Austria - The Sound of Music Revisited in Salzburg

Salzburg central: Mozart (for better or worse!)

Bishopric Gardens: It was difficult to choose the best photos for the formal gardens.

I liked this one because it shows the artistry of layout with the tourists feasting their eyes & taking photos.

If one believes the movie “Amadeus” Mozart hated Salzburg. He considered it a small and unsophisticated burg. Well, if that was so, Salzburg hardly took notice for today, albeit a relatively small city, it seems to be entirely devoted to its great musicians and performers. 

It is now a town of great beauty and perfection, and amazingly unfazed by modernity. No doubt it makes a good deal of income from tourism, & its residents have every reason to maintain their Sound-of-Music image in tip-top shape.

Horse drawn buggies resting in the shade; I suppose they work more at night.

Typical fancy dress for women

Two for one: this is the best photo I have for fancy dress for men

Salzburg boasts year-round concerts, operas, ballets, & puppet opera productions. It also hosts a variety of festivals, not the least of which is of course, is the famed Mozart Festival. 

Papagena & Papageno

Period opera

Obviously an opera set in the '50's

The story book image is for real. One will observe these Austrians wearing fancy folkloric costumes, groups of gaily dressed street performers, & even small mixed choruses all decked out in something Heidi might have worn.  

Salzburg isn't so small!

Wouldn't you like to take tea or coffee and watch the passersby here?

Salzburg is located in a valley in the  foothills of the Alps on the Salzach River. A fun thing to do is to take the funicular up to the Mönchsberg (mountain of the monks), a wooded ridge where the Hohensalzburg, a fortress, was built in 1077, to defend the city below. 

Inside the courtyard of the Abbey of St. Peter

Here also, the Benedictine Abbey of St. Peter was constructed in the 17th & 18th century. Both of these structures serve for open air & indoor concerts, and to house an extensively diverse museum. 

Inside the museum

I liked it for two things: 1) the part of the museum devoted to opera puppets and 2) the magnificent view.  

The Abbey of St. Peter & the old Fortress tower; In the background clearly the Alps

The hills are truly alive with the sound of music!