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Published: July 22nd 2007
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Since we had Thursday afternoon free and no classes, we decided to head into the city to see the part of Salzburg that we hadn't seen yet, the Altes Stadt, and also do some shopping. We rode the bus, which is easy now that we know how the bus system works, and where to get off. We bought a weekly pass, so that helps, as well.
On the way to the coffee shop, we passed the Marionettentheater. This marionette theater is still in operation, and holds full length marionette shows of entire operas. This theater was the inspiration for the marionette scene in the Sound of Music, when Maria and the children sing, "The Lonely Goatherd." The puppets that were used in the movie are still being used. Next to the marionette theater is the concert hall for the Salzburg Orchestra.
We passed a beautiful old chuch. Salzburg is full of churches, each one of them absolutely stunning. We passed a small park for children. It was built last year for the celebration of Mozart's birthday, called Zauberflotenspielplatz, or "The Magic Flute Play Place." There was a lilttle boy there who was jumping on an inground glockenspiel. He
was having great fun, and decided he liked to have his picture taken, as well.
Our first stop was for coffee. We had hoped to go to the same cafe that we visited last Saturday, but they were packed. So we went to another one next door. It was great. We eyed the pastries and apple strudel, but decided to wait for another day for that. I love the coffee here.
Lisa wanted to visit the dollhouse shop, which is on Linzer Gasse, so we tried to take a short cut over where we thought it was located. Actually, it turned out great...not only did we find where we were headed, but we saw all of the outdoor markets set up in the Market Platz, Mirabell Platz and every side street that was nearby. Apparently, Thursday is the day for the local markets, and there was every kind of fruit, vegetable, baskets, flowers, hand made woolen items, wursts of every size and shape, breads, pastries, etc. that you could imagine. It was quite a site. We found the Linzer Platz and Lisa found some items, and I did, too.
Then we headed back to the Mirabell Platz
to begin our tour. The iPod recorded tour was great! Thanks, Lee, for finding that article in the Sunday magazine. They are sound files, that give detailed information about what to see, how to get there, and then historical information about each place. It was so easy. We downloaded a few of them from iJourneys.com. Go to the site if you want to see how they work.
We started facing the Schloss Mirabell, or Mirabell Palace, which is now the city hall of Saltzburg. This palace was the home for Prince Archbishop Wolf Dietrich, built in 1606, who was the head of the church and the civilian authority of the time. There is a large courtyard in the middle. On the other side of the courtyard, and still a part of the palace, is a large room, the Marble Room, where all civilian marriages must take place. In Austria, you can marry at the church, but you must do a civil ceremony, as well. This explains why we saw so many brides and grooms last Saturday in the Mirabell Gardens.
Inside the Mirabell Palace itself, we found the Angel Staircase. The fat, little angels decorate the marble staircase.
If you go up the staircase, you can find the Marble Room, the Marmorsall. Luckily, it was Thursday, and there were no weddings going on that day.
As you leave the other side of the palace, you walk directly into the Mirabell Gardens, and the Pegasus Fountain. To the right of the fountain, and the end of the garden are the steps were Julie Andrews and the children sing "Do Re Mi." As you look across the garden, you can see the Festung Hohensalzburg, the Salzburg Fortress. It is over 1,000 years old.
As we walked through the gardens again, and passed the Pegasus Fountain, we heard some singing. Two young girls were running around the edge of the fountain, with their cell phones/cameras in their hands, singing the song from the Sound of Music. Those of us near the fountain enjoyed reliving that part of the movie with the girls. We got a giggle out it. Then we headed to the Dwarf Garden, with statues of little people that served the court as advisors and jesters.
As we continued down the main part of the Mirabell Garden, we came across a fenced in area of gardens
called the Maze. The colors were beautiful. Apparently they replant these gardens every month, just so that they are in continual bloom. A little further on as we walked toward the other end of the garden, you could see the Mozarteum, the conservatory music school for the University of Saltzburg. Musicians come from all over the world to study here, and the library holds the most comprehensive collection of the music of Mozart, but is only open to scholars. This was the place that where we previously thought that the Orff Institute would be held. There are many music students staying in our residence hall that are attending summer courses at the Mozarteum. Two of Lisa's former students from Eisenhower Elementary are here for a music course for young people. Wouldn't it be great if we could see them? There is a hut near the exit of the garden, where supposedly Mozart had locked himself into for five months while he wrote "The Magic Flute." The shack was originally in Vienna, but was given to the Mozarteum as a gift.
The two statues are at the end of the Mirabell Gardens. Julie Andrews and the kids ran under the
outstretched arms of the statues while they sang, "Do Re Mi."
As we left the Mirabell Gardens, we walked into the Markartt Platz, the Market Square, which is where we get the bus. Across the plaza is the Mozart Wohnhaus, where Mozart lived with his family, his second residence in town. They moved here after they outgrew the residence where he was born. He was born in Salzburg 250 years ago, and lived in the city until he was 25. Mozart's presence is everywhere here, in the names of streets, and shops, cafes, buildings, and at the souvenir shops, for sure. Part of the Wohnhaus was bombed during WWII, but was later rebuilt.
This is only the beginning our travels that day. There's so much to see!
More later,
Janet and Lisa
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