The city came to prominence in the 8th century when the city's wealth was generated by the salt industry. The castle that can be seen from almost everywhere in the town was founded in 1077 and expanded over the centuries (photos below).
Very small old town....could probably walk end to end in under 20 minutes. Lots of little alley ways crawling their way through arch-ways and hidden churches etc. The major site, looming over the city, is the castle which was initially a very modest building but expanded considerably over the centuries. From atop views extend to the Austrian/German mountains and over the city and surrounding districts. Very warm day when I was up there. Not convinced it is a spectacular tourist attraction - really not that much to see once inside but I guess you have to do it if you happen to be in town.
My stay coincided with the Salzburg Festival which is largely a cultural festival of opera, supposedly one of the biggest in Europe. So the town was invaded by the rich and old attending opera shows each evening costing hundreds of dollars. It was funny one morning to walk past one of the theatres and see dozens of grey haired people holding signs pleading for tickets. Needless to say I had no chance of getting any tickets even if I wanted to go. The Mirabellgartens are on the other side of the river and worth a wander.
After checking out the sites on both the mountains (more hills) on the second day in the blazing sun, I was knackered. It was just after 4pm and I was wandering through some of the back streets to keep out of the sun, heading towards my hostel. I walked past a small Irish pub called Murphy's Law (on Gstattengasse) which has a sign out the front saying they sold cider. I hadn't had one in ages and was sick to death of beer. I snuck in for a quick one....11 hours later I made it back to the hostel. Why does this keep happening???
So....the pub was owned and run by a Dublin guy. It is heavily decorated in Irish trinkets and soccer and rugby jerseys. There were three patrons, a couple talking to the barman, and another guy. I sat near the couple. They turned out to be Irish (Mark from Dublin also) and Anna (half German and Irish). They had just moved from Regensburg to Salzburg as Anna's medical education department had relocated to Austria and apparently the working conditions in Austria are much better for doctors than in Germany. After a couple ciders they invited me to their friend's dinner party that night on the outskirts of town.
We decided to have dinner in town at a pizza place as it was too late and too much hassle to buy groceries to cook on the BBQ. It must have been around 9pm by the time we arrived and there was plenty of food to go around. The dozen beers we bought on route didn't last too long, but that was ok, as by that time schnapps and vodka had made an appearance as they were in an evil mood. Two, maybe three???, large shots of vodka...a brief pause....a shot of cherry schnapps (quite tasty)....another longer pause....and then the really nasty stuff, the pine infused vodka. Yep, tastes like how I imagine floor cleaner may taste....pine fresh!
They were all very nice people and of course all very drunk like myself. Our host and three of his friends were also doctors (or studying to be). We all called it a night around 3am and not a moment too soon, I couldn't take any more.
I was due to leave for Vienna later that morning. After a hand-full of hours sleep I arose, still a bit drunk and feeling rather shite. Caught the bus to the train station, got off the bus and nearly fainted. I sat down for a few minutes to compose myself. Trains for Wien leave very regularly. I purchased my ticket. The train was leaving in 15 minutes. By the time I worked out were I was headed and walked to the other end of the earth to get to the platform I nearly missed it! Needless to say I slept most of the 3 hr journey to Wien. It was a two day hangover.
Other places to check out....
Cafe 220 degrees - (Chiem-seeg St). Nice little cafe away from the main touristy area but still within the confines of the old town. Has a selection of coffee beans to choose from, maybe half a dozen single origin and a few blends. Can certainly taste the difference. They don't do much food but what I had was quite tasty.
Ice-zeit - Just a few metres from Cafe 220 is this ice-cream shop. I stuck my head in a few in town and my conclusion is that the Salzburg people don't have any decent ice-cream. This particular place looked as though it was frequently more by locals than tourists so I gave it a go. It was ok, not great. Did the job on a warm afternoon.
Cave le Robinet (Steingasse 41)....tiny wine bar on quiet laneway. Is more a shop front for a vineyard thats sells its wares by the glass as well. Worth a try.
Monks bier garden - A must if you are in town. It's massive and everyone in town goes there. When you finally make your way to the thirst quenching area, you have to buy your beer voucher/ticket, then collect the appropriate sized stein from the shelves, give it a rinse at the fountain, and present your stein and docket to the barman who will swiftly pour your beer. Efficient in a convorluded way. Capacity is 2900. Packed on this Friday night. Only a few seats left inside. Must be some wealthy monks, although 1L of beer is only 6 euros. Food is obtained from the market style food outlets selling typical Bavarian fare. One outlet was serving ham and sausages and other mystery meats. I liked the look of the ham and potato salad photo so ordered that. The misleading part was that you get a whole pork knuckle, not just part of it, which weighed in at a hefty 1.1kg plus a side of salad. 20 euros for dinner. Ridiculous amount of food. Impossible to eat. Took most of it home with me hoping to find one of the homeless people I'd seen earlier in the day to give it to. Couldn't find anyone so had to throw most of it out. What a waste. Stupid me. Another kilo added trying to eat as much of it as I could.
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| Cave le Robinet |
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| Mirabellgartens |
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