Salzburg

P1010130
Originally uploaded by European Dave

Have to admit I´m not a Sound of Music fan let alone afficianado at all.. I think I´ve seen the movie in full when I was much younger to not remember and I can definitely say that I´ve seen bits and pieces of the movie in more recent memorable times, and that I know the story abt the von Trapps trying to get out of Austria and how much of the filming was done in Salzburg and the beautiful Lake District region around it (Salzerkrammut I think it´s called).. but yeah I wouldn´t die depressed if I didn´t know that the gate at the abbey Norenberg was used in the film or that the Residentplatz or gardens of Schonn Mirabel were used for many scenes in the film..

but Sound of Music, Mozart fan or not, the beauty of Salzburg woulnd´t fail to enrapture you.. it must be the most picturesque city i´ve seen so far in the whole of Europe.. sure Paris is brilliant but it doesn´t have an Alpine setting or as many forests and open spaces as this place.. this is almost the perfect city if it weren´t for the v average nightlife that Austria seems to have.. mind u average is a bit harsh considering the Germans/Austrians do know how to brew their beers.. the best beer isn´t the Viennese Ostenkracher or Salzburg Spiegel although they are both p decent beers, but a local monastery brew where u get ur beers straight from the tap.. amazing.. went there last night with hostelmates and may try and get a few more to come tonight - how often do u ever get to see a beer hall in ur life?

anyway being the Mozart fan rather than the Sound of Music fan, I visited both Mozart´s homes - the place he was born in the old part and the place that he stayed as a teenager before moving to Vienna to jump on Empress Maria Theresa´s lap at the Schonnbrunn.. that´s the trouble with these sort of museums.. it just doesn´t quite capture u as much as say visiting the inside of Schonnbrunn or Palazzo Reale.. whilst they do have a great collection of manuscripts, letters from the Mozart family, but bar one room, the Mozart Haus was a bit disappointing as an experience.. the Gerburtshaus is slightly better with a kitchen but wasn´t quite impressed as much as I was with the Mozart Audio and Film Museum which has all of his work recorded from 1896..

the real experience came when I visited this violin making shop.. it was a bit of find being in one of these flats along Kaigasse.. u had to ring the bell, find the stairs all dark, turn on the light and walk up to this small shop.. but it was wonderful to see a violin studio for the first time in my life.. and the violins.. wow..

anyway running out of time.. back to Vienna tomorrow and then Budapest the following day!