On to Salzburg, city of salt! The birth city and home of none other than Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the greatest composer who ever lived. The city where classical musicians can still, in this day and age, be rock stars.
My Salzburg notes are sparse because we didn’t ultimately do that much of interest; we wandered around taking pictures and generally being tourists. My strongest impression of the city was that it appears to be an even mix between German influences (being so close to the border) and Italian. You can’t walk more than two blocks without stumbling across a gelato place:
E’s parents with some ice cream.
Nor can you get very far without tripping over something Mozart related:
As an aside, Louise told me a funny story of some anarchists in Salzburg when she went a few years back. She’d visited during the midst of the Mozart Festival, when the city was even more obsessed with Mozart. The anarchists, fed up with the festivities, blocked off a square of pavement with some crime scene tape and declared the spot a “Mozart-frei” zone, scowling at anyone who violated the area with anything classical.
There is even a Mozart-themed confection, called Mozartkugel, which is a chocolate-covered marzipan ball. Using the power of Internet research, I discovered the shop where the Mozartkugel originated – Café Furst, just off the main cathedral square. The Mozartkugel I had there was quite delicious; otherwise, it’s really just a dessert marketed to tourists. I certainly wouldn’t recommend buying any from the market square, as they are essentially horribly overpriced, gummy chocolate balls.
In the afternoon, we went to Schloss Mirabelle, a palace with beautiful tulips and roses:
And even some mythical creatures:
He looks so happy…and maybe a little crazy.
And…what’s this?
Apparently one of the Austrian princes who dwelt in Mirabelle Schloss kept a contingent of dwarves, who were then commemorated in a series of statues. Some of the dwarves must have been interesting characters:
After the gardens, we decided to leave Salzburg…but not before making a stop at Augustiner Brewery, an old monastery / beer-hall with a huge outdoor area that seats a thousand people. The set up was kind of like a food court – you buy a mug, hand it to the beer man and he fills it up for you; you pay by the refill. You get whatever food you care to at the surrounding booths – fish, brats, cheese and meats, all solid German-Austrian fare. We all split a roast mackerel and chicken; both were very delicious.
Full of food and beer, we pushed on towards what turned out to be my favorite part of the trip, to Hallstatt – which, coincidentally, is also a “city of salt” (its name derives from Greek etymology, apparently). I guess the allegations that I have a salt tooth, as opposed to a sweet one, might be somewhat accurate.
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