Ever since I've arrived in Europe, I keep having problems answering a specific question. Over and over, I'm being asked by people I meet: "Where are you from?" Argh! How do I answer this question? I mean something more than "America" or "the US". People are looking for a specific location. I won't say "Philadelphia" because I was only there for 1 week before leaving for Europe and I don't really like Philly all that much. I could say Massachusetts, but I only lived there a little more than 3 years. My longest residence was Manhattan (NYC), so that's what I've been saying, but I haven't lived there since 2011. I was born in New Jersey, but don't feel like a "Jersey girl". Ah well, I suppose I'll just keep saying NYC/Manhattan.
Okay, it's my my final day in Salzburg, which was spent finishing up touring things that I've missed over the past 2 days. First and foremost, Hohensalzburg Fortress. The fortress began being built in 1077 and kept being refined, expanded, and finalized over the next 500 years. Never really used for fortification, it was mostly built to instill fear in enemies - sort of like having a big dog in your yard. Interestingly, nowadays, a portion of the Fortress is used for reasonable housing for artists, but there is a nice section that is available for touring. There are state apartments and some museums, including a marionette museum. I took a ton of photos of the fortress and views from the fortress. The views of Salzburg and the Alps are breathtaking.
After leaving the fortress, I walked over to Nonnberg Abbey. If you remember, this was the abbey that Maria von Trapp was a novitiate before marrying Captain von Trapp. While there is no way to see the abbey, I did visit the church where Maria and the Captain actually married and I heard the nuns singing while I was there. Pretty awesome.
I wandered back down the mountain and visited a Toy Museum, which is mostly an interactive museum for children, but I read and saw some interesting historical information on various toys (teddy bears, trains, dolls, and doll houses, etc.). Then it was time for some lunch. I ate at Cafe Mozart. Yeah, it's a bit kitschy but what can you do. All that matter was that the food was good and decently priced.
After lunch, I finished up my visit of Salzburg with a tour of the Festival Halls. Since 1920, there has been a Salzburg Festival held every summer in July and August. The festival is a prominent festival of music and drama and was founded by director, Max Reinhardt (Uncle Max from Sound of Music is based upon Reinhardt). The Salzburg Foundation has daily tours of three of the biggest venue halls (the Large Venue Hall, the House of Mozart, and Riding School). One of the music halls (the Riding School or Felsenreitschule) was utilized in Sound of Music so it was a must see for me. It's the music hall where the von Trapp family performs toward the end of the movie. Each of the venues were interesting to see. I could imagine myself standing and performing on any one of those magnificent stages. Okay, that part was a little depressing, but overall it was fascinating to see these venues up close. If anyone is interested in attending next summer's Salzburg Festival, the time is now to order your tickets. They (apparently) go very quickly. It was a good time to visit the festival halls because it started raining while I was on the tour. On my way back to pick up my luggage at the hostel, I caught sight of a rainbow.
And so concludes my time in Salzburg. I really enjoyed this lovely little city and would find living here quite enjoyable. Although I'm not so sure I'd enjoy winter here or the crowds during the festival so perhaps I wouldn't want to live here. But it is a beautiful jewel in Austria's crown. You can see all my Day 27 photos on my GToE photo site. Onto to Munich!
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| Felsenreitschule (SOM location) |
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