August 16th
Salzburg
Today we had a mostly slow-paced day and explored some shops on the outskirts of the town of Salzburg. The weather was pretty horrible so we didn't mind avoiding a soaking. The weather did brighten up considerably in the evening so we drove into town, parked up and had a bit of an explore. The shops were closed by this point which was nice because we got to experience the city and the sundown without having to wade through loads of tourists (like us). It also meant we could appreciate the architecture of the old town a little more.
After the walk we decided that we would come back during the day and have a better look round the place.
August 17th
We had a better look around the old town to day, as well as seeing some of the newer parts and hillsides surrounding the town. Some of them were more like mountains to climb but the views were well worth the effort. The Fortress of Hohensalzburg dominates the landscape but we decided not to take the tour round it, instead discovering the more intimate parts of Salzburg.
We started in the Mozartplatz, where a statue of the great composer stands dominating the square. We then moved on to the Altermarkt, or old market where the stalls were doing a brisk trade of Mozartballs, which we politely declined. We did see the smallest house in Salzburg, and it is really small. We then crossed the river and headed towards the Kapuzinerkloster, stopping off to admire the view at the Hettwer-Bastai fortifications over the city and also St Johann am Imburg Kirche, which is the church Mozart attended with his sister as a child. It was re-built by Gandalf, no less, although this was the Archbishop Max Gandalf and his coat of arms is above the door.
We went on to the Kapuzinerkloster which was nice and a bit lower-key than the churches we had been getting used to. We then went on up to the top of the Kapuzinerberg to Franziskischlossl, a castle on top of the 'berg dedicated to St Francis Assisi. The walk to this was great, a real hike up the mountain in deep forest. I really liked the castle too because of it's design and beauty. It was built as an end-point to the fortifications of Salzburg as as such could have been a weak point for attack. Also as it was exposed on the highest point of the Kapuzinerberg (the massive hill we were standing on) it could well have been attacked. However the design of the castle was such that as you approached the castle you would be subject to brutal crossfire on three sides at all times. The platform inside the castle was for artillery to rain fire down on the eastern Salzach valley below. Hence the latin inscription above the gate "may it protect the citizens in eternal peace" was honored, as no attackers even tried to penetrate the castle, such was the deterrent it provided.
We made our way down and into Linzergasse Strasse, into the church of St Sebastion and in particular the cemetery where, among other famous names, Leopold Mozart was laid to rest. We then made our way to the Mirabell gardens which were immaculately kept and pretty before making our way across the river to the Augustinakloster as I had developed a taste for the beer in Munich. After our pit-stop we then made our way to Mozart's townhouse and birthplace before walking up the famous Getreidegasse which is a road full of designer and boutique goods. I saw a lovely twelve string guitar that I would liked to have had a go on, but I wisely decided to move on. Next we passed the Kollegiankirche before finally heading to the Salzburger Dom. This was most impressive, the artwork inside was simply beautiful. I was also impressed with how many organs it had. I counted five, and one big on at the back. Now that is surround sound!
Two final things of note, the first was a Temperature / Barometer gauge thingy, very similar to the ones we had seen in Germany but more elaborate and also with old-school needle and graphs paper, which was quite cool, and the second was a sculpture dedicated to commemorate the success of Austrian and German civilian protests to the building of a nuclear reprocessing plant in Wackersdorf, Bavaria (Germany), and against a governments aim to railroad the plans through, in particular the fence around the construction site which represented the "arrogance of the Nuclear state".
Pretty exhausted by this time, we got back in the van and set a course for south Austria, to a place called Seeboden (no, not Bodensee!!), pretty much on a whim. The journey there though was great fun, going through massive tunnels through the alps and back into fading daylight to see villages nestled in amongst them. It was truly breathtaking.
Click here for our photostream (flickr)
Click here for our route (google maps)
Salzburg
Today we had a mostly slow-paced day and explored some shops on the outskirts of the town of Salzburg. The weather was pretty horrible so we didn't mind avoiding a soaking. The weather did brighten up considerably in the evening so we drove into town, parked up and had a bit of an explore. The shops were closed by this point which was nice because we got to experience the city and the sundown without having to wade through loads of tourists (like us). It also meant we could appreciate the architecture of the old town a little more.
After the walk we decided that we would come back during the day and have a better look round the place.
August 17th
We had a better look around the old town to day, as well as seeing some of the newer parts and hillsides surrounding the town. Some of them were more like mountains to climb but the views were well worth the effort. The Fortress of Hohensalzburg dominates the landscape but we decided not to take the tour round it, instead discovering the more intimate parts of Salzburg.
We started in the Mozartplatz, where a statue of the great composer stands dominating the square. We then moved on to the Altermarkt, or old market where the stalls were doing a brisk trade of Mozartballs, which we politely declined. We did see the smallest house in Salzburg, and it is really small. We then crossed the river and headed towards the Kapuzinerkloster, stopping off to admire the view at the Hettwer-Bastai fortifications over the city and also St Johann am Imburg Kirche, which is the church Mozart attended with his sister as a child. It was re-built by Gandalf, no less, although this was the Archbishop Max Gandalf and his coat of arms is above the door.
We went on to the Kapuzinerkloster which was nice and a bit lower-key than the churches we had been getting used to. We then went on up to the top of the Kapuzinerberg to Franziskischlossl, a castle on top of the 'berg dedicated to St Francis Assisi. The walk to this was great, a real hike up the mountain in deep forest. I really liked the castle too because of it's design and beauty. It was built as an end-point to the fortifications of Salzburg as as such could have been a weak point for attack. Also as it was exposed on the highest point of the Kapuzinerberg (the massive hill we were standing on) it could well have been attacked. However the design of the castle was such that as you approached the castle you would be subject to brutal crossfire on three sides at all times. The platform inside the castle was for artillery to rain fire down on the eastern Salzach valley below. Hence the latin inscription above the gate "may it protect the citizens in eternal peace" was honored, as no attackers even tried to penetrate the castle, such was the deterrent it provided.
We made our way down and into Linzergasse Strasse, into the church of St Sebastion and in particular the cemetery where, among other famous names, Leopold Mozart was laid to rest. We then made our way to the Mirabell gardens which were immaculately kept and pretty before making our way across the river to the Augustinakloster as I had developed a taste for the beer in Munich. After our pit-stop we then made our way to Mozart's townhouse and birthplace before walking up the famous Getreidegasse which is a road full of designer and boutique goods. I saw a lovely twelve string guitar that I would liked to have had a go on, but I wisely decided to move on. Next we passed the Kollegiankirche before finally heading to the Salzburger Dom. This was most impressive, the artwork inside was simply beautiful. I was also impressed with how many organs it had. I counted five, and one big on at the back. Now that is surround sound!
Two final things of note, the first was a Temperature / Barometer gauge thingy, very similar to the ones we had seen in Germany but more elaborate and also with old-school needle and graphs paper, which was quite cool, and the second was a sculpture dedicated to commemorate the success of Austrian and German civilian protests to the building of a nuclear reprocessing plant in Wackersdorf, Bavaria (Germany), and against a governments aim to railroad the plans through, in particular the fence around the construction site which represented the "arrogance of the Nuclear state".
Pretty exhausted by this time, we got back in the van and set a course for south Austria, to a place called Seeboden (no, not Bodensee!!), pretty much on a whim. The journey there though was great fun, going through massive tunnels through the alps and back into fading daylight to see villages nestled in amongst them. It was truly breathtaking.
Click here for our photostream (flickr)
Click here for our route (google maps)
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