Salzburg (22.11.08)

A cosy Mozart's town welcomed us with rain and said goodbye with snow.

We've just come back. Spent two days in Salzburg, but it was long enough to feel the unique atmosphere of the city...

First of all - Mozart. The city was totally full of him. And no wonder - the place attracts crowds of tourists mainly because of him. Walking down the main streets you can hear English very often, but many tourists from Asia come here as well. And Mozart... He was born here, lived here for a couple of years, played many concerts. You can visit his birthplace and a house where he lived. There's also Mozartplaz (Mozart square) with his statue, original Mozartkugel (Mozart balls – delicious sweets ) and the less original ones but most popular, omnipresent balls. Popular are also concerts of Mozart's music, played e.g. in the Hohensalzburg Castle and Residence.


The most sights are situated on the left bank of the Salzach river – the Old Town, City Hall, Cathedral, Mozart Square, Mozart's Birthplace, Franciscan Church, Monastery of St. Peter. Residence... Yes, we've been there. And not only there. Because the right bank of the river is also attractive: with Mirabell Castle surrounded by wonderful gardens, and with charming hills over the city. One of the hills is dominated by the Hohensalzburg Castle, the other - by the Capuchins Order and the next one is just a viewing terrace...



Salzburg was presenting its best parts very slowly. The narrow streets of the Old Town were dressed in yellow lights - stars and chains. A Christmas Market with a large Christmas Tree in the middle appeared near the Cathedral. There were also thousands of lights, stands with nice smelling punches, mulled wine, sausages, Christmas decorations, toys, clothes, pretzels...

Unfortunately, the first day was quite rainy, so the admiration of the city finished after few hours. We came back to our hostel (called Yoho) completely soaked. And talking about the hostel - it surprised us very positively. Although it was the cheapest one, it offered auch facilities as for example doors and locks locked wit a special card, tidy and attractive rooms, nice bathrooms (better as in our dormitory), bar, restaurant, Internet, TV-room, resting room... Most of the guests were from English speaking countries, having fun till the early morning hours and making a lot of noise...



By the time we got dry again, it was dark already. But the rain was over, so ... we went to Kapuzinerberg. It's a hill with the Capuchin Order. Probably it's totally crowded during a day, but the evening was the kingdom of calm and silent. And from the hill we saw a marvellous view on a illuminated city...

But the real charm of Salzburg appeared the day after. When the first snow fell! (Well, in fact that day almost the whole country experienced the first snowfall). The white fluff covered the hills and buildings, Christmas decoration gained on beauty and even the market looked much better. We visited the Hohensalzburg Castle and admired the view on the city from its top. Similar view presented the next hill – Monchsberg. We also popped into the Residence to see the magnificent rooms of Archbishops. We could also taste the local specialities - large pretzels and various punches. (My favourite taste is the baked apple with cream and cinnamon. The Vienna Market lacks it.)
Of course we visited also almost all the churches near the centre, because each is unique, historic, surprising...



In fact you could walk down the Salzburg streets without the end, especially in the nice Christmas & Winter atmosphere. Even Getreidegasse - extremely crowded street and full of shops - looked quite attractive. One day is definitely not enough, but in two days you're more than likely to delight the unique atmosphere of this popular city...