Our tour of Salzburg was fantastic. No Sound of Music crap. No overrated tourist attractions. No Mozart balls...ok, there were Mozart balls, but at least we got the best in the city, according to our local friend. Even the rain didn't put much of a damper on things.
Andreas fixed us breakfast, and then we were to meet him and his father later in the afternoon in Salzburg. Oberndorf is only about a 20 minute train ride from Salzburg, so we headed out to catch a bit on our own. Chris was determined to find the elevator he had taken 30 years ago to the top of one of the hills, so that's what we'd do first. Fortunately, someone had told us earlier that the casino he had walked past on the hill to get to his hostel was now the museum of modern art, so when we found that, we knew we were in the right place. The old elevator was gone, but the shaft was still there. A much more modern lift system was built for people to go to the museum.
So we went up. The city is still beautiful even under the gray gloom of rain, the only real day of rain we had on our whole trip. We'd both been to Salzburg in the past, but I was rushed in and out of it on a school trip, seeing the castle and Mozart's birthplace and the church where the Von Trapps got married and the gazebo where they filmed "I'm just 16 going on 17" and I don't remember much else besides an oompa band in one of the squares. But the sight of the castle is something you never forget. I remember there being music everywhere, but we didn't hear much this time because it was raining and you don't play musical instruments outside in the rain if you know what's good for them.
We wandered around for a bit before we would meet up for the tour:
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| the museum is up there |
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| The original Mozart ball maker, appropriately named Furst |
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| a two story church, see below for a historical tidbit |
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| old stables |
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| it's everywhere |
When the time came, we met up at the old stables and went to one of the world's first charity hospitals, which is now a museum. The interesting part was that the sick went to mass at the church next door but they had to sit on the upper level so they didn't get the wealthy people on the lower level sick. There was an entrance directly from the second floor of the hospital to the second floor of the church.
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| the old hospital - on the mountain you can see Chris's old elevator |
He then took us to one of the old city gates and we saw the city's oldest bakery.
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| Of course the buildings have been restored and modified, but many of them date back to the 14th century |
We followed the path of the old canals...not something you'd want to hang around, as they were an early wastewater system. They had to basically flush the city once a week. There's a Chinese restaurant sitting atop one old area. I am sure you can come up with your own South Park themed jokes about that.
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| Another part of the wastewater system that looks like a constantly flushing toilet |
Salzburg was densely packed, so in many places the only light people had came from narrow openings between buildings. No windows. I hope, at least, it kept them warmer. The wealthier you were, the more light you got.
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| very little light |
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| more light and a merchant area |
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| a lot more light |
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| a former shiny garden |
During the time of Napoleon's invasions, soldiers weren't allowed to drink in bars, so they'd be invited to sit on people's patios and drink in their little gardens. These were called "shiny gardens," not because they were shiny, but because the local people couldn't pronounce "Jean" correctly and so many of the French soldiers were named Jean.
Andreas had to have more Mozart balls, so we ducked into a sweets shop he claimed was one of the three best in Austria. The smell of sugar was enough to make one wonder if there were such a thing as second hand diabetes. He handed each of us one outside the shop and we ate them in the street.
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| The Schatz shop |
If you've never been to Austria, you might be wondering just why I keep mentioning Mozart balls. Well, they are everywhere, most factory produced, but many still hand-rolled, like those Andreas likes. They are candies made of marzipan and nougat that is covered with dark chocolate.
The first Mozart balls were, quite appropriately, made by a confectioner named Paul Furst. He named them Mozart-bonbon. His descendants still make them. Known now as Mozartkugeln, they became so popular that copycats began producing them. There have been a bunch of lawsuits since then, since Furst never applied for a patent, that usually deal with who gets to call them Mozartkugeln and such.
In 2006, artists bolted down 80 giant polyester Mozartkugeln. Vandals stole one and rolled it down the street, causing 7000 euros in damage. I wish I could have seen a giant Mozart ball rolling down the street. What a sight.
ANYWAY, we marched on, passing the oldest bookstore in Salzburg, Cafe Tomaselli, Mozart's favorite cafe, and a pharmacy once reserved for royalty, all in still in operation. We moved on to the Franciscan church and passed by the oldest guest house, where it is said that Charlemagne once stayed. We walked around the back of St. Peter's, which was closed for renovations, to an old cemetery beneath a monastery that was carved directly into the mountain.
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| the university church |
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| oldest bookstore |
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| Cafe Tomaselli |
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| old pharmacy |
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| Franciscan church |
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| oldest guest house |
There is nothing like an old cemetery. It's like they actual want to
remember and celebrate the people. Cemeteries that require flat stones
or have rules about flowers couldn't care less about the people buried
in them. They are all about profit; they are burial factories. This old
cemetery is a beautiful tribute to the lives of the people buried in it.
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| water wheel |
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| carving of a soldier |
We ended our tour at another church, where, instead of going inside, we stood at its entrance. This had been a church for the wealthy and powerful. They'd bring their bodyguards, but because no weapons were allowed in the church, they'd have to remain outside. Some of the more artistic among them grew bored and carved pictures around the entrance, pictures that are hard to see without knowing where they are and wetting them. So tourists blew by us to enter the church while we looked at something they'd ever know about.
We couldn't have been more appreciative of this tour of lesser known Salzburg. Arthur was a gracious tour guide and we never had a language barrier with Andreas interpreting. Arthur wanted nothing for the tour, but we managed to convince him to come for a beer. We all ordered something of a snack. I had a white sausage and pretzel. Arthur ordered some concoction that was supposed to be a kind of cheese dip. Thus began The Cheese Incident.
It smelled like a sheep stable. That was the consensus among not only our table, but the two Americans at the next table. Andreas, however, eats anything, so he had no problem with it. His wife hated it. I will at least try anything, so I took a bite. It tasted as I imagined sheep poop would taste. Chris was in agreement. We had gotten a little bit loud about it, attracting the attention of the next table, who had ordered the foul dish as well. We offered a sample, but when he smelled it, he refused to take a bite. We were all cracking up, like belly hurting laughter. He tried to cancel the order, but it was too late. They brought it anyway. The couple soon left, but as they were going, the guy said, "We're off to go get an anchovy popsicle."
It was another good day, but it was not yet over.
To be continued...
