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Published: October 23rd 2006
After two days of being crazy tourists in Munich, we decided to take a day trip to Salzburg, Austria. Salzburg is a beautiful city which seems to be famous for two things: Mozart (it is the town where he was born and lived) and “The Sound of Music” (many parts of the film were shot there). We took the morning train to Salzburg, which led us through tiny Bavarian villages and the German Alps. The only mountains I have ever seen up to that point are the Poconos and the Appalachians in Tennessee, and somehow they just can not compare to the beauty or grand scale of the Alps. We liked them so much, in fact, that we decided to go to an Alpine town the next day. When we arrived in Salzburg, the first thing we wanted to do was eat lunch. Because Gabby is vegan (no animal products of any kind - dairy, meat, gelatin, eggs), we found a vegan Indian place in the guide book.
Half way through our lunch, a grandmother, mother, and son walked in and sat down next to us among some controversy and bickering. They spoke English and were obviously Americans, and I had the feeling that we would end up talking to them just because they looked so psychotic. The mother was a blue blood type with white hair and something Katharine Hepburn-ish about her. The daughter had an angry sneer on her face and seemed to enjoy bossing around her mother and son. The son had a German accent and was obviously quite the mama’s boy. The minute they sat down, the kid started moaning about how he wanted “what that man is eating.” I was “that man.” The mother responded by saying, loudly enough so I could obviously hear, “Maybe if you ask nicely that man will tell you what he ordered.” I turned around and told them it was the daily special… starting the conversation was probably a bad idea because they did not want to shut up then for the rest of the meal! We freaking learned every detail about their family history. The grandmother was a singer of some sort. She was born in New York but grew up in California, and she sang throughout Europe. We guessed she was an opera singer because she knew a ton about Wagner’s operas. The daughter had married an Austrian man and moved to Linz, so the grandmother moved to Salzburg to be near them. She obviously had money because she lived on the nicest street in the city. When they were getting ready to order, we warned them that the curry was really spicy, and the mother said, “Oh no, my boy LOVES spicy foods… always has.” Of course, when their food came, the kid started freaking out about how spicy it was, fanning his tongue with his hand and pretending to choke. We turned around because it was all getting a little embarrassing, and the grandmother said, “Ha! You think we’re a high drama family? Why don’t you throw yourself on the floor and start convulsing?!” We had to laugh awkwardly as the kid was ready to blow fire out of his nostrils. Before we left, the grandmother said, “You know, I really like Africa. And Africa has a lot of gnus. Antelope-like creatures. And once a year they come trampling through the grasslands. Well Salzburg is like the grasslands, and American tourists are the gnus.” We promised the woman we would try to not act “gnu-ish” and ducked out of the restaurant before she came up with any other analogies. I guess it was kind of nice to speak English, even if the people were more than a little quirky.
After lunch, we wanted to explore the city’s historic district. Salzburg is perched on the banks of the River Salzach. Although crystal clear like other rivers in this region, it smelled like the ocean and was filled with seagulls. Obviously, Austria is not close to any oceans or seas, so the river seemed somewhat out of place. I read before traveling there that there are salt mines in the mountains around the city, so it might be possible that the river is filled with minerals because of the mines. Around the city itself are beautiful mountains and green hills. It is probable that some of the hills we looked at were the setting for the song “The Hills Are Alive with the Sound of Music,” since most of the movie was filmed in and around Salzburg.
One of the first places we visited was Mozart’s home, which now houses a museum featuring his pianos, sheet music, and bed. Next, we crossed the river and found that the other side was much cooler and more historic, filled with narrow alleys, beautiful churches, and tiny shops. We found a random shop called “Easter in Salzburg,” which was filled from almost floor to ceiling with rows and rows of blown eggs (essentially empty egg shells) painted with spring decorations (chicks, bunnies, flowers), scenes of the city, and, of course, pictures of Mozart’s face. From the sheer number of eggs (literally tens of thousands), I am guessing that this might be an important Austrian tradition. Across the street was another entire store full of eggs painted with Christmas decorations. A store full of eggs might not sound overly impressive, but it really was a crazy sight… not something you see every day.
Around the corner from the egg stores was Mozartplatz, a huge open square with a bronze statue of Mozart in the middle. Next, we went into the Dom, the huge cathedral of Salzburg with green domes on top. I honestly feel like I am being completely desensitized to beauty. At the beginning of the trip, I am sure that my blogs were filled with superlatives about how every church that I went to was more beautiful than the last. If I sound less enthusiastic, it is not to suggest in any way that the churches are getting less impressive. If anything, the Dom was one of the most beautiful! It is just that the constant barrage of Baroque decorations, amazing stained glass windows, triumphant organ music, intricate statues, immense domes, and beautiful frescoes is making it hard to be as excited as I have been before. Honestly, if I stayed at my original levels of excitement, I think I would go into a Baroque-induced coma.
After the church, we took a funicular rail (like olives, cathedrals, gardens, and dungeons, funicular rails are becoming quite the consistent theme in my travels) up the mountain to Festungsberg, Salzburg’s medieval fortress. The mountain-top fortress contained a really old medieval exterior which housed an old chapel, a medieval torture tower, a marionette museum, and insanely gorgeous views of the Austrian Alps. On the trip back down the hill, a group of men got on to the train wearing what appeared to be the uniform of the eighteenth-century Austrian navy - crazy bright green pants and jackets with medals and weird buttons and tri-corner hats with colorful feathers. I half expected them to start discussing different strategies to defeat Napoleon.
At the base of the mountain, we visited the Stiftskirche Nonnberg, the abbey where the opening of “The Sound of Music” was filmed. Perched on a hill overlooking an Alpine village, the abbey was an almost silent Gothic chapel tucked away from tourists and surrounded by a graveyard for nuns. There were no nuns singing “How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?” but it was cool nonetheless. Next, we went to St. Peter’s Church, a Gothic structure with a Baroque altar. When we walked inside, a man was practicing the organ, so we got to hear a free concert in a beautiful setting. We crossed back over the river to the Mirabell Garden, a really cool garden with sculpted trees and Greek statues where more scenes from “The Sound of Music” were filmed.
Before leaving Salzburg, we got dinner in an Italian restaurant. The waiter was very nice and spoke some weird mix of English, German, and Italian. Behind us was an American family discussing opera throughout the whole meal. Gabby and I barely talked because we just wanted to listen to them the whole time. The grandmother reminded me of the old lady from “The Wedding Singer” and knew almost everything there was to know about Mozart and all of his operas. The mother studied at a music academy, the father used to be a tenor, and both sons were training in classical voice as well. Hardcore.
As my friends and I discovered in Vienna, the Austrians are really pleasant people. It is hard to think of anything bad to say about them. They love their chocolate, especially the ever-present “Mozart balls” (chocolate with marzipan and pistachio crème sold in almost every store), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, beautiful churches, and “The Sound of Music.” And in all honesty, does anything else really matter in life?
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steve
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i'm really enjoying the blog. can't wait to hear about your next adventure.