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Changing currency, Getriedgasse, Mozart Kugel, Salzburg, Salzburg Cathedral and creche, The Sound of Music

# Salzburg’s Alstadt

July 29, 2015 1954 Leave a comment

Crossing the bridge of locks, the Ramblers followed their guide into the Alstadt, crowded with both locals and tourists. Inside are an array of historic buildings; the magnificent baroque Cathedral, Dom, the Abbey of St. Peter and of course, Mozart’s birthplace. The old town is also home to a marvelous selection of shops selling both international and local brands, just about anything you might want.

McDonald’s sign above Getreidgasse.

There are also restaurants and coffee shops and you will even find a McDonald’s and a Starbucks. By law, each shop along the Getreidgasse has to have a signboard, even McDonald’s, although there are many alleyways that are sign-less.

On the Getreidgasse, the main shopping street, at #9, is the Mozart Birthplace museum It is painted a bright yellow ocher, called Schoenbrunn yellow by the Austrians because it was a color favored by the Hapsburg’s. (You can buy it in their paint stores.)

Austrian seniors with matching outfits and walkers heading to the Christmas market

The narrow pedestrian only street was crowded this Friday with folks doing some Christmas shopping the second week-end in Advent. Our guide herded us fairly briskly past these attractions; luckily, there would be time to shop later.

Fiaker kiosk near Cathedral.

On the way to the Cathedral, we noticed a stand offering horse and carriage rides. The carriages are called fiaker. You can take a carriage ride that might cost from 40 to 80 Euros. Just too chilly, and our time was limited so we easily decided against a fiaker ride.

Our final destination was the magnificent baroque Salzburg Cathedral or Salzburger Dom

Cathedral interior

Its patron saints are St. Rupert and Saint Vergilius. This was a surprise to me because when our youngest grandson, little Virgil was christened, the priest told us that he had had a hard time finding a saint with that name, but finally located one. I managed to find St. Vergilius by accident on a river cruise!

Oldest item in cathedral, may be Roman, used as Baptismal font.

The cathedral is truly beautiful with many interesting side altars, a frescoed ceiling, and a wonderful creche under construction.

Ornate ceiling of cathedral

Since I was little, I have always enjoyed the nativity scenes that are assembled in Catholic Churches before Christmas. In Catholic Austria, they are set up during Advent, and more figures are added as Christmas draws near. Unfortunately t was really difficult to photograph the one in the cathedral because it was protected by an extensive Plexiglas shield,

Wish they didn’t have that Plexiglas shield but you get the idea.

The cathedral kneelers, like all the others I saw in the old churches in Hungary, Austria and Germany are made of sturdy, rough boards, and you really know you are kneeling on them. No easy on the knees, padded surfaces like we have at home. On the way out, we were asked for a small donation to help with the upkeep of the cathedral. The young woman who accepted my coins sat in a small, unheated enclosure by the door, and she looked very chilly. When I remarked on this, she smiled and said, “Oh no, I have volunteered for this job.” I hope she was rewarded with hot chocolate or Gluhwein when her shift was over.

The Alstadt Christmas Market was held on the plaza directly in front of the Dom. Our guide pointed it out and hustled off;, he really was a disappointment. We wouldn’t stay at the market either, as we wanted to see more of Salzburg.

Christmas Market at the Dom

Since we now had several hours to spend on our own, the Ramblers had to make some choices. We decided not to take the funicular up to the spectacular Hohensalzburg Castle, because it looked to be both chilly and time consuming.

This meant that we wouldn’t be able to seek out Nonnburg, the Benedictine Nunnery that played an important role in the ubiquitous Sound of Music.

View of Hohensalzburg Castle and funicular to get up up the hill

Although Maria was never a novice there, she did spend some time at Nonnberg, the oldest European nunnery in continuous operation. first established in the 8th century. It too was on top of the hill, with an excellent view of the mountains. Instead we headed towards St. Peter’s Abbey which was much closer and left us time for lunch and some sight-seeing on the way back to our bus stop.

A block away from the Cathedral, the crowds thinned out. Soon we found ourselves in the Abbey grounds where we were almost alone.

Cemetery near Abbey, a peaceful spot.

We enjoyed the peace of the cemetery and the old Abbey church which had been established about the same time as Nonnburg. Our goal was to eat at St. Peter’s Stiftskeller which claims to be the oldest restaurant in Europe in continuous operation (for 1200 years according to their brochure). Of course there is no way to dispute this claim and they may be right, because the monks who lived at the Abbey began serving meals in the 8th century.

St. Peter’s Stiftskeller

We finally found the entrance to the Stiftskeller after wandering completely around the abbey building complex which was extensive. Fortunately it wasn’t crowded and we were seated in the lower level which once served as the cellar of the Abbey in medieval times. This was an extra treat for the historian Rambler. The food and service lived up to our expectations and we enjoyed our meal; the only one we didn’t eat on the Beatrice.

After a leisurely lunch, we headed back to the Getriedgasse, tracking backward towards the river and our meeting place. On the way we had more time to do some window shopping . Our guide had talked a lot about the Mozart candies or Mozart Kugel and I wanted to get some.

The Furst Mozart Kugel

His key points were that you had to try them, and they could be found in two different colors wrappers, red and blue. Although the composition of the candy was the same, the blue ones were made by hand and commanded a much higher price while the more pedestrian red ones were machine made and much cheaper. When he said much more expensive, he wasn’t kidding. The aristocratic blue Mozart candies were over 1 Euro each (actually about $1.50 US), while I was later able to buy a bag of the red ones

Red Mozart Kugel, the value price leader

for about 3 Euros (under $5.00). Well, I had to compare the two, so I went into the the exclusive blue shop and bought one, but only one. I found i really like Mozart Kugel; they have a nougat and marzipan interior with a chocolate coating. The senior Rambler only likes milk chocolate butter creams, so I didn’t have to buy any for him. That was a good thing, because to me, the expensive blue wrapped candy tasted pretty much like the red ones I bought later. We probably should have done a blind taste test when we got back to the Beatrice.! I later learned that the blue ones were the original, invented by a gentleman named Furst in the 19th century. Because of their popularity, they were soon copied by many other Austrian candy makers. These lowly candies have been the subject of many disputes because they became big business.

What do you suppose they sell here???

They are everywhere in Salzburg, but only the ones made by Furst are allowed to have blue wrappers. The Furst blue ones are only sold in three shops in the Alstadt, while the best place to buy the red ones is a supermarket.

Along with candy shops and designer clothing we did see a plebeian store in this high-rent district, that sold tourist souvenirs.

Austrian bobble-heads including a Mozart one

Another shop had a very weird display; the Ramblers had no idea what they sold and didn’t really want to go in to find out. We took time out to stop at the local Starbucks, one of the few places, as it turned out, where you could actually sit down . Always a plus was the Starbucks rest room, not to mention the availability of familiar coffee.

Starbucks with sign board

Fortunately we were able to find our pick up spot with no trouble. A few members of our group were already there. Right across the street, there was a supermarket, and I jumped at the chance to check it out. For some reason, I enjoy visiting grocery stores where ever we travel. To me, they have a lot to say about the local culture. It was a neat little place, with an excellent selection and good prices. Behold, they had bags of the red Mozart kugel on sale along with several other kinds of Christmas candies which I bought for our family at home.

Just a little bit about European currency. Both Austria and Germany use the Euro(they are part of the Eurozone), but the Hungarians still use their national currency, the forint. During our brief stop in Budapest, I exchanged some dollars for forints on the Beatrice and paid for my purchases in Hungarian cash. When we got to Vienna, I exchanged my leftover forints and some dollars for euros. Be warned that most European stores will not take dollars, as the euro is worth more. You can use a credit card, but be sure that it has a chip, which is used in Europe and that your credit card doesn’t add a fee to each purchase you make in Europe. The fee is usually about 3% and most but not all, cards charge one. You can also use a currency exchange although again you will pay a fee, and the rate of exchange may not be so good. ATM’s may be the most convenient way to get cash, but you must find one that has the same system, like Cirrus, for example, as your home bank. However, the ATM fees can be quite high, and you will be billed on both ends.

Uniworld provides a currency exchange for its passengers, for small amounts of cash. If you have never traveled in Europe,it is a good idea to learn about exchanging money and using credit cards before you leave. Also, be sure to let your bank know when and where you will be traveling or you may find that your credit card is frozen, not a good thing.

My final act in Salzburg was to buy some roasted chestnuts from a vendor near our bus stop, They were a welcome treat. Then we climbed on board for the long ride back to our ship.

Back at last

That night we would have the gala Captain’s Farewell Dinner, and later the Beatrice would sail to our last stop, Passau, Bavaria.

Austria, Bridge of Locks, Mozart, The Sound of Music, Uncategorized

# Salzburg: Mozart vs. The Sound of Music

July 26, 2015 1954 2 Comments

As we prepared to embark on our Uniworld tour of Salzburg, the Ramblers recalled our first visit there 17 years ago. We used one of my week-ends while teaching history to Georgia students in Metz, France and traveled there by train. A married couple in my class had gone to Salzburg the preceding week, and highly recommended it so we decided to go as well. It was a wonderful week-end. On their recommendation, we stayed at a marvelous Inn, the Romantic Hotel Gmachl, up in the green hills surrounding Salzburg, which has been in the same family for over 500 years. The Ramblers hoped that the Uniworld tour would be just as much fun.This time we wouldn’t have to spend the night trying to sleep in a first-class train compartment, but would ride in a brand-new Uniworld bus.

In 1998, Eurail sold a pass that covered almost all of Europe. It was good for a certain number of 24 hour days of travel so it had to be used judiciously, and often involved traveling at night. Both students and faculty were issued rail passes which were used for field trips as well as independent travel Lengthy field trips were reserved for Thursdays. After the educational part was over, everyone, students and faculty, split for week-end trips of their own. Classes resumed on Mondays. These passes are no longer available and using a rail pass requires even more planning today.

The Beatrice had docked in Linz, Austria around 3 am. However, we wouldn’t see much of Austria’s third largest city and largest Danube port. Our expedition to Salzburg was to last a full day. Linz did sound like a fascinating place with a 13th century main square surrounded by restored Gothic houses.

By the time we got back to Linz we could only see their Christmas lights

Not only had Mozart composed a symphony there, but it was also a popular spot for many other musicians, especially the composer Anton Bruckner. Bruckner served as the Linz’ cathedral organist for more than 10 years in the 19th century. To sweeten the pot, the city is also the home of the delicious Linzertorte which prominently features almonds and raspberry jam. Hope we get back there someday.

However, even the Ramblers haven’t mastered the art of being in two places at once. We had made our choice and were off to Salzburg at 8:45 am. Despite the cloudy skies and chilly weather yet again ( high 39′, low 36′) the Ramblers enjoyed the drive. We traveled through a varied landscape of farms, field, woods, a lake or two and an increasing number of foothills on the excellent Austrian roads. Half-way through the 3 hour drive, we stopped at a rest area for several kinds of refreshment.

View from the rest area

The rest area was crowded with tourists as three Viking busses had also pulled in, along with assorted cars and vans. There were long lines for both men and women’s toilets, but no one was left behind. This Rambler was much impressed with the quality of the rest area. We have stopped at hundreds in our travels over the US and Canada, and this was one of the nicest. Instead of the vending machines that are standard in the US, it included a shop that sold a variety of local products as well as drinks and tasty snacks. No wonder it was crowded!

Salzburg, the fourth largest city in Austria, and the capital of the Austrian federal state of Salzburg, has one of the best-preserved city centers north of the Alps. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1998 Salzburg is also home to three universities. However, most tourists come here for two reasons. to visit the birthplace of Mozart and because parts of The Sound of Music, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2015, were filmed there.

Cold looking tourists walking in the Mirabell Gardens, no fountain frolicking today

Although I might sound like a Philistine, the Rambler believes that most American tourists visit Salzburg because of The Sound of Music, and I expect, not a few folks from other parts of the world do as well. This is not the place to discuss WHY this musical is so popular, but just to admit that it is. Actually it was a contributing factor to our choice of Salzburg in 1998. We even took a Sound of Music tour, somewhat disappointing as we had a terrible guide and it was raining, yet we were eager to visiting this magical city again.

Our group was dropped off on the outskirts of the Aldstadt (old town) in a somewhat nondescript spot. I carefully noted the the street names on the map we were given, so we could find it later. It is no fun to be lost in an unfamiliar place. Our guide, unfortunately, was the worst( again, no luck in Salzburg with tour guides) we had on the whole cruise.

Cold looking statues bordering the Mirabell gardens.

Fortunately the tour itself was relatively short, then we could spend the rest of the day on our own. Of course, the first site our guide pointed out related to the Sound of Music. the Mirabell Gardens, still green in December.

We then crossed the river on Salzburg’s lock bridge to the Aldstadt. The Ramblers later learned that the lock bridge was a modern phenomenon and lock bridges were now everywhere, but we dutifully checked out some of the locks. Actually the custom dates back over 100 years, but became somewhat of a fad in the 2000’s. Countless pairs of lovers have vowed their love by clipping a padlock on a bridge and throwing the key in the river. Don’t know what they do if they use a combination lock??? Some cities encourage this, others consider the locks a form of litter and remove them.

Zither player on bridge of locks

Crossing the bridge, we saw our first and only street musician, a zither player. He was bundled up against the chilly wind that blew down the Salzach river. Fortunately zithers are played sitting down which must have helped a little. I couldn’t tell if he was playing Mozart, as I had to hustle to keep with our group. He certainly wasn’t playing anything from Sound of Music!

On to the Alstadt!

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