Salzburg

Tuesday, December 26

Thanks to our decision to extend our stay in Bavaria, we now have another couple of days to explore the surrounding area.  Tops on our list is another attempt at seeing Salzburg, about a two hour drive from our farm home.

The distance is only about 100km, but instead of a route primarily on the Autobhan,  today we travel through the German countryside and dozens of small communities (and a few larger cities).  The weather has blessed us and while cold enough to require scraping ice off the windshields, the forecast calls for high clouds and partly sunny.

As we approach Salzburg, we are greeted with an incredible panorama of the Alps in the distance to the south.  Our main challenge once we reach the town is to find parking and the two vehicles split up and end up parking at opposite ends of the old town square.  We rendezvous at the tourist information center.  Nine of us opt to take the "hop on, hop off" bus tour of the town, while the other four decide to walk the central city.  The walkers stopped by Mozart's birthplace, toured the Salzburg Cathedral and the Christmas Market. 

Shamelessly reused tourist info photo of Salzburg city center

Those of us in the tour bus got to see a more extensive overview of the city.  Due to time, temperature and the fact that  several of the attractions were closed due to the Holiday, we only got off the bus at one stop, otherwise relying on the audio descriptions available over headset in our choice of a dozen languages.

Hop on - hop off crew at Maribell Gardens

Salzburg literally means "salt city" and is so named because for thousands of years humans have mined salt from the nearby mountains.  In times prior to refrigeration, the salt was so essential for food preservation that it was only surpassed by gold and silver in its value.  The salt from the area made the people of Salzburg some of the wealthiest in Europe and the buildings reflect this.

Salzburg is home to the oldest continuously operating Nunnery in the world (established in 713).

Capuchin Monastery on hilltop to left

Salzer River walk with castle in the background