11 years ago
Salzburg, Austria is amazing.
I don’t know how else to describe it ----we boarded our bus at 8am in Ruhpolding and headed down the road toward Salzburg, meeting up with our Austrian guide Erika for a three hour tour…((Yes I know you are singing it with me…go ahead, finish the phrase!))
Erica is the one to the right of the map, facing front and pointing out landmarks so we could find our way back to the bus after we separated after the tour on our own shopping excursions.
We walked from one historic site to another, and my camera was out and at the ready at every turn. I took 266 photos!!! So I’m going to have to break these down into bits and parts ---be prepared for LOTS of Salzburg!
Of course, when one thinks of Salzburg, the first thing we think of is The Sound of Music.
The theme for the day was set for us when our bus driver, Adriano, pushed START on the CD player and our coach was filled with the soundtrack – and we sang, oh did we sing!
This was NOT our bus! But you can see how much of a destination location Salzburg is for Sound of Music lovers!
First stop: Mirabell Castle, or Schloss Mirabell. Mirabell means “Beautiful View” and it sure is that!
Breathtaking!
Yes, The prince was also automatically Arch Bishop in the catholic church and he and his mistress had 15 children. Mind blowing!Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau had Altenau Palace built in 1606 as a token of his love for Salome Alt. The palace fulfilled its purpose: fifteen children were born of their union, ten of whom survived.
After Wolf Dietrich's death, the palace was renamed "Mirabell" by his successor, Markus Sitticus von Hohenems.
Amazing Stair Case!
Today Mirabell Palace houses the offices of Salzburg's mayor and the municipal council. The Marble Hall, formerly the prince-archbishops' ballroom and concert venue for Leopold Mozart and his children Wolfgang and Nannerl, is considered to be one of the "most beautiful wedding halls in the world." Meetings, awards ceremonies and romantic concerts (Salzburg Palace Concerts) are held here regularly.
Marble floor inside the wedding hall!
Christmas tree in the corner ---beautiful!
One thing I can say about Christmas trees over here…they are not “over done”. Simply beautiful – with emphasis on the SIMPLY. A FEW lights, a FEW ornaments..but mostly tree. I like it this way….
Ceiling in the wedding hall
How would you like a wedding here? Would your eyes be on the floor or on the bride?
Gorgeous!
The gardens were my favorite of all --- of course if you are familiar with The Sound of music you will recall scenes of the Von Trapp Family children dancing around this fountain:
The Pegasus statue!
The Do Re Mi steps are behind me in the background over my left shoulder –amazing!
The view down the lawns showing the Hohensalzburg Fortress on the hill in the distance.
Gnarly trees make for great photos! We decided these resemble ink-blotch paintings…the kind where you blow on the ink with a straw to make it run---remember?
Our group following Erika down the walk ways toward the other end of the garden!
Love the gates and the giant urns
Another gorgeous gate!
Fabulous statues!
Remember these statues from the Sound of Music??
Statues and awesome winter trees and happy tourists soaking up Salzburg!
One last look as we move on!
The famous Mirabell Gardens were redesigned around 1690 under Prince-Archbishop Johann Ernst Graf von Thun to plans by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach and completely remodeled around 1730 by Franz Anton Danreiter. The Pegasus Fountain, a work by Kaspar Gras from Innsbruck, was installed in 1913. The four groups of statues around the fountain were sculpted by Ottavio Mosto (1690) and symbolize the 4 elements: fire, air, earth and water. The Mirabell Gardens were opened to the public by Emperor Franz Joseph in 1854. Today they are a horticultural masterpiece and popular backdrop for photographers.
See ya next time, dude!
It was an amazing day to be in Austria and we were just getting started!
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