Day 6: Meeting Mozart in Salzburg

OK, so I didn’t really meet Mozart, but his face was plastered on everything, so it was pretty close. He was on packages of chocolate, something with pistachio cream in the middle - I didn’t try... He was on postcards, of course, on handbags, on vials of perfume (two scents), and he looked amazingly like Cartman in a period outfit on this kids’ T-shirt. Ahhh... Mozart must be rolling in his grave to see so much of him being marketed. But, I’m getting away from myself here.

Salzburg! Home of Mozart and the Sound of Music. Close enough to Bavaria to still be good on the Bayern Ticket, but far enough away to be another country, Austria (no kangaroos). Julia and I caught a morning train to Salzburg and got there around noon. We picked up Salzburg Cards, which provide free entry to various attractions and free transportation, and headed to the old city. We started off headed for the elevator that takes us up to the Modern Art Museum. Not that we were entirely interested in that - we were more concerned with the elevator up instead of the hike. Although later on, we discovered that we could have taken the funicular too. Next time! We saw a sign that claimed that Hohen Salzburg (I’m not quite sure if that’s one word in German or two) Fortress was only 1 km away, so we decided to walk. What the signs didn’t say was that it would be uphill the whole way and that it was quite warm that day. We found out anyway, and by the time we finished the last 100 m or so of dusty, under-construction, 30-degree incline “hill,” we were so ready for the tour.

On this tour of the fort, we learned how the Salzburg princes, who were also bishops, built and retrofitted the fortress, as their power and wealth, from the salt trade, grew. In fact, the fortress was so impenetrable that it was never taken by force, just surrendered once, when Napoleon came knocking on the door. To protect their power, of course, there were implements of enhanced interrogation, otherwise known as torture. Among these was a wheel that would be dropped on the detainee until bones and, ideally the spirit and fight, of that individual were broken. Then, the person was tied to the wheel and left out to die, if he hadn’t already. Sounds like those ecclesiastic leaders knew what they were doing! After the tour, we wandered around Aldstadt (old town) for a while, looking for a decently priced meal - not to be found when you’re hungry in a touristy spot though. We eventually went to the “regular” part of the city and got some pizzas.

One of various implements of torture on display

Next on the agenda was Mozart’s birthplace. Now, remember that we’ve already seen his crazy mug all over the city, and we were headed for more. Luckily, it wasn’t all portraits of Mozart! There were letters written by him or members of his family. There were paintings of his family members, among whom was his sister, a brilliant pianist who performed alongside Wolfgang when he played violin for royalty as a child prodigy. There were notes on music and sheet music by the great composer himself. Most impressive for me though were the clavichords that were used by Mozart for his performances and several violins that belonged to him - one from his childhood and two adult-sized. It was awe-inspiring just to see the instruments that were the conduit for this man’s genius!! And, for the opera fan, there were a couple of rooms dedicated to his operas as well. These included original set designs for the opera premiers, darwings of sets and costumes from various productions through the centuries, and one particularly shiny-looking flute sitting atop the sheet music for none other than Die Zauberflaut (The Magic Flute... I hope I spelled the German correctly).

The Magic Flute!

After Mozart’s birthplace, we headed to the Cathedral, where they were to have a performance of Mozart’s last work, his Requiem, in a couple of nights. That poster alone made me sad that I had not planned a couple of nights in Salzburg. Luckily, I had also seen a poster for the Seimens Nachtspielfest, for Das Rhinegold, an opera by Wagner, that night. While we were wandering through the cathedral, Julia realized the time and had to go. We said our sad goodbyes, she left to return to Munich for a week of work, and I stayed to wile away the hours, consulting with the flowers, and to wait for my train.

I did part of that in the other Mozart museum, his residence. They were about to close, so the guy let me in without paying, even though the card would have covered it, but I ended up without the audio tour. I think the tour itself was an hour long, so that’s why he told me not to bother. After that, I grabbed something to drink from a grocery store and headed to the residenzplatz (plaza in front of the old Bishop’s residence) to find a seat for the opera. I found out when I got there that it was to be a screening of a late 1970s performance of the opera, so that was a bit disappointing. But, then again, it was free and kept me (mostly) awake until midnight. I’m not sure I can say I’m a fan of Wagner... Especially when there are no supertitles, since it was in German, and Austrians speak German, although a very different dialect of it compared to High German, the official/standard dialect in Germany. After the show, I found my way to the train station and sat for an hour before the train arrived. Luckily, night trains arrive with almost an hour before departure to allow you to find a spot and settle in for the night before the roaring of the train and the rumble of the tracks set in.