Day 2: Ear flaps are comin’ back!
view from the top of hohensalzburg
Originally uploaded by miss_lace. I woke Friday morning to some strange precipitation falling from the sky. I was prepared for many things when I left for Austria: Bitter cold, rain, general discomfort, back pain from my rucksack. What I was not prepared for: Snow. Heavy snow. Lots of snow. I bravely bundled up in several shirts, multiple layers of socks, my long wool coat, scarf and gloves. By the time I reached the Altstadt (old city), my entire face was frozen.
Mirabelle House is a government building that was closed for the session, so I couldn’t go in. I did spend a bit of time wandering around Mirabelle Gardens, which were lovely. I particularly enjoyed the Dwarf Garden. Yes, that’s right. A circular garden with a dozen or so 2-foot-high statues of dwarves. This is what we call “politically incorrect.” I took pictures, of course.
A note: Everyone in Austria wears stupid hats. They’re these huge woolen things with tassels. For the first 15 minutes of my journey, I ridiculed them. Silly provincial Austrians, I thought to myself. Then I began to loose feeling in my ears. As soon as I reached the center market, I was immediately drawn to a stand with hats. I picked out a lovely blue and white wool number with fleece lining, a snowflake pattern and ear flaps. I love my hat. I love my hat with a passion you cannot understand until you’ve been trekking around in old cathedrals, up and down stairs, through mountain pathways and fortresses for 8 hours in below-freezing weather.
I accidentally stumbled upon St. Peter’s Abbey and monastery. The monastery itself dates to the 7th century and is actually cut into the rock of the mountain face. The catacombs were closed for some undisclosed reason. The cemetery there was amazing - wrought iron monuments, flowers, candles and wreaths.
I was disappointed because all the pretty fountains in the old city were covered by glass. The freestanding fountains had tent-like glass structures around them, presumably to keep the snow off. I was confused. There was nothing going on in the markets on Friday because they were setting up green wooden booths for the Christmas markets, which opened Saturday.
I caught the Glochenspiel chiming at 11 a.m. This huge bell tower was brought over in the 17th century, and 35 bells chime a couple of times a day.
I lit a candle in the Cathedral (Dom), and looked in awe at the intricate carvings that covered the entire ceiling. The frescoes weren’t that impressive, but they were bordered by amazing marble carvings like I’ve never seen. Every inch was covered with curls, floral motifs, crosses, etc.
I visited Mozart’s birthplace (Geburtshaus), where you can see such fascinating artifacts as Mozart’s snuffbox and a lock of his hair. Luckily I had purchased the Kombination Karte, which meant I could also visit the house where Mozart lived (Wohnheim). I wandered around for half an hour trying to find this stupid building. I located it on my map. I checked my guidebook. I checked another map.
They painted Mozart’s house. Mozart’s house is supposed to be yellow. It’s yellow in my guidebook. It was yellow in all the videos we watched in German class. And they’ve gone and painted it a pale pink. I was disgusted. I took the tour anyway.
My favorite part of Salzburg was an 11th century fortress called Hohensalzburg. The fort was set on a mountaintop overlooking the city. There’s a train that runs from street level to the top of the mountain, but alas, it wasn’t operating. So I decided to climb the stone stairway all the way up the mountain. This is yet another reason why I shouldn’t be allowed to travel alone: I can’t handle public transportation, I an never find anything to eat and I sometimes have dumb thoughts like, “Oh, sure it would be okay if I climbed on that.” The fortress was amazing, though, with all sorts of nooks and crannies and an observation deck with an amazing view of the city.
The food I ate Friday wasn’t anything special; there actually aren’t that many cafes in the Old City where you can sit and eat. For lunch I opted for a pastry I’d seen in my guidebook - a small sweet biscuit with powdered sugar on top. All was well and good with it until I bit into the middle and got a mouthful of orange goo. It didn’t taste like anything I’d ever eaten before. I have good reason to believe it was actually persimmon. Lunch was pizza; dinner was a cinnamon roll and some fruit from a local Bakerei. With dinner I got a carton of milk - not any milk, but frische Alpenmilch! I picked this particular carton because the side read “SalzburgerLand - Das Milchparadies!” I don’t know about that. It tasted like regular whole milk to me.