Rain Drops on Roses

Guten Tag!

I did not personally experience these raindrops, but it did rain over night, and there were plenty of roses in the Mirabell Gardens, so . . . Indeed any Sound of Music reference is appropriate for Salzburg as this was the home city of Maria and her husband Captain Von Trapp.  You can stay at their home, too, just outside of town--for a price.

I had a nice breakfast of toasted rye bread, some hummus, and some lovely raw, pastured Tee Butter.  Yum!  And I washed it down with plenty of tea.

I went out early to explore and for a while had the old city and its pedestrianized streets nearly to myself.  My street is Getreidegasse, and I must say it is Very Touristy, but since I am a tourist that's not exactly a problem for me.  They make it easy to spend money in Salzburg, and that's all right with me as well.  Souvenir and chocolate shops abound as do stores selling Tracht, which is the traditional dress of the region.  It's lovely stuff and correspondingly expensive.

I came upon a market.  It wasn't The Market--just a market.  I'd forgotten to pack my rather frayed linen bag, so I was looking for something carry each day.  I have a sturdier bag I use for grocery shopping.  A stand had a good sized nice looking bag--Mozart themed, but this is Salzburg--and well priced.  I got it. I saw the same exact bag in a shop a few minutes later for five euro more.

After a quick stop at Tourist Information to pick up a Salzburg Card, I set off for Schloss Mirabell.  I crossed one of the many pedestrian bridges pausing to admire the view and watch the swiftly flowing Salzach.  I think now is the time to introduce you to Wolf Detriech Von Raitenau, the Prince Bishop of Salzburg.

Don't let that ecclesiastical title fool you.  Our Wolf Detriech was a very secular-minded guy and a shrewd politician who managed to keep Salzburg out of the nastiness of the religious wars of the sixteen century.  He regarded himself as a Renaissance Prince in the mode of Machiavelli.  He was a prolific builder credited with promoting the Baroque style in Northern Europe.  He was prolific in other ways as well.  His long-term mistress Salome Alt bore fifteen children!  It was for her he built Schloss Mirabell.

It's not a castle, but rather a small palace set in a pleasant park and exquisite formal gardens just up from the river.  It features on the Sound of Music tour as the site of "Do Re Mi."

I recrossed the river on another pedestrian bridge because I had spotted another market on the opposite bank.  I strolled along looking at the offerings.  There was some food, but it was mostly jewelry, clothes, wood products, and other objects that made me wonder why anyone would buy them and for what.

One delightful feature of my apartment is the existence a few steps down of a gelataria.  Not wishing to be rude I paid a visit and had some wonderful amarena (cherry) and Nutella.