Salzburg - The Home of The Sound of Music

We enjoyed the walk up to  the HohenSalzburg Fortress

 Next morning we woke up and had a sumptuous breakfast in the cafeteria. The restaurant was the busiest of all the hotels we had stayed on this trip. The breakfast included traditional hot breakfast food such as bacon and eggs, pancakes, cheese, rolls, jams and cold cereals etc.

HohenSalzburg Fortress - Built on the Highest Point of Salzburg

There are about 140,000 inhabitants in Salzburg and it is the 4th largest city in Austria. The birth city of Mozart, Salzburg was the city where the movie The Sound of Music was based on and filmed in the 1960's.  The Sound of Music Tour has been going on ever since and it is a popular one.

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With only one day in Salzburg, we wanted to hit the main points of interest. Having signed up for a tour, we toured the city with 4 other tourists packed in a mini van. Our tour guide was a model for multi-tasking.  This young British lady guide also doubled as the bus driver.   Austria is truly an efficient country.  Elsewhere, the tour bus driver and the guide``s work would be performed by two individuals.   The tour bus took us through the old town and we got some decent knowledge of the various notable buildings in the City.




We came across this house built into the side of a mountanl

 We learned that Salzburg in German literally means 'salt town'.  The Celts, Romans and later Germanic peoples had all taken a stab in extracting salt from the quarries in the town. At one time, salt was so highly valued that it was used as a medium of business transaction, like money today. At one time, folks here were paid in salt and that was how the word salary came into being.  She also told us about the unique tradition of the Bishop Princes that ruled Salzburg through the centuries.  They were strict but caring rulers.  No wonder we could still note the orderliness, discipline and cleanliness of Salzburgers today.  Salzburg had been an independent Principality until not very long ago when it was finally absorbed into the Austrian Empire of the Hapsburg.
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Other really neat thing we did after the tour was walking up to the Hohen Salzburg - the castle located at the highest point of the city.

The Majestic Alps as Seen from the Top of the Hohen Salzburg

When I was in Canada, I have had experience some chronic pain on my right leg. However, having walked daily for the past three weeks on our European trip, the pain in my leg has gone. I attributed that to the daily walking exercise and we walked as much as we could.

When we sought directions how to walk up to the castle located at the highest point of the city, we were asked if we were taking the bus or walking. We were given a big grin and thumbs up by the locals when we told them that we were walking! The walk up to the castle was not too bad, neither was it a piece of cake.

View of Salzburg from the top of the Hohen Salzbury Fortress

But the scenery on the way was breathtaking as we came across numerous smaller castles, beautiful buildings and a modern museum! The walk was worth the time and effort and was the highlight of our visit in Salzburg. Highly recommend it if you have the time while visiting this city.

Hohen Salzburg Fortress - a city within wall

We had an audio tour of the Hohen Salzburg Fortress and learned about the history of the different expansions by the various prince archbishops. It was a small city within the castle walls with its own school, church, blacksmith shops, dungeon and even a torture chamber where the tools for torturing its dissidents and prisoners were kept.

After the tour, we could have taken the bus down to the square, but we wanted to walk and get as much exercises as possible.  Descending the hill, we could hear classical music playing and we soon found ourselves in the town square enjoying the free musical performances with many others.

We could hear the music from the square as we were descending from the Fortress

 Salzburg has a lot to offer to its residents and tourists alike. It is a city full of music. The day when we visited the old town, we came across a number of musicians performing on the streets and in the square.

Old Town Square - Salzburg

The annual Salzbrug Music |Festival attracts hundreds and thousands of music lovers.
 The next time we visit Salzburg, we will make sure that we will be able to be a part of the musical celebration.


R.T. Salzburg, Austria
Aug. 2012