The Semana Santa Saga: Part IV

Where: Salzburg, Austria

When: Monday, March 29 (Noon-7 PM)

How: A delightful train ride from Munich to Salzburg

What Mozart’s Town Is Like:

Julie Andrews couldn’t have been closer to the truth when singing those famous lines, “The hills are alive with the sound of music.” I have now witnessed with my own eyes how right she was. The green hills and bordering mountain peaks sing a beautiful melody that wraps around Salzburg in a harmonious gesture of peace and delight. The antique church bells clang and clatter on the hour, adding their raucous voices to the tune. The river whooshes by in a rush, underlying the song with a steady rhythm. The general mutter of people walking through the streets and milling about in plazas rise into the air like a chorus number repeating the same verses. Thus, Salzburg sings a life song. And it’s no wonder that Mozart became a child prodigy after spending his childhood in this gloriously musical town!
What we did:

• Walked along the Salzach River
• Stopped in a small wine shop to get our first taste of delectable Austrian wine, which was just down the street from Mozart’s birthplace
• Wandered through gorgeous baroque churches, like the Salzburg Cathedral (Salzburger Dom), and quietly passed through the serene St. Peter cemetery
• Ate a giant chocolate covered pretzel while sitting on the steps of a fountain in the middle of a lively plaza

• Window shopped while strolling through the small, cobble-stone streets

• Took a tour of the Great Festival Hall (Großes Festspielhaus), which is home to one of the largest stages in the world and the very stage that the Von Trapp Family Singers gave their farewell address in The Sound of Music

• Hiked up a rather large hill to get a view of the city, old and new, from the ramparts of Hohensalzburg Castle

• Shared a table with six other people while eating dinner (I can’t exactly remember what we ate, but I do remember liking it!)

• Caught an evening train to Vienna… but only after falling in love with Salzburg