Salzburg

I hate traveling in groups. 

There. I said it. 

I guess that I’m a travel snob because I look askance at the herds following someone holding up an umbrella or a flag or a sign. I’m sure that they get more information about wherever we are, but it seems so much less interesting to me than striking out on your own - and at your own speed.

But they are en masse here during the holiday season. And yesterday, we were among them - if only for a short bit. 

An excursion to Salzburg was the reason for being in the herd. We were docked in Linz, and Salzburg was about two hours away, so we loaded into the buses (there were three!). Dan and I lost the group just after arrival and headed to Mozart’s home, where he lived from 1773-1781. The original home was destroyed in the war, but it was later reconstructed to match the original home’s plans. 

Having seen that, we went to his birthplace. His mother bore seven children, only two of whom lived. 

The kitchen where little Wolfie no doubt got underfoot. 

Having grown up playing Mozart and holding him in some reverence, it was neat to walk where he may have walked also. 

From there, we went through the Christmas market that was in the shadow of the Cathedral. Dan loves to go to the stalls where there is woodwork to feel the wood. I love to think about sticking my mouth under the chocolate fountains, like this one:

This is a photo that I stole from the web. Had I stopped long enough to take a photo, I would have been in the fountain. 

We also saw the front of the home of Christian Doppler:

From there, after a lunch of beer, a spinach dumpling (me) and some kind of schnitzel (Dan), we went up to the Festung (Fortress) Hohensalzburg, still standing from the 11th century. The views were pretty spectacular. 

Salzburg and the Alps

 

You can see the ancient city wall from here. 

A Capuchian monastery

From there, it was back to the ship via the herd bus. It had been way too people-y during the day, so I passed on dinner, where I might have to be social, and had a lovely evening in the room. We left Linz at 3 AM and are currently somewhere between there and Krems, where we will dock this afternoon.

 

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Dan, adding to Vicki's photos and comments:

 

The river running through Salzburg is the Salzach. The bridge we crossed on foot has thousands of locks on it, called love locks. They are supposed to symbolize the eternal love of the couple. The couple's initials or names are on the locks and the key is supposedly thrown away. It seems to be a widespread phenomenon, and due to their massive accumulated weight, one that city administrators have learned to deal with by occasionally using a battery powered bolt cutter to remove them. 

 

 

Those are all locks behind him.

 

More shots from the castle:

 

 

 

And finally, this morning we are on the move on the water. We will pass through several locks, like this one.

 

 

 

 

 

Along the way, there are multiple monasteries. I took a chance and asked a group topside if they knew that the one we had just passed was involved in technology development. They all shook their heads, to which I replied, "Yep, those are chip monks." Laughter and groans.  Vicki would have been (is) horrified.