The Music and Mountains of Salzburg

When the average American thinks of Salzburg, they think of The Sound of Music. The classic film about the Von Trapp family was filmed in this beautiful mountainous city in Austria. Salzburg is also known for its famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who was born and lived here until he moved to Vienna.

In history, Salzburg was given to Bishop Rupert in 700 A.D. by Bavaria in order to evangelize the area. It remained a peaceful, independent state for 1,200 years,, primarily because its fortress was so formidable that no outsider dare attack Salzburg – until Napoleon. Salzburg gained its power through its salt mines, hence its name.

We stayed in the old town of Salzburg at a charming pension called “Pension Suzanne” just a few steps away from where I had last stayed with my sister Casey over 20 years ago (The Weiss Taube). It’s a perfect location to walk to most of the sites in both the old town and the new town.

We used Mozartplatz, with a large statue of Mozart in the middle, as our “home base.” In the morning we took the funicular up to tour the medieval fortress. It’s a huge, imposing structure with interior rooms (including a torture chamber), and boasts beautiful views of all of Salzburg.

On Rick Steve’s advice, we descended the fortress via a 30-minute hike along the rim toward the mountain of Monschberg, and enjoyed views all the way. At Monschberg, we took the elevator down in the Museum of Modern Art, and then walked back into town.

Later we joined a walking tour, half in German and half in English, and explored Mozartplatz, the Residenzplatz, the Glockenspiel, the Salzburg Cathedral, St. Peter’s Church and cemetery and the Festival Concert Halls, to name a few.

The afternoon was free time for everyone to walk around, shop along the Getreidegasse, and basically do whatever anyone wanted. We had all decided that Salzburg was also for us “hit the Wallzburg” in our whirlwind European tour: we had seen so much in such a short time, that we all needed a few hours to stop being travelers and just enjoy the sights and sounds.

Jake and Chloe found a concert group from the Northeast near the fountain, and Jake entertained them with his guitar. Chloe made some friends as well. The kids enjoyed talking to other kid their age and from the U.S. and hit it off right away. All of us spent time shopping for secret psych gifts (two of us got Mozart balls – the famous chocolate confection of Salzburg).

That evening we attended a touristy “Sound of Salzburg” music show, which featured many Sound of Music tunes, Mozart, old Bavarian folk tunes and more. We all sang along to the SOM songs, and enjoyed it.

The next day it rained; a perfect day to tour Mozart’s residence (now a museum) across the river in the new town. I found it fascinating to learn more about Mozart and appreciate his music as well as gain insight into his life experiences and genius. It was the perfect note on which to end our stay in Salzburg.