Salzburg Sojourn

Highlights of our sojourn in Salzburg include visiting the usual Salzburg tourist haunts, then exploring the local countryside and discovering the 'hidden gems' that are always the experiences that remain in your memory. Mirabel Palace, Salzburg Old Town, and Hohensalzburg Fortress contrast with visits to outlying areas, Hallstatt, St Wolfgang, and Maria Plain.

Quick Tips:

Be sure to visit Salzburg Old Town on a Saturday - the local markets and entertainment both add an extra dimension to the whole experience of the city.

Car parking can be expensive, so park on the city outskirts, and use the bus to get into the city centre.

A short commercial tour of the city is worthwhile - showing the area to its best advantage, and giving detailed historical information.

Best Way To Get Around:

In the Old Town - by foot is the best option. The detail on buildings, shops, and markets has to been seen at a walking pace to be truly appreciated.

A cruise on the river Salzach is most worthwhile - you see the city from a different aspect, and the commentary provides helpful information about the new and old sides to the city.

Our exchange home was in a small village outside Salzburg, allowing us to experience both village life and enjoy visiting the many tourist sites both in Salzburg and the local area.

There are times when an assumption made proves to be absolutely remote from the actual experience… and this was one such example!

My high-school-level German language skills had led me to conclude that there would be a performance of Handel’s Water Music in the local high-school hall. A good hour during the day was spent trying to locate the venue, due to limited language skills and a poor map, but once we arrived, the evening proved to be most worthwhile.

The school entry foyer had an area that could be curtained off and turned into an intimate performance space, complete with comfortable chairs. In the most civilized European style, the audience members could purchase a glass of wine or beer before the performance.

Instead of the local school student performers that we had anticipated, we were entertained by a most professional group of string players, in a classical jazz performance that couldn't be faulted. The three performers interacted with each other in an amazing way - no music, and plenty of movement around the performance space.

At one stage, due to an electrical fault, all the lights went out, and we were left in temporary darkness. Those performers didn't miss a beat, and continued playing until all was restored again! The program was composed of a variety of styles of music that all related to water - including a unique rendition of the much-anticipated Handel piece.

My only regret is that I didn't buy a copy of their CD - their music was so original, and their playing style lingers on in my travel memories.

The church is located on a hill, just as you enter the village of Neumarkt, about 20 minutes’ drive north of Salzburg.

The graveyard is surrounded by an earth mound, allowing visitors to walk around the perimeter and get an overview of the graves. The mound is well signposted with German language, but no English translation.

As we were visiting in spring, all the graves had been lovingly tended with flowering plants. Beneath the mound, the mausoleum sites that surround the graveyard are constructed so that the front entrances all face into the graveyard.

We concluded that families probably stay in the village for many generations, allowing even the oldest of grave sites to have someone able to tend them.

As well as the original church, there is also a newer memorial building that has been constructed into the hillside so that it doesn't detract from the original historical structures.

This immense white fortress is visible from almost all areas in Salzburg, as it sits atop the Monchsberg, looming over Salzburg Old Town.

It is accessible by either a cable car, or on foot up a reasonably steep set of stairs and footpath. Arriving on foot gives access to the original cabling system that used horsepower to haul all equipment up from the town - if you arrive by cable car, you miss out on this area.

You will need a couple of hours to really experience all that the Fortress has to offer. There are magnificent views of Salzburg from several eating areas and restaurants, and two historical exhibitions in the Regiment and Marionette Museums.

An audio guide gives excellent explanations of all areas within the Fortress, as you walk through some magnificently ornate rooms.

All that I had heard about the beauty of these gardens still didn't prepare me for the extent of the mass-planted gardens and fountains. When we visited, the pansies had a perfume that was just unbelievable!

As you enter the gardens from a raised hill, the scene leads you down the length of the garden area, with views across to the fortress standing above the Old Town area. It takes quite some time to fully explore all the garden rooms, and if you're lucky, you'll happen upon a free orchestral performance in the building housing the historical art exhibition. It’s a true experience to delight all the senses!

A visit to Hellbrunn was a genuine WOW! day during our visit to Salzburg.

Your entry ticket allows a self-guided tour of the palace (with an audio guide), plus a guided tour of the Trick Fountains – the best value ever!

The palace is located on Salzburg's southern city limits in spacious park grounds. Local busses travel by the end of the entry street, and street parking is available outside the palace.

The Trick Fountains, designed for Markus Sittikus in the 1600s, are unique; the saying "expect the unexpected" must surely have originated in this setting! Multilingual guides take visitor groups through the pathways displaying a myriad of fountains, music, grottos, and waterworks models, all designed to run on water power.

The palace grounds include the rotunda from "Sound of Music," a small zoo, and a short climb up a steep hill leads to the Monatsschlossl, a smaller palace housing a folklore museum and coffee shop. From here, a 15-minute walk over the mountain leads to the Steintheatre, a natural cavity that was transformed by Markus Sittikus into the first open-air theatre north of the Alps. From here, visitors can walk back through the extensive grounds and gardens to the palace.

The palace is beautifully adorned with elaborately painted walls in most rooms and original artworks from the time.