Salzburg by Day and Night

It was a hard decision but we decided to forego seeing Eagle's Nest in order to spend the day experiencing Salzburg. So for most of the day, after a stroll through the Mirabell gardens, we walked the narrow streets and expansive plazas of the old city.

One of the 17th century dwarf statues at
Mirabell Gardens
Timing is everything and our timing was good this day. It was the first day of some festival and the bands and marchers were out in force. With young boys cracking whips, old soldiers marching and shiny horses pulling colorful carriages, a parade encircled the plaza under the watchful eye of Mozart's statue.

Following the Rick Steves Salzburg walking tour, we marveled at the old churches, statues, fountains and plazas. We're talking at least 750 year old stuff.

When Columbus reached the Americas, this
home was built
There was a service at the cathedral (which was packed along with a huge overflow crowd in a tent) so we didn't get to see much there. But with so many other buildings around, we weren't short-changed.

After a fabulous dinner, we wound our way to the funicular that sped us to the massive Hohensalzburg Fortress. An elevator ride and 100 stair steps later, we arrived at the top of the building and the venue for our Mozart concert.

View of Salzburg from hilltop fortress
The twilight views of the city were breathtaking. Seven muscians and the featured pianist thrilled us with well known and lesser known works from Mozart, Strauss and Dvorak. What a glorious and fitting end to our short stay in Salzburg.








Children enjoyed playing in the cool stream
running down the street outside our hotel. 









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