Journey Through the Alps - Austria

(***Not only was Brad our travel planner, but he was the trip photographer.  He took most of the pictures I am using in my posts.  Double thanks to Brad!)

We arrived in Salzburg that evening and checked into our APARTMENTS!  Yes as it turned out when we were making our hotel reservations, there were a couple of apartments that were cheaper than a hotel room.  So for two nights we both stayed in our own private apartment complete with a kitchen, family room, laundry and we even had a patio!  It was very nice and very modern.  We settled in and then decided to take a walk around Salzburg's "Old Town."  We ate dinner at a traditional Austrian restaurant.

The next morning we dressed for church.  This was the view directly outside of our apartment - which was above a street level business.  We could hear the bells of the church throughout the day.

On the way to church we stopped to see the house where The Sound of Music was filmed.  This is the back of the villa - where Maria and the children fell out of their canoes into the water.  You can see the Festung (Fortress) Hohensalzburg in the background.

We attended sacrament meeting and lucky for us it was the Primary program!!  Even luckier still there was a translator and we each had an ear piece.  There were about 12 kids in the Primary and they sang their little hearts out!  It was a very simple, sweet program and I admired the dedication of the few Primary workers that they had.  We visited with the missionaries after (one senior couple was from Pleasant Grove!) and they were very friendly.  There was a young man from Detriot there doing an internship with KTM motorcycles (completely on his own and he doesn't speak German!) and he accepted our offer to give him a ride to the bus stop.

After church we headed back into "Old Town" Salzburg and walked through the Mirabell garden.

These are the steps where Maria and the Von Trapp children sang "Do Re Mi" in The Sound of Music.

Of course Salzburg is most famous for being the birthplace of Mozart.  This is one of the homes he lived in as an adult.  His father died in this home.

"Old Town" Salzburg.

The Salzburg cathedral - originally built in the 700's and rebuilt in the 1100's.

There is a Madonna statue in front of the cathedral and if you position your camera just right - it looks like she is wearing the crown that is positioned above the entrance of the cathedral.

Peter with the priesthood keys.

After our short respite in the cathedral - we rode a funicular up to the fortress.  This is one of the largest and most well-preserved fortresses/castles in Europe.  It was built in the 11th century.  We wandered around the exterior and then through the museums and inner rooms. 

On the tower we had some pretty spectacular views of the Salzburg countryside.

And of "Old Town"

The Sound of Music house.

We also visited a small marionette museum which was actually kind of freaky.

After our tour of the Festung - we traveled back down the hill to the cemetery and church courtyard where The Sound of Music scenes where the family was escaping were filmed.

There was some curious structure built into the rock wall - we never found out what it was.

The Festung looming above us.

We ran across this restaurant that claimed to be the oldest restaurant in Europe.  We decided to give it a try and I am glad we did - it was amazing!

For dessert we couldn't resist ordering the "Dessert Surprise."  It was some sort of souffle with all sorts of toppings, gelatos, custards, pastries...yum.

Salzburg at night.

The next morning we realized that in the cemetery of the church near our hotel/apartment was Mozart's father's grave!

Mozart's birthplace.

Morning market.

We said farewell to Salzburg - a wonderful city - and packed up for a 5 hour drive to.....Italy!!