Luna Paige wrote on Facebook:
I spent the last 3 days in Salzburg.
Day 1: What an interesting and peaceful place. There is a strange quiet about this city that caught me off guard. It almost feels as if one is walking in an old movie set in a studio mimicking a city. It is simple, yet grandiose, and the colours of the buildings are soft on the eye. The streetlights, clocks and signs are little artworks in their own right. One constantly finds oneself looking up and smiling at the esthetics – whether it be manmade or nature. I visited Mozart’s two homes and enjoyed a frankfurter with mustard and horseradish at the little café at his house. Then strolled around the old part of the city, crossed the river Salzach, visited the graveyard and old catacombs (dating as far back as the Roman era). This is the oldest monastery (St Peter's Abbey) and was founded in the 7th century! The whole mountain is filled with caves. It reminded me of the caves in Buda Castle Hills (Budapest). One only has access to a small part of the caves unfortunately. Upon my meandering (aka getting lost) I stumbled across the horse carts, beautiful street art and an old bakery where I could not resist buying a freshly baked sweet bun. I took it easy on Day 1 as I was trying to get my bearings.
Day 2: I visited the Freilichtmuseum. It was the perfect day for it. Sunny. This is a piece of land where they assembled / reconstructed real old farmhouses and buildings from the various districts, to give one an idea of how the people of Salzburg lived way back. There are different types of houses (more than 70 of them) depending on the region they were from, the era, and the wealth of the people who lived in the houses. Their craftmanship with wood was quite exceptional. I loved walking around and looking at the almost fairytale-like designs of the homes. They all grew their own medicines and herbs and it seems as if religion played a big part as well. Their animals lived with them in their homes, which must have been a bit gross, but does show how much they valued the wellbeing of their animals, bearing in mind how cold it can get in the mountains. From there on I went to the Hohensalzburg Fortress, which of course was a highlight in terms of its spectacular views! I was there around sunset which was perfect on the beautiful day that it was. Inside the fortress one does get some insight into puppetry of the time, important figures in the history of Salzburg, the music of the day, what types of games the kids played, intricate heating systems of the time, etc. The view was well worth it! Coming down the funicular and walking into a halfmoon-lit city was stunning. It inspired me to head out for a delicious dinner. A local recommended I try a restaurant (the Old Fox – in German of course), where I had a delicious spicy cordon bleu.
Day 3: I took the bus towards Unterberg (this is a mountain)! I took the cable car up to about 1770m. A poor man next to me nearly broke into a cold sweat (he was busy conquering his fear of heights). Up top there was ice and snow everywhere and the views partially clouded by mist/clouds! It was awesome! I ventured a little bit out into the cold and stumbled across a second restaurant which was super cute. In there a fire was crackling, and they offered warm nummies, like hot chocolate, gluhwein, apflestrudel, soups, etc. I opted for gluhwein and apfelstrudel with cream while not being able to even see outside through the windows. As I entered the restaurant my glasses steamed up (that's how cold it was outside)! The owner sat there with a homemade (very cool) leather pair of shorts! A real ice mountain man! One can hike on this mountain on clearer days and there are ice caves in the mountain as well – perhaps something to do when one has more time and is in a group (for safety reasons). I felt so vulnerable up there and couldn't help thinking of poor Racheltjie de Beer. As I came down, I went to Hellbrunn. This is a holiday summer home erected by Archbishop Sittikus (1574-1619) who was inspired by art, and Mannerism (architecture and lifestyle) of Italy. He had this magical place built with water features and incredible hydraulic systems that could entertain and surprise his guests. I can only imagine how much fun one had when visiting him! The trick fountain tour was particularly entertaining and wondrous. How I wish I could venture back in time and join one of his parties. From there on I went to have a late lunch at a recommended traditional restaurant called Zwettlers. I enjoyed that immensely and had a nice chat with the barman who responded to me when I asked why Austrians are so serious: “Salzburgers go to the basement to laugh”. I found that funny. A little sidenote - I do love the winter fashion in Salzburg. The clothing is so stylish and has hints of the past all over it. I took a few photos of outfits I thought were really beautiful. Of course, very expensive! Oh, if I were rich, I would come back looking like those mannequins – just a shorter version.
I got a bit sick here (I wonder why)! So early night for me. Tomorrow I am off to Vienna for a whole new adventure. I will most definitely come back to Salzburg. There is still so much left to see and experience. Oh, how I hope I have a long life!
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