Salzburg - Mozarts Home and Augustiner Brau

I woke on July 2nd to my birthday. It was going to be a great day. We didn't have too much on the agenda, as we'd seen most of the main attractions the day before. We went to the breakfast room and had a lovely breakfast before heading out to see the main Saturday Farmers Market.




Most of the food is organic and absolutely beautiful. If we lived in Salzburg, we would definitely be regulars at this market.






There was a wonderful Lavender stand, and I would have loved to bring some of it back to London as it smelled absolutely wonderful.




We did however pickup a vial of Salzburg Salt and some of the most amazing Cherries I've ever seen. They were huge, and boy were they good.

Amazingly, we avoided buying any of those touristy Mozart Chocolates.

After the market, we wandered across the river to the "newer" section of Salzburg. This is definitely where more of the local people live.

We made our way over to the home where Mozart lived with his family for a good part of his time in Salzburg. It was damaged in WWII, but was recently restored to its appearance before the war. It was a nice museum, not necessarily filled with actual Mozart artifacts, but it had lots of similar instruments to ones that he would have used, and it was a pleasant space to absorb some of that Mozart energy of Salzburg's favorite son.




We also visited the former site of the local brothel used by troops in WWII. Right nearby is a huge gouge in the road wall where an American GI tried to drive a tank down a narrow road. He didn't make it.

There was a street music fair going on over in the new town, so we paused to have a Steigl beer(the largest local brewer), a pretzel, and take in some of the music. It was a fun time. I even got to practice speaking some of my German on a drunk local.

We didn't have a whole lot else on the agenda that day other than to relax and enjoy the city and to wander the streets.





And that is a wonderful way to spend a day in Salzburg.





We discovered the original location of the Stiegl Brewhaus. it is built into the hillside below the castle. It isn't their current location any longer, but as they were brewing beer there before the new world was discovered, their signage is still in place.






For my birthday cake, we stopped for a slice of Sacher Torte at Furst Chocolatiers. It was moist rich chocolatey goodness. I'll have to try making this myself when I get home.




We discovered that they were going to be performing one of Mozart's original Masses at the Salzburg Cathedral for which he wrote the Mass. A large choir comprised of several choirs from the US was going to be performing. We decided to go and listen to it. It was a beautiful concert.



For dinner that evening, we went to the local monastery that also happens to make some of the best beer in Salzburg, Augustiner Brau. It is a bit of a walk from the center of town, but it was a pleasant evening, so it made for a lovely walk.








I was really impressed with the scale of the operation. The Augustiner monks are doing very well for themselves with the brewery. They have a cavernous indoor beer hall as well as a sizable beer garden outdoors.




Obtaining your beer is kind of a do it yourself operation. We purchased our beers and grabbed the appropriate sized mug from the shelf.











Then we rinsed it in the water fountain (I'm sure it is Holy Water). . .






Finally, it is then filled from the barrel on tap. And it really was an old fashioned barrel.








For food, there are different food stalls all selling Austrian food dishes. We got a ham plate with sauerkraut and a roasted pork belly with potato salad. Both were delicious.





Tony wasn't particularly thrilled with the sauerkraut, but as we sort of split the food between us so we could try both, it worked out okay. I think I ended up eating most of the sauerkraut. It was a very memorable 46th Birthday Dinner.

Salzburg - The Sound of Music Tour and Nockerl

When we decided to visit Salzburg, right at the top of our list of activities we had to do was the Sound of Music tour. As the 1965 film is basically a travelogue for Salzburg, we knew it would be a must.




The tour we took was nice, though it was a little too serious for its own good. The film, though a well loved classic throughout the world, did not find an audience in Austria until 2000. This is often attributed as its release being still a bit too close to World War II for the Austrians to appreciate the film minus its WWII connection.


They drove us all over Salzburg into the neighboring suburbs and ultimately portions of the nearby lake district. Unfortunately, a lot of the filming locations are private property, so you can only get so close. The yellow house used for the backyard exteriors belonged to Max Rheinhart, who created the Salzburg Music Festival featured in the movie, and still runs to this day. Today, the house is owned by a US university, as a conference center. We were only able to get as close as the opposite side of the lake from it.

The famouse gazebo featured in the film was given to the city by 20th Century Fox, and that is now located in a public park.

Along the way, we stopped for a brief "strudel break" at a restaurant that serves Julie Andrew's favorite Apfelstrudel. I had to have piece. So much strudel - so little time.



We drove on a bit further, past Arnold Schwarzenegger's hometown until we came to the church used in Sound of Music for the wedding scene. Surprisingly, it is about one hour outside of Salzburg.



It was absolutely beautiful, having recently been renovated. Guess being used as a film location in a popular classic film doesn't hurt.






Though not related to The Sound of Music, we passed one other important site on our tour, especially to the people in visual effects - the headquarters for Red Bull Energy Drinks. I'm guessing this is Austria's No. 1 export at the moment.



The tour ended at the Mirabell Gardens. This location was used extensively in the Do Re Mi number where the kids are jumping up and down the steps and peaking out from behind the statues.


Somehow, I got Tony to reenact the jumping up and down the steps bit from the film. There were actually quite a few people (Americans) doing it.

The gardens are beautiful, and if it hadn't been rainy, I bet they would have been even prettier. We wandered around them enjoying the lovely public spaces.






After the tour, Tony and I had to visit the Convent where Julie Andrews' character lived. This wasn't on the tour, but was part of our own extended tour. We found the gates where the kids had come to beg her to return to them. Evidently this scene is based on truth, and these were the gates where it really did happen. This was also the church where the real VonTrapp's were married.

That evening for dinner, we were exhausted so we ate at the hotel. We had an amazing dessert called Salzburg Nockerl. It is an eggy dish much like a Souffle, except the whipped eggs are served over a bed of fruit compote.

As berries are in season, we got to have it served over a wonderful fresh berry compote. Absolutely amazing and very filling. We couldn't eat it all, and after crying for mercy, we crawled up to our hotel room to bed. What a busy day!

Salzburg - Hohensalzburg Fortress

We got up early and decided to beat the crowds and see the number one attraction in Salzburg: Hohensalzburg Fortress. We paid for the combo ticket that includes admission to the fortress as well as the ride up the funicular to the top. Definitely worth it.



The fortress was founded in 1077, and has been strengthened over the centuries. It was such an imposing presence, that no one dared to invade Salzburg until the French under Napoleon, at which time, Salzburg surrendered without resistance.



Going first thing in the morning is the best way to see it, as we had the fortress almost completely to ourselves. We wandered around the massive grounds taking in the large squares and many different sights.

Given the almost sheer cliffs, and very steep walls of the fortress, it is obvious why no one dared to try to attack it for so long.



The views from the fortress are amazing. You can see for miles. Even on a cloudy day like the day we were there, it has some spectacular vistas.









I bet the mountains are really lovely when they are topped with some snow.

Tony and I took the guided Audio tour of the interior of the palace, and we both felt it was a waste of time. The amount of security for the little that is seen, and even that was practically nothing.






Save your time, and just go to the museum where you can see the real lavish interior rooms. There are evening concerts held in the large reception room.




Another strange inclusion in the fortress complex is the Marionette Museum. Evidently, puppetry has a strong history in Salzburg.







Definitely unusual and somewhat creepy, but definitely worth a brief stop.









After wandering around the large fortress complex, it was time for a break. We had Topfenstrudel, which is like Apfelstrudel, but instead of apples, it is filled with a sweet cream cheese filling. Served with a vanilla cream sauce, it is absolutely delicious.




We decided not to take the funicular back down to town, but instead to follow Rick Steve's advice and walk down by using the long alternate path.








The sun had peaked out, and it was a lovely green walk through the park in the hills overlooking Salzburg.






Salzburg had been a walled city, and along the walk, you could see portions of the wall that were still remaining.




We also came across some wild raspberries that were growing along the side of the path, and these became a welcome snack to munch as we walked.

The views of Salzburg were beautiful, and though it took longer than if we had taken the funicular back down, it was a lot more enjoyable.





Before long it was time to eat again. . .



We saw a show on TV where they ate these cheese hot dogs called Kasekrainer. Tony is a huge hot dog fan, and to pass up an opportunity to try a huge cheesey hot dog would not be possible.



Believe it or not, I was still full from the strudel and I was not able to eat my entire hot dog. It was delicious. Kind of a Bratwurst with a slight cheddery taste.

There was a open air market going on, and Tony and I stopped at this stall where a man was selling schnapps. It seems that they make schnapps out of anything and everything. We tried several different types including: hazelnut, apple, and apricot. We ended up buying a bottle of the hazelnut to bring home with us. You can't visit Austria and not bring back a small bottle of schnapps.