Somehow this trip seems to have become my Austria trip, without me planning it that way. I've now spent more time in Austria than in any other foreign country apart from the USA and Spain. It's good when life goes in unexpected directions.
Not always, though. The most unexpected thing that happened to me in Salzburg was that I got stung by a wasp, in the shower. The little bugger scored a direct hit on my left nipple. (At first I thought I'd snagged a chest hair in my sponge). It was sore for more than a day afterwards. I derived some small consolation from successfully revenge-drowning my assailant.
Salzburg is one of those ridiculously neat and tidy picture-postcard chocolate-box places. It looks like an advert for itself, and inevitably it seems to contain more visitors than locals. For me personally it was good to complete my little Mozart pilgrimage: in Vienna I saw the house where he died, and now here I've seen the house where he was born. Incidentally, just round the corner there is also the geburtshaus of Christian Doppler, after whom the Doppler effect is named.
However both of these two eminent figures are completely overshadowed by the fact the "The Sound Of Music" was filmed here. See pictures below. I think it's literally forty years since I've seen that film, but perhaps I'll watch it again in an idle hour sometime soon and see how many places I can recognise.
Overall Salzburg is a nice place to look at, but now, having looked at it, I don't feel like I need to stick around. The main impression that lingers in my mind is the sight of the mountains looming in the distance, and I realise with a pang that I've never hiked in the Alps and it really is about time I did so. Another addition to my to-do list. Sometimes I think the list gets longer, not shorter, the more that I travel. I ought to do it more often.
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| Mirabell palace |
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| The Von Trapp villa from "The Sound Of Music" It's now a working care home, so this is as close as you can get. People actually go online and give it bad reviews because of that. |
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| The pavillion from "The Sound of Music", at the Hellbrunn palace. I am forty-seven, going on forty-eight... |
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| Hellbrunn palace |
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| Hohensalzburg fortress, seen from the west |
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| Untersberg mountain, seen from the Almkanal to the north. The mountain summit is actually over the border in Germany. |
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| Another view of the Mirabell palace |
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| Edd vs Food #126 Colombian arepa (kind of like a maize tortilla) At the Bistro de Marquez, Schrannengasse 6, 5020 Salzburg Pulled beef, cheese, tomato, avocado, spicy sauce. The photo doesn't really do it justice. Trust me, it was lush. |
