I ate a nice hearty traditional Bavarian breakfast at a cafe, then went to the train station to catch my train to Salzburg. I missed Vienna and regretted not staying there longer. It's a wonderful city, but I was ready to move on to the next city, Austria's Salzburg. It's claim to fame is the movie, "The Sound of Music." I didn't see much of Salzburg, but it's green hills and valleys are lush, dotted with traditional Bavarian houses. I was excited to see the snow capped mountains as we approached Salzburg.
Salzburg is a small town, but full of history. I walked around the old town of Salzburg. It's quite hilly in some parts, with cobbled streets and secret side streets or passageways. I saw one that looked interesting but decided to come back to it later. I toured the Salzburg Cathedral then made my way up a narrow cobbled street to the cable car that would take me up to Salzburg Castle or Hohensalzburg Fortress. The fortress is a stronghold on a large hill that protected its people for centuries from invaders. It's amazing that so many people could live and work in this place when I could walk around it within a matter of minutes. There is a small church that shows pieces of the original religious art that was excavated. A museum shows artifacts from various time periods, royal and military as well as mundane objects. After finishing my tour of the fortress, I found a table with the best view in the world for a dinner and beer. Salzburg is surrounded by snow capped mountains and green hills. I'm so surprised how green and lush Bavaria is. It's unreal how beautiful this region is!
After I took the cable car down to town, I walked through an old cemetery that is maintained and visited by loved ones. The cemetery is bordered by a cliff face and it seems one can go inside the hill because there were windows high up in the cliff! I found Mozart's statue in a square and paid my respects.
I walked along the river and found people standing on a street, high up on a hill. I wanted to find my way up that hill. I walked through a narrow passageway that was a mixture of something medieval but with tiny bars tucked away along the street. I got a nice view of the river and the fortress. I went back the way I came, unsure where that street would take me. Then I found another small street with steps on one side and a road for walking or driving on. An old man wearing a trench coat and hat was wearily pulling a small suitcase up the hill. I had a tough time trudging up the hill myself. The hill started to provide a scenic view of the town and the backyards of some homes. Along the way there were concrete boxes enclosing religious figures of Jesus in various stages of his adult life. I felt like I was on a pilgrimage. At the top of the hill is a statue of Mary holding Jesus, protected by a dome and you can walk up a long flight of steps to approach the statue. Around the corner from the memorial or shrine is a very small park where you can sit and take in the view of the city as the sun sets. It was worth the trek up to this beautiful place which will live in my memory.