Our plans to visit Austria has always been jinxed. Two years ago, I had planned Vienna, Salzburg and Innsbruk and a new project landed on my lap . This time when we were planning our itiniery, Austria was a must do. Our orginal plan was to include Vienna along with Salzburg . A day trip to Salzburg from Munich and then we wanted to take an overnight train to Vienna and continue our journey to Italy from there ..However that was not meant to be . There were no connections available to Vienna and thereafter by train or by air on those specific days and so we had to be content with just Salzburg
It poured heavily on the day we had to leave for Salzburg . The weather report predicted a thunderstorm, but we could not let the weather jinx the plan again Salzburg had to happen .
The hills did come alive with the sound of music- but this was of rain and the wind which was howling . Our journey took alomost three hours.Two trains and a bus took us to the birthplace of Mozart where the historic film Sound of Music was shot . Awesome landscapes accompanied us, as we saw the first glimpse of snow capped Alps, only to be hidden by the ominous rain clouds . A bit of green , white and then gray -the colours tell the story of whats in store for us in Salzburg.
We landed in Salzburg station , too late for the Sound of Music tour. We were also advised not to wander too much as a storm was predicetd . So with umbrella in hand we decided to vist the Altstadt or the old town which is a World Heritage Site .
We went to the Residenz Square with its large baroque fountain and the Palace, the 17th century baroque cathedral where Mozart was baptised, the fortess Hohensalzburg ,a majestic castle atop a hill where some of the best views of Salzburg can be seen, the Nonnberg Abbey,immortalised by the Sound of Music film, Mozart Square and the house at no. 9 Getreidegasse , where Mozart had stayed .
These places were some of the locations where Sound of Music was shot, especially the square , the castle and the nunnery . We spent a long time in the Fortress which was one of the largest castles of the medieval times . The construction started in the 11th century and was the domain of the Archbishops . Stately and grand, we had to get there by cable car .
This citadel gives one of the best overviews of Salzburg. Its symbol is the lion , as you can see it holding a beetroot in its paws.Besides being used as a fort and a prison, it was also a residence of the powerful Archbishop . According to the official tourism site of Salzburg, it has managed to remain unconquered by the enemies- but history is always written by the victors !
Weather and time played spoil sport as we could not visit the other palaces and gardens that Salzburg is famous for . Even our pictures were very limited as we could shoot only when it was not raining . The winds were too strong as our umbrellas flew and we virtually felt that we were swept off our feet .The temperature was said to be around 5* C – there was a digital sign board near the station.But the Austrian jinx was broken as we shopped for souveniers and chocolates at Getreidegasse , where the iron sign boards of the shops add to the charm.
The torrential rain soon sent us packing into the warm confines of the railway station . As the train chugged back into Munich, we knew we were leaving behind two of the most beautiful countries in Europe , memories of which are kept alive through these posts
Coming up next – Italy – Venice and Rome
excellent travelogue b-p…i think i saw that cow in nyc a few years ago..
Nice pics again. My favorite one was the one of the railway tracks taken from the tunnel:) Looking forward to pics from Sonia-land.
Another set of splendid pictures. Will wait for Venice and Rome. π
WoW…some really heavenly & breath taking shots once again. The compositions has been fabulous. It really looks a lovely lovely place. I am totally mesmerised by this place through your lens!
Fantastic set of pics here – lovely mix of spectacular and intimate!
Wonderful Wonderful shots.. Salzburg and Innsbruk are awesome and I have a plan to visit these places in future, but will not get chance this time. Returning to India on 17th Oct:-)
You have captured the places in wonderful angles. Well done
lucky you! ‘sound of music’ is one of my all-time favorites! it would come on TV once a year, and it was the one time my mom would let us stay up past bedtime to watch! i didn’t realize it was filmed where mozart was born…
i’ve thought about trying to take a trip to vermont to see the VonTrapp lodge, where they lived when they came to the states.
you guys have quite the adventures! your blog name is very fitting… π
Amazing blog, surpassed only by the enthusiasm that the two of you share.
Thanks Mark-Thats interesting ..must have been another promotion -were they promoting Austria ?
Priyank-Thanks ..I like the picture as well ; shot it as an afterthought when i sat in the cable car (actually a cog wheel railway)while going up the castle and I am glad I took the picture
Indicaspecies- Salzburg is one of the most beautiful cities and I tried to do some justice to the city inspite of the rain . Will post Italy soon .Thanks for your words .
Kalyan – Thank you ..
Cathy – Ive tried my best to mix different aspects of Salzburg . Im glad you appreciate them . Thanks
Pijush – I think you must visit at the earliest . I passed through Innsbruk in the night – but am I glad I broke the Austrian jinx . Thanks for your comment
Bluemountainmama – I remember Sound of Music as a kid too and singing all those songs in the school choir. There are several places in and around Austria where the film was shot, but most of the sights are in Salzburg, especially the castles, the cathedral, abbey …Pls take the tour if you can when you do visit .
E- Welcome to backpakker ..I love travelling and I guess thats where the enthusiasm comes from . Thanks for your words and pls do come again
we might have met if u had stopped by brussels! ps – just another blogger; came here through slogan’s blog.
Finny Forever-welcome to backpakker and thanks for dropping by..did want to come to Brussels, the land of Hercule Poirot.I will visit for sure sometime in life Its in my list of must see places .
wow!! nice pics..even wiht all that rain and winds..must say you have really put an effort to click pics…
salsburg is one of the places i want to visit..if i ever go visiting europe
Shooting star- thank you so much.I think photographs keep the memory of a trip so fresh in your mind; very often I pick up an old photo and go on a nostalgic trip . I think you must visit europe and i hope you will see salzburg .
Awesome pics π
Thanks Prabha .
No I havent. Wish I will visit next time I come in Europe. The problem in Greece is I have a visa which never entitled me to leave the country and see other places π
WOW! Munich and Salzburg deserved some beautiful posts. They got the best they could get. Absolutely stunning!!!
If you want to see how such cities may look banal, just get to http://blogtrotta80s.blogspot.com/search/label/Salzburg for Salzburg and to http://blogtrotta.blogspot.com/search/label/Munich for Munich…
On Blogtrotter, IοΏ½m posting on Koblenz!
Enjoy and have a great week.
Getreidegasse must be one of the prettiest markets in the world – did u shop for all the christmas wares they had? eggs and stars? I belw a lot of money there π Also, isnt it magical to walk in the streets and have strains of Mozart follow u everywhere?
Pijush – I am sure you will visit..if I can break the austrian jinx, Im sure anyone can π have a great week
GMG-thank you..Ive enjoyed these posts ..Im sure your posts will bring back the magic of these two cities and im going now to read them ..looking forward to koblenz
Smita – awesome place and i thoroughly had a blast especially the musicians..shopping was not much as the rains were a complete spoilsport ..the winds were so strong that our umbrellas flew right away π
I would have neever thought Salzburg would be so pretty……! once again, your pictures make the place come alive…………..keep travelling!
Hey amazing photos ….looks like u had a great.
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Bhuvana -thanks . I just wished it wasnt raining -then we would have seen more of it π
backpack_everyday – hi , good to see you after a long time..it was a good trip. looks like you have been away too for a while ..thanks
It’s so interesting to see a place one knows well through the eyes of others. I spent my childhood summers with my grandparents in Salzburg, so I know it well. I had never heard or seen “The Sound of Music” until I went to live in the USA, where it come up on TV one day, even though the priest who fled with the von Trapps and directed their choir, was a mentor and friend of mine in Rome (Franz Wasner). Sometimes a small world does not reveal all its secrets and the big one turns small.
I am at a loss to understand why there wouldn’t have been any trains to Vienna and from there to Venice! There are several each day. Who told you that none were available? Infact, it takes less than 7 hours to get to Venice from Vienna, parting around 7am and be in Venice at around 1.30pm, for example. I took it only recently. We took the night train back, with sleeping cars, takes more time, but you sleep confortably and it takes to long tour via Salzburg.
Merisi – very often we know a city so well , but there are several places in the backyard of the town that we may not know ..Ive consciously started reading abt the cities i live in and understandin the history
Reg the trains , our plan was to take an overnight from Munich to Vienna and then onwards another overnight from vienna to venice.when we inquired , we were told that there were no berths available and since my rome -zurich was booked, I had to change my plans ..we wanted overnights as we didnt want to spend a day on the train π
Hope you don’t mind I posted one of your images on my blog π
i loved the chessboard!!!
again, fantastic pics, this salzburg is one place i wanna go again….