raining and I had just fortified myself with a fresh bottle of water and a giant pretzel, of course I chose the difficult way. And they weren’t kidding. I stopped several times to catch my breath. But at the end I was proud of myself.
The fortress itself wasn’t as exciting as it looked from the bottom of the hill, but there were many walls marked with names and dates of construction (15th-16th century, mainly). My favorite is the “torture tower”. The best part of the fortress was that I happened to be there for a Mittelalter (Middle Ages) festival. There were stands selling corn on the cob and beer and chicken legs. There was a stage with minstrel performances, and little children with medieval robes, wooden shields, and swords they had bought at kiosks. There was even some metalwork and woodwork.
When I’d finished seeing the fortress, I walked back down the steep hill (as children ran by me and parents ran to catch up to their children) and followed signs to Stift Nonnberg (Nonnberg Abbey), also a reported filming site for the Sound of Music. I saw a gate and the church and recalled the scenes in the movie that took place there.
I walked down the hill towards “Nonntal”, thinking it was a sight, but all I found was a nice neighborhood. I decided therefore to follow the signs back to the “Zentrum” (center), and found my way to the wurst stand for a bratwurst hot dog. While I was eating, I saw a sign in the window. In Spanish it said “Welcome to Salzburg. Here are some places we recommend. They won’t rip you off”. One of them was the Irish Pub up the street, so I decided to go there. I had a couple of Irish coffees and chatted with the bar owner (from Ireland) about his travels around the U.S.. We also talked about Ukraine; he knew about Donetsk, Ukraine because their soccer team, Shaktar, won the UEFA cup this year and they played once in Salzburg. He wished me a pleasant stay in Salzburg, but I realized as I was talking with him that this was the last stop on my two-day tour.
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