For breakfast I had this croissant filled with peaches. It was fresh and delicious. Jaren had an apple strudel but I forgot to take a picture of it. Here is some of the cereal we bought in Germany. It is called Musli there and is the best cereal I have ever tasted. Jaren's parents had some at their apartment and I tried it there. When we were in a grocery store I had to buy some for myself! Sometimes we will have this cereal for breakfast.
Our first stop was the Hohensalzburg Fortress. It has stood in the same place since the 10th century. (It's been made larger over the past centuries though.) Because of it's prime location, the fortress was never taken and has stood as a symbol above Salzburg all these years. It's so fun to walk through buildings that are SO OLD. I absolutely love Europe for this reason. There is so much history here and I am learning new things every day. We took an audio tour of the fortress and it was very enjoyable and informative! (Those audio tours are hit and miss sometimes.)
WAY old furniture...
I like this guy...
I like this dress...
A fancy furnace...
There was also a little puppet museum in the fortress. The Marionette Theatre is very popular here in Salzburg.
The views of Salzburg from the top of the fortress are spectacular!
After our visit to the fortress, we went on Rick Steves' audio guide tour of the old city! This is seriously the BEST app! It's like having your own private tour guide. I downloaded the tour the night before so we could listen without the internet. It comes with a map, and you can follow along at your own pace hitting pause whenever you want! He has tours to download all over Europe. Jaren and I both loved it. Without this guide, we probably wouldn't have experienced many of the beautiful sites we saw today!
The audio guide took us to the following locations: Mozartplatz (statue of Mozart), Residenzplatz, NewResidenz/Glockenspiel, Salzburg Cathedral (interior and exterior), Kapitelplatz/waterwheel, St Peter's Cemetery, St Peter's Church, Toscanini Hof, Universitatsplatz, Getreidegasse, Alter Markt.
Our favorite place was the Universitatsplatz because it was like an open-air market. Delicious food and fresh produce was being sold everywhere. It was just so fun to walk around and look at everything. We also loved Getreidegasse. There are so many fun, trendy shops (many clothing shops that are a lot like H & M) to pop into and look around. Jaren REALLY wanted a bratwurst for lunch so here is a picture of our food. I had a Salzburger (clever).
Universitatsplatz...
The churches were amazingly beautiful. The main architects of Salzburg wanted the city to be "The Rome of the North" so many of the churches, buildings, statues, and fountains are exquisite and from the "baroque" style.
Salzburg Cathedral...
The ceiling!! So many beautiful paintings...
The cemetery...
We visited Mozart's birth place which was very interesting! He was just 35 when he died. Contrary to what people thought, he was not poor. In fact, once he was established in Vienna he made a lot of money. But he liked the best of everything and was terrible with money-matters, so he had a lot of debt. He had a happy marriage and just 2 of his 7 children survived. (Sad, and common for those times. Mozart and his sister were the only 2 surviving children from his family. His mother bore quite a few children as well.) His father was a musician himself, and extremely intelligent. His father and mother also had a happy marriage. Mozart didn't get along too well with his father, though, in his later years.
I learned a lot about the women in Mozart's family which was very interesting to me! His sister was a very accomplished violinist and pianist as well! She also was a prodigy, and was invited to play instruments with Mozart for important people. However, when she was 17 she had to stay home and could no longer go with Mozart. (She had to stay home and take care of the house. Sad!)
Mozart's birthplace... (No photos were allowed to take inside...)
His mother was "always in the background" (the museum said that), but was loved by everyone. She was very good-natured. Mozart's loved his wife. When Mozart died, he left her with a lot of debt. She was smart and became an entrepreneur. She put on concerts, gathered his work and sold it, and wrote a biography about him. She later remarried.
We are going to a "Mozart Dinner Concert" tonight and I am so extremely excited! I listened to classical music all the time when I was younger. (I don't think I owned a pop singer's CD or any contemporary music until I was 12 or 13.) Mozart was one of the composer's I would listen to. I never listened to any of his operas, I just liked straight-up classical music without any singing. I think they'll sing some opera tonight, though, because Mozart is famous for them.
Mozart Balls (They're everywhere!) a chocolate/marzipan delight!
And here's our lunch...
Jaren REALLY wanted a bratwurst!
No comments:
Post a Comment