Salzburg

Day Four

We woke slowly and gathered up our belongings. Today we were to see Salzburg and then head back to Munich. So, everyone collected their things, showered, and piled into the van. We stopped to refuel and then it was back onto the autobahn. Then, the surprise – cows. There were cows jogging on the side of the highway. When have you ever seen that before?!

Getting into the city was a bit tricky. We didn’t have a map and the approach from the south, instead of from the German border, threw a small wrench into the plans. Fortunately, we got off the highway and began to see more and more urban area. Dad said, head for the mountain – that would be the center of town. I didn’t understand how there would be a mountain in the center of town until we were headed for a bluff and the bluff opened into a tunnel – one that the Romans built. On the far side of the tunnel was the Mozart Plaza. There was a fountain and a crossroad. A right turn directed us into the center of the historic area. I didn’t realize it but we drove right into the plaza for the Salzburg Cathedral.

Salzburg is the home to Mozart and Hayden. The Mozart house was an interesting trip but the most interesting part for me was the Festungberg – the mountain fortress. The view was spectacular. Looking down we saw the auditorium where they filmed the farewell scene from the Sound of Music. And immediately below was the graveyard were the escape scene was filmed. It was an amazing view of what could be done in reconstruction. The original churches were mostly destroyed in the WWII bombing raids but the churches were rebuilt.

A long drive back up the autobahn to Munich was made better by a stop at a favorite dining place of my cousin. We had snitzel. Or shall I say that my son had the snitzel was huge! It covered his plate. We all enjoyed the food, the beer (of course) and the good times – Gemütlichkeit!