Salzburg

After the chaos of Oktoberfest, Melissa and I crossed the boarder into Austria and stayed in Salzburg. We were also absolutely exhausted. Traveling will tucker you out. I got sick immediately after the marathon and then shared it with Melissa in Munich. We decided to slow down our pace considerably. We added several days to our stay in Salzburg but decided to cut Vienna.

Salzburg was catapulted into American culture through the favorite movie classic, The Sound of Music. It is a charming city on the banks of the Salzach River. It rose to importance during the salt trade. Salt was the only preserver in the world and vital for trade. Salt has played a crucial role in world history. It's been used as a currency, wars have been fought over it and trade routes determined by it. Melissa and I took a day trip to Berchtesgaden, saw Hitler's Eagles Nest perched high above and then went deep into the mountain to the salt mine. It was absolutely fascinating. The mine has been around since the 15th Century and is still active today. An ocean once covered the area. When the Alps formed, it encapsulated the ocean and the salt was then deposited within the mountain. Today, drills bore into the mountain and after determining the best location of salt content, a larger hole is drilled into the mountain and fresh water pumped in to dissolve the salt and create brine which is then pumped out to a processing plant. There, the brine is dehydrated and the salt packaged. We saw a pump that was used for 110 years without a breakdown. I found that very impressive as I have never seen machinery that reliable. We were in a very well established part of the mine and it was fascinating and beautiful.

Salzburg was founded by an archbishop prince and archbishops have overseen the city for centuries. The Catholic influence is quite noticeable. I counted 17 churches in the city center alone. There is a castle perched atop the hill overlooking the river and town. The archbishops needed to build a fortress church for protection during a time of tension between the emperor and pope. Living in the land of the emperor but aligning oneself with the pope required cautionary measures. A fortress and monastery were built on the opposite side of the river. Melissa and I hiked up to the monastery and then along the fortress wall which was a gorgeous hike and much needed for my soul.

The city was hosting an annual festival honoring St. Rupert. After Oktoberfest it was a rather tame affair. We enjoyed walking along the stands and listening to street musicians. Salzburg is the home of Mozart and you cannot escape that fact. The city (as well as the hills) are truly alive with the sound of music. There are also signs for Mozart everywhere. Mozartkrugals or Mozart chocolate balls are sold everywhere for an exorbitant price. We bought some at the grocery store where it would be cheaper and were extremely disappointed. There are better investments of calories. Street musicians are everywhere and were very talented. The ones who weren't compensated by being comical.  There is a very strong tourism industry in Salzburg and The Sound of Music has almost been turned into a gimmick. We watched the movie at one of the daily showings at our hostel which was nice. It also left me wondering; did Julie Andrews mock the statues in the gnome garden in Mirabell Gardens? Because that was great fun.

Things I Did Not Expect When I Woke Up in the Morning
Salzburg Edition
1. Be mistaken for an Asian
2. Be mistaken for a man
3. Slide down a mining slide
4. Pose with gnomes
5. Float across an underground salt lake
6. Have the donar kebap redeemed in such delicious fashion
7. Be afraid to make eye contact with the most gorgeous man I have ever seen. To top it off, he was a woodcarver.
8. Experience nirvana in the form of the most amazing apple strudel in a vanilla cream sauce.
9. Explain bovine artificial insemination to a Canadian.
10. Yodel while hiking down an Alpine hill.