Salzburg

Leaving Munich in the afternoon, we continued our drive to Salzburg. Our hotel was a family run affair outside of town. A friendly Austrian woman greeted us as we parked next to a barn and large house. Our room came with a balcony overlooking a grassy field that stretched far out to touch the toes of the Austrian Alps. We had time to catch the bus into the town center and look around. The old town is relatively small, squeezed between the river and the cliff, atop which a castle overlooks. Houses are built right into the cliff. The bus slowed to a crawl to fit through the old, stone gates that were designed for narrow carriages, and we exited along the river. Walking into town we passed the usual array of interesting shops and stopped at one with an extensive display of decorated eggs. Thousands of eggs painted in various themes crowded the counters. Further along we were in Mozartplatz, then ducked between arches into an opening with horses & carriages waiting for tourists. Around the corner was a group watching two men play chess with 5 foot tall pieces. We arrived in time to see the final few moves, in the shadow of a large, gold, Mozart chocolate ball (a piece of modern art). After a lap in one of the carriages showed us the fountains where horses drank and bathed, Mozart’s birthplace. The driver was a jovial fellow, who greeted us by asking “do you like football, I mean American football?” Apparently he is the one Austrian who follows American football and rambled about Tom Brady, the Patriots, the Eagles. Or at least he has studied football enough to have a conversation with tourists.

Breakfast the next morning was a delicious assortment of breads, meats, cheeses, boiled eggs, and fruit in small, but cute, dining room beneath a ceiling hung with a collection of tea pots. Our hosts served us personally, the woman returning on her bicycle with fresh bread from nearby. The first activity of the day was a Sound of Music tour. We were the first on “Bob’s” van, driven by a friendly English guide. Another group of 4 tourists climbed on at their hotel and we were on our way. Many of the scenes from the movie were shot in Salzburg. From what we were told by the guide, the basics of the movie are based on facts. Artistic license was taken with the songs (written by Rogers & Hammerstein) since the original songs were in German, and the mountain that they hiked over to escape would have led into Germany (they actually left on a train). The locals don’t understand the fascination with the movie and have failed to take full advantage of the tourist opportunities. The tour took us out into the countryside, up the narrow twisting mountain roads. We were able to dance next to the gazebo (since an old lady hurt herself dancing inside the gazebo tourists are not allowed inside), look across the lake to the house where scenes were shot on the patio, climb the stairs near the fountain where the kids sang, and enter the church where the wedding was held. One stop was a dry luge, where dad and I were pulled to the top of the hill on wheeled luges, then released to descend a twisting aluminum chute. Another was for a snack of cake and coffee at a café with a spectacular view over a lake surrounded by mountains. And on the way back to town the movie lovers in the group belted along to “Do, a deer…” and others from the soundtrack.

Rain arrived as we were enjoying the gardens near the Mirabel palace. We ducked inside Mozart’s residence to escape the wetness. The house is now a nice museum, displaying instruments Mozart used in surprisingly good condition. That evening we had dinner reservations at a nice hotel, followed by tickets to a Mozart violin concert in a marble room at the Mirabel Palace. Few things better than absorbing the melody of strings inside a small, high-ceiling, marble room while rain falls soundlessly outside. There were 5 musicians: 2 violins, 2 violas, and 1 cello. It was interesting to observe as the musicians played off one another. There was a lead violin that the rest followed, glancing over during key moments to get cues for the following segment. The violin and viola players switched chairs at intermission, allowing their colleague to lead the next set. Afterwards we ran, splashing through the garden to the bus stop. The cozy breakfast under the hanging teapots the next morning was our last Salzburg experience, and we reluctantly boarded the car for our next destination.

That evening we were planning to stay in the German town of Rothenburg od der Tauber. Before that we detoured a few minutes to meet Nathan Dietz and his family, who were vacationing near the Austria/German border. We found them in a small town near a mountain stream and then followed to a tourist village with an extensive collection of buildings in styles from over one hundred years ago. Most of the buildings had been relocated from other German cities (similar to the Greenfield village in Detroit). We traipsed through barns and houses for several hours, observing demonstrations of weaving on a massive loom, shaping wood shingles with an ax, before saying goodbye.