Arrival in Salzburg

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Arrival in Salzburg

After more time than necessary in Innsbruck we left our hotel for Salzburg. The hour and a half drive was quick on the highways. It was interesting that as we headed east the mountains became less and less snowy. In Salzburg itself there is almost no snow except on top of the highest peaks. Normally Salzburg has almost a meter of snow during this season. We hear about global warming all the time, but this is the first year I think we’ve taken it to heart.

Our hotel is a pretty good distance from all of the historic sites and old town in the ‘burg. After checking in we set out on foot to explore a little bit. The closest point of old town is at least a third of a mile from our hotel and the center of old town is more like a mile and a half.

Old town Salzburg is really pretty. It’s almost completely a pedestrian area and the cathedral and Royal Residenz tower above everything else. The river Salz (literally Salty River, more on that in a later blog) travels through the middle of everything and creates a very picturesque scene.

After walking around for a while we came across a full stage set up in the middle of town right in front of the Cathedral. A crowd was gathering so we decided to wait around and see what was happening. After about ten minutes a musical group came on stage despite the sparse crowd.

The group was tons of fun. It was a band called Russkaja (pronounced repeatedly by the crowd and singer as Russ…Ska…YA!!!!!). They were a ska band from Russia with a horn section, the usual bass, drums and guitar combination and strangely enough a violinist. As some of you know, I was in a ska band in college and got a chance to play some pretty decent sized shows with bands such as the Skatalites and the Pietasters, so obviously I felt right at home.

As time progressed the crowd got bigger and bigger and everyone was jumping up and down and having fun. There were even some older people who got in on the action and were dancing around like fools like the rest of us. The band did a great job of playing the crowd. The singer managed to get people singing along and jumping around. It was so much fun!!

After the show ended we headed for some dinner. We found a Greek place closer to our hotel and got some food. The place was filled with locals which is always a good sign. The most memorable part of dinner was the plate of olives and pepperoncinis that we started dinner with. Very tasty!

Hope everyone is have a great time at home and is gearing up for New Years. At this point we still have no idea what we are doing. We shall see . . .

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Comments

[JennyInJamaica]

Ska - my fav!
I'm back-reading your blog.... I am American by birth, but live in Jamaica. I LOVE ska and listen to it all the time -Toots of course, but Good 'ol Bob Marley did quite a bit of ska and rock steady before the music started to evolve into reggae. You should hear the original ska version of One Love. Awsome. I am trying to imagine a Russian band playing ska. I wonder if they were doing classics or their own compositions...