My first impression of Munich was this area around the train station and it wasn't favorable. Our last couple of days would be in Munich, since we flew out of Munich, so I had hopes for a better time later.
My first experience with trains and extensive bus usage began here in the Munich train station.
We took the train from Munich to Salzburg, taking the 'milk run' instead of the express to save some money and it was fine. The German's use a term like 'milk run' also :) Now that we are car-less, we are carrying our backpacks as intended. I am glad to have the backpack style, but they still get heavy and I find myself thinking about every little item I packed and haven't used - not many, but still.
We went straight to our room in Salzburg. We were a little way out of the city and are actually on a farm. It's a big room with a kitchenette that we won't use. There is a church just a couple of blocks away and I loved hearing the bells. They don't ring during the night and it wasn't like we were in the room all that much, but it was nice.
Our room is actually in a building directly behind this one.
Looking out the french doors.
Our balcony.
The breakfast room.
After getting settled, we rode back into town for dinner and walked around. We were having a little trouble with the buses at first - we seemed to keep missing the bus we wanted by a minute or less. We got a lot better at on Sunday.
Sunday was Don's birthday. I thought my gift to him would be doing everything he wanted to do this day. He actually got tired of that :) He would say, "Do you want to do this or go here?" and I would reply, "Whatever you want to do." He really isn't used to me saying that too much and I think he got tired of basically making all the decisions that day, so maybe it wasn't the greatest idea, but my motives were pure.
We saw a little bit of the city before church, but we had decided that for church this day we would avail ourselves of what was reported to be glorious music during the 10:00am mass at the Salzburg Cathedral. We were not disappointed. They used the large organ in the back and had a marvelous choir that brought me to tears within the first couple of notes of the Kyrie. It was the only 'concert' we went to in Salzburg, which is kind of silly, but there you have it.
Salzburg Cathedral. There was a lot of work going on around the cathedral.
The front is draped for some renovations. This is a statue of the Virgin Mary in front.
When you get the right angle, the angels holding a crown on the cathedral wall look to be crowning Mary.
We took some very quick pictures during the short time between services.
The large organ. The lights came on at the very end of the service.
The next service was starting. The two organs you can see here are half of the four that circle the center section of the cathedral.
Dirndls and lederhosen. These people were actually members of a choir that sang in the service after the 10:00am mass.
The spires of St. Peter's peeking over a building in the courtyard.
St. Peter's
I don't think this was St. Peter's, but it was connected to the graveyard.
Looking across St. Peter's graveyard you see caves that were used by monks.
Hohensalzburg Fortress overlooks the city.
It's a short, steep, and fast funicular ride up to the fortress.
Hohensalzburg Fortress grounds.
The main courtyard well.
There is a marionette museum in the fortress.
We had lunch at the fortress. Happy birthday, Don!
I was having spaghetti, so the napkin seemed like a good precaution.
Views from the fortress.
The Salzach River. It is not salty, but named for the salt trade that made this area famous.
An OLD restaurant: the sign refers to when Charlemagne ate here in the year A.D. 803.
This is a gorgeous mosaic roof that doesn't show that well in this picture.
A saint watching over part of the canal system that has brought water to Salzburg since the 13th century.
Organ pipes on the outside of a building.
Mirabell Gardens where a few scenes were shot for The Sound of Music.
Famous Sound of Music stairs.
King Leopold's horse trough.
King Leopold's horse bath - like a car wash for the horses.....
Getreidegasse, famous for its wrought-iron signs.
If you click on this picture, you can see the Golden Arches hanging inside the wreath of this wrought iron sign. This really made me laugh.
Street chess.
A street musician.
Another street musician. They were everywhere.
