Salzburg, Austria — Persenbeug, Austria
We had an early start this morning, leaving at 8 a.m. for Salzburg which was about 2 hours from where we had docked in Linz. It was again very foggy wen we set out, and despite a promise of sun later in the day, it remained somewhat foggy throughout the day. We arrived in Salzburg about 10:30 and set off with our guide Eva for a tour of the city. It was a once over lightly tour which introduced us to the highlights but didn't give time to see anything in much depth. Eva is an American by birth who had married an Austrian and who gives tours to keep her English up - you could hear how she has forgotten some English words - but she was full of enthusiasm and had an infectious laugh as well as lots of information. Our first stop was at Mirabell, the 18th century home of the mistress of the Roman Catholic Prince Bishop, who had 15 children with him. The home was huge and had extensive gardens, including a lovely garden full of red roses. There were a number of fountains, and statues representing the 4 aspects of the life, earth, air, water and fire. We then passed by the home where Mozart lived for much of his adult life, and walked on across the Salz River by way of a bridge covered with thousands of locks left by lovers who pledge their devotion by attaching a lock then throwing the key into the river. Various beggars approached us a we crossed the bridge, but Eva told us that the beggars are managed by the Mafia, and not to give them anything. We walked along a pedestrian shopping street with the signs of ancient trades - a sign with a shoe for a shoemaker, with cogs for a wheelwright - and with a McDonald's arch within a very old looking wreath! The city hall bears a statue with the scales of justice, and one of the churches we passed had the depiction of St. Michael stepping on the devil. We also passed Mozart's birthplace, and after going through several courtyards, went through an ancient graveyard with intricately formed ironwork burial markers and many lovely flowers. We could see the Salzburg Castle from various places, high about the city. It can only be reached by funicular railway, in this case the steepest one I have ever seen. Our lunch was in the oldest restaurant in Europe, dating from 803 A.D., though it has been greatly changed over the centuries, and the hall we were in had rococo decorations. We had a traditional Austrian meal of roast chicken, potatoes and vegetables, which was quite good, before heading out to do some shopping on the pedestrian street. The shops varied from inexpensive tourist shops, to H & M, very expensive stores selling Austrian outfits, and others with Swarovski crystals and Pandora. We met at a statue of Mozart before walking back to the bus, about 15 minutes out of the historic centre of town. The drive to Passau, Germany where we met our ship again, took longer than it was supposed to because of a road closure, and we didn't get back until about 6:30 p.m.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario