Day #213 - Salzburg, Austria

Coming into the "Old City"

Town square

A view of Salzburg's "Old City"

Mozart's statue

Mozart's place of residence

Mozart's birthplace

Wednesday, October 13th

Sorry for the delay in blogging. The mind was not focused on writing last evening. In cases like this - it's best to let it rest. The world's a tough place sometimes. Stay focused, stay committed to what's right - I keep trying to remind myself of that even though it can be very difficult.

Wednesday proved to be a very interesting day. I got up early in Innsbruck - high on this mountain. The sun was shining bright. Looking out my hotel room window provided an amazing view of the mountains circling the city below. I'm really glad I stayed overnight here. It brought a whole new perspective to the area for me.

I took a 20 minute busride into town. I had a chance to walk around for a couple hours before hitting the train station. Big place - 130,000 people. The streets were busy with alot of activity. Innsbruck is located in the state of Tyrol. I've skimmed a number of tourists books on Austria - many state that Tyrol is the main tourism area in all of Austria. It's home for so many different activities. I really enjoyed the short time I had in the city; however, to truly appreciate the place, one must participate in the outdoor paradise and bring it home at night in Innsbruck.

I next took a couple hour train ride to the city of Salzburg, Austria. Now, this place, was fantastic. My favorite place in Austria to date. Every place has it's drawing card. Salzburg has a couple of aces - it's the birthplace of Mozart and was largely the site for the musical "The Sound of Music".

I stayed in a hotel which was about a 20 minute walk to the "Old City". The thing about Salzburg that amazed me the most was the really unique large-scale buildings & monuments, but all with a small-scale atmosphere. The Hohensalzburg Castle (Festung Hohensalzburg) sits on top of this huge hill that overlooks the "Old City". So many interesting churches and palaces: The Salzburg Cathedral, Nonnberg Abbey, the Residenz Palace.

Now, unfortunately, I have little knowledge concerning the 2 calling cards. I know nothing about Mozart and have never seen the movie - "The Sound of Music". If I had more knowledge coming in, I'm sure the place would have meant more to me. I walked to the birthplace home of Mozart, as well as his place of residence. There's also a square dedicated to Mozart - with a really cool statue of him in the middle. I read the story about Maria von Trapp - she was a Salzburg based nun - the movie "The Sound of Music" was based on her life.

The streets were packed with people. I walked up and down the compact area of the "Old City". I then had a really nice dinner at a pizza/pasta place. I called it an early night.