1980 Salzburg (8/15/1980)

Friday, August 15, 1980

Although sleeping on and off (mostly off it seemed), we apparently missed a couple stops. The train seemed to be going on and on. I assumed the train was going by way of Vienna, and I thought we should be nearing Bischofshofen. When we passed through Innsbruck, I really was on the lookout. The train went on and on without stopping, and zoomed past stations so that I couldn't read the names to check where we were on a map. We made a stop in some town at about 02:00, and I figured we had one more hour to Bischofshofen. I awoke again at about 03:00 and the train hadn't stopped. It went on and on, and again I couldn't see station names to tell which direction we were going. It was 04:00, then 05:00, and I was sure we would end up in Yugoslavia! Finally the train stopped about 05:30, way down south in Villach! We hopped right off, figuring the next stop was truly Yugoslavia! We sat in the waiting room to await the next scheduled train to Salzburg at 06:30. A train pulled in heading for Dortmund and also stopping at Salzburg, but we didn't have time to board it. But we caught the 06:30 train and got a nice hot compartment to ourselves. We had been freezing all morning. We got to see some lovely mountain scenery including a couple castles on the way to Salzburg. 

View from the train in Austria

Arrived at 09:30 and checked our bags in a locker. We got a map from information, and also got not much information about the Sound of Music tour ("takes you around the city and to a lake...," they only wanted to sell us tickets!). So we started our own tour. Walked down and through the Mirabelle castle into the gardens: well-sculpted shrubs, flowers, rosebushes. etc.

Postcard of Mirabellgarten with Monchsberg in the background

We walked down the road on the other side to find the Mozarteum supposedly containing the Magic Flute Cottage where the piece of the same name was composed by Mozart. But there was a concert held that day and many very elegantly dressed people were hanging around. We also passed the Marionette Theater. We crossed over the river and ended up in the older part of town finding the city hall and Mozart’s birthplace.

Mozart's birthplace

Before having crossed the footbridge, we looked back into a square to see another of Mozart’s homes. We walked through the back alleys to the University Square where supposedly Mozart's sister lived, but only saw the rear of the birthplace. In this square it was recommended to get the wurstel, which we did. Turned out to be a pair of hot dog-like sausages in mustard with a roll. We saved the rolls, and ate the hot dogs amid a cloud of yellow jackets. In the square we noted the university and the College Church which we entered. Then we walked into the Alter Markt. Here it was recommended to go to the Fürst Konditorei to get the Sachertorte and Mozartkugeln (said to be nuts covered with chocolate). We did and tasted the chocolate cake with jam between the layers, and the funny kugeln/balls which didn't have nuts inside, but a pistachio sugar mixture.

Ribbon from the Mozartkugeln/Mozart balls

The squares in Salzburg were right next to one another, so next we found ourselves in the Residenzplatz with its huge fountain and the clock tower.

Residenzplatz

Giant chess game

Supposedly you could catch a bus making a loop through the city for free; we saw only vans offering a tour for a fee, and horse-drawn carriages offering tours for a high fee, but nothing for free. We went to the Mozartplatz to see the statue of the man and another one of his homes. We also went to the American Express office to see about the "Sound of Music" tour, but all its doors were closed. So we crossed over to the Domplatz and entered the cathedral. It was crowded because of an organ concert being given. It was wonderful! From there we went to the Kapitalplatz and entered the tiny cemetery with exquisite tombstones and many flowers. Some "tombstones" were wrought iron in the shape of crosses. We went up to the cablecar and joined the large crowd waiting to buy tickets. It was a relatively short ride up Monchsberg to the castle.

Cablecar ticket

We walked around the extensive castle getting pretty much of a 180° panorama. Also saw another cliff top up which you take an elevator to a cafe and casino at another castle. Far to the south is apparently "Sound of Music" country, but it wasn't recognizable. Great mountains all around. We took the cablecar back down and more or less retraced our steps. In Mirabellplatz we got more information about the "Sound of Music" tour. Not only do you see the city and the lake, but it costs $13 each! So we decided not to go and returned to the train station.

Salzburg Map

Map of Salzburg

We bought a Fanta, potato chips, and mint candies to get rid of our small Austrian change. We retrieved our bags, went through customs and waited for the 13:30 train to München. We got a compartment with a girl and her grandmother who tried having a conversation with us, but I didn't understand the word of apparently the main subject! Lovely "Swiss" countryside. Arrived in München at 15:30 and first changed our money. I went to the post office to get change so we could put our bags in a locker. Then we strolled down the main pedestrian shopping street, and saw many individuals selling jewelry. Also saw and heard a variety of musicians, including a strange bagpipe, a base cello, etc. In the city hall square we saw a couple of mimes using audience participation. We got some ice cream and awaited the Glockenspiel, and this time at 17:00 it put on its show with the rotating mannequins including the dueling knights.

München Glockenspiel (TAT)

We went to the McDonald's for our supper, and then on the way to the train station we found a grocery store for supplies. Went next door to the bakery for bread and ended up with another brand of Mozartkugeln -- these had a chocolate cream center surrounded by the pistachio cream and covered with chocolate. We got our bags and found our train was already in. Not to worry as there are plenty of seats. Kathy and I returned to the bakery to spend the last of our German change on pastries for breakfast. Back on the train, we heard an announcement of “attention on track 11” (our track). Then our train pulled out, but it was 15 minutes before departure time. We looked out to see that only our car was attached to the engine! And we were the only passengers! Workmen had been busy on our car, but they said nothing to us. Turned out we just went to another siding to get new batteries, and then we returned to join the rest of our train. Nice little ride! Snacked on green grapes with seeds, potato chips, and Mozart's balls! In Austria and Bavaria you see a lot of men and women in native dress. In Austria and Switzerland you see a lot of people in mountain hiking outfits -- knickers and hiking boots, canes and knapsacks. The train left a few minutes late, just about 17:40 and we found we were the only passengers in our car. We pulled out the seats and stretched out, and even into Italy we were the only ones at least in the non-smoking section. We were left alone all night, except for conductors popping in, and the next thing we knew, we had arrived in Florence.
Next: Siena.