I made my way from München to Salzburg, arriving there in Austria rather late at night. Armed with my trusty GoogleMap route, I walked from the Hauptbahnhof (train station) over the river, through the town to my hostel. Despite fearing that I had gone too far, I knew I was in the right area as I passed hordes of teenagers, walking around and heading out into the night.
Salzburg literally means 'Salt Castle', and the fact that this town had ample supplies of salt helped the residents survive throughout the power struggles between the various Bishops and other notables during its history. Mozart was born in Salzburg, and the town is quite proud of its famed one-time resident. I actually stumbled upon this statue in Mozart Platz as I was attempting to buy more cell phone minutes-- unfortunately, Austria only sold Austrian Mobile Network minutes, so thus began my adventure around Europe without mein Handy (my cell phone).
I found this amazing playground by Schloss Mirabell (Mirabell Castle). It was called Zauberflöte Spielplatz, or The Magic Flute Playground, named after Mozart's famous opera. Not only was it an excellent playground, equipped with fantastic slides, swings, spinny things and the like, but music from the opera played continuously. It resounded throughout the park, from the top of the play structures, from inside the stone tunnels. It was just magical.
A shot of the Schloss Mirabell and its wonderful gardens. This is just a glimpse of the side gardens-- the grounds in the front and the back were far more extensive, but as it was early in the morning, this photo had better light and showed off the great flowers!
I decided to hike up to the Hohensalzburg Festung (the Salzburg Fortress), going along a small winding path rather than taking the train. It was a gorgeous day, and I happened upon a little old man walking with his dog up to one of the lookout towers that was a little removed from the main structure. They soon disappeared from sight, most likely enjoying the cool relief from the sun that the stone building offered.
Among the scenic outlooks and other sights (which included the fortress' jail tower and torture cells), the Festung had a remarkable museum of the Salzburg Marionettes, which are world reknown. The puppets were intricate and so detailed-- the videos that were playing past performances were unreal, for the puppets were made to act so lifelike and real. The scenery and marionettes made me remember the Stony Creek Puppet Theatre, as well as made me think of
H, one of my amazing mentors from home, who is the Property Master for the YSD. He would have enjoyed the museum greatly, I think.
This is a view of the fortress from below. In one of the squares in Salzburg, there was a life-size chess board, alongside this art installation. I took this photo early in the morning, before I departed Salzburg, but the day before, when I first saw this Platz, there was a huge crowd watching these two men play chess, looking for all the world as if they were dancing an elaborate, graceful dance with the carved wooden chess pieces.
Like so many other towns, Salzburg is bisected by a river, over which are many bridges. As I left Salzburg, I took this picture, which shows the old town and the fortress. I'm not sure why red balloons were lining this particular bridge on this particular morning, but it was a nice suprise as I took my leave of the city.
Salzburg literally means 'Salt Castle', and the fact that this town had ample supplies of salt helped the residents survive throughout the power struggles between the various Bishops and other notables during its history. Mozart was born in Salzburg, and the town is quite proud of its famed one-time resident. I actually stumbled upon this statue in Mozart Platz as I was attempting to buy more cell phone minutes-- unfortunately, Austria only sold Austrian Mobile Network minutes, so thus began my adventure around Europe without mein Handy (my cell phone).
I found this amazing playground by Schloss Mirabell (Mirabell Castle). It was called Zauberflöte Spielplatz, or The Magic Flute Playground, named after Mozart's famous opera. Not only was it an excellent playground, equipped with fantastic slides, swings, spinny things and the like, but music from the opera played continuously. It resounded throughout the park, from the top of the play structures, from inside the stone tunnels. It was just magical.
A shot of the Schloss Mirabell and its wonderful gardens. This is just a glimpse of the side gardens-- the grounds in the front and the back were far more extensive, but as it was early in the morning, this photo had better light and showed off the great flowers!
I decided to hike up to the Hohensalzburg Festung (the Salzburg Fortress), going along a small winding path rather than taking the train. It was a gorgeous day, and I happened upon a little old man walking with his dog up to one of the lookout towers that was a little removed from the main structure. They soon disappeared from sight, most likely enjoying the cool relief from the sun that the stone building offered.
Among the scenic outlooks and other sights (which included the fortress' jail tower and torture cells), the Festung had a remarkable museum of the Salzburg Marionettes, which are world reknown. The puppets were intricate and so detailed-- the videos that were playing past performances were unreal, for the puppets were made to act so lifelike and real. The scenery and marionettes made me remember the Stony Creek Puppet Theatre, as well as made me think of H, one of my amazing mentors from home, who is the Property Master for the YSD. He would have enjoyed the museum greatly, I think.
This is a view of the fortress from below. In one of the squares in Salzburg, there was a life-size chess board, alongside this art installation. I took this photo early in the morning, before I departed Salzburg, but the day before, when I first saw this Platz, there was a huge crowd watching these two men play chess, looking for all the world as if they were dancing an elaborate, graceful dance with the carved wooden chess pieces.
Like so many other towns, Salzburg is bisected by a river, over which are many bridges. As I left Salzburg, I took this picture, which shows the old town and the fortress. I'm not sure why red balloons were lining this particular bridge on this particular morning, but it was a nice suprise as I took my leave of the city.
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