Much of what I am going to write –is going to be nothing new .Salzburg has been photographed and written about more than a average city .What I am going to write about is slightly different in the sense that its going to be about my experience about Salzburg .I am going to divide this write up into 2 parts –one the travelling part of it ( the drive to Salzburg is exquisite !!), and the second part about the town itself .
Salzburg is a town on the river Salzach –which dissects the town into two parts .A beautiful quaint bridge connects the two parts of the town .As you walk over the bridge – you fill find thousands of locks on it .!!( more of that in my second part). At various points of time in history –it was a part of beautiful forested Bavaria , part of Nazi Germany( Hitler persecuted the Jews in Salzburg and sent them to concentration camps ,and also converted it into a camp where prisoners of war were housed) ,and is now the 4th largest town in Austria .It is heavily German speaking and Munich in Germany is only 150 kms from it ( Vienna is twice the distance away at 300 kms ).Just 25 kms away from Salzburg is Berchestegaden – which was Hitlers favourite hangout .Leaders of the world rushed there in the 1930s to meet and convince him not to precipitate the Second World War by agreeing to some of his demands .Its a 20 minutes drive from Salsburg .Salzbur is also the birthplace of Mozart and the setting of the legendary movie –The Sound of Music .!! As my student friend ADITI KATARIA wrote to me – THE AUSTRIANS DID A GREAT JOB IN CONVINCING THE WORLD THAT HITLER WAS A GERMAN AND MOZART WAS A AUSTRIAN!!!( Great one Aditi –see how students teach school Directors !!)Both were born in Austria !!
All this was in my mind (infact , ever since I started seeing movies and studying History), as we boarded a beautiful two decker bus from the Opera House in Vienna .The buses are a pleasure to ride in – you don’t feel a bump and you don’t hear a sound .You have wifi which is very powerful and hence one is connected to the net and whatapp etc ). It was early morning – the traffic was less ( even at the worst of traffic hours ,Vienna has less traffic than the best of traffic hours in India !!).Very soon – the bus was travelling through fabulous countryside .
I have travelled a lot in buses , trains and cars in Europe ( I include Turkey in Europe – I travelled the length and breath of it in car ,not once but twice. I have travelled in Scotland ,England ,Paris ,Czecch Republic- Praha to Karlovy Vary by train is postcard pretty as well- ,Hungary ,Slovakia ,and many more ).But the stretch between Vienna and Salzburg is very very pretty .We cut through thick forests and lovely countryside .We passed St Polten and Linz .In between we passed several villages .The house are so colorful and so well maintained .We passed through areas with castles dotting the landscape .Suddenly , we we would see a temple spire jutting into the blue sky , or a crystal blue colored lake !!. We saw lovely ,well maintained trails taking off from the main highway into forests –and then reappear after sometime near a house on a hill .The open fields had hues of different colors –for the first time I saw swathes of purple amidst rich green ,light green ,yellow and brown fields .I had seen something like that in Frankfurt – but the colors and hues were out of this world .Luckily ,Sangeeta and me got the first seats on the top deck –and we had the large glass in front and on the sides .We had the drivers view .
We stopped at what are called Landzeits – resting places on the autobahn ( highway ). Amazing places .You can get everything in a Landzeit –from fruit ,to any kind of food ,drinks ,pastries ( strudels always there!), beer .The Landzeits are situated in the most beautiful areas .They overlook lovely forests ,and open spaces .They are quiet .You pick up your food and sit anywhere .The second of these Landzeit is at the Mondsee Lake ( where parts of “ Sound of Music “ were filmed .We ate our normal croissants and had lovely cup of coffee .We paid .50 Euros to use their 5 Star washroom facilities !!
Our next halt was inevitably the Mondsee Lake( moon lake ) It is among the last of the privately owned lakes in Austria .It on the outskirts of Salzburg and is famous because of the filming of the movie ( part of it ) ,The Sound of Music .It is also mentioned in Ian Fleming book of James Bond “ Thunderball” .Aside from the lake ,it also has a Cathedral in which the wedding scene of Chirstopher Plummer and Julie Andrews was solemnized .Both of them are alive –and so are the men and women who acted as kids in the movie .There is something about the place ( its psychological ), that gives you goose pimples .I am sure one would not get them if one did not know enough of the place .But it’s a visual delight –whether you know anything about the place or not .The Landzeit ,overlooks the Lake which is surrounded by forests ,mountains and beautifully built town and villages .We took a lot of photographs here – everyone did !!
We had one last look at the Mondsee lake –when comes another chance to repeat a destination when there are so many places yet to see?!!!- turned our collars to howling breeze and made our way towards Salzburg .Very soon -the city rushed towards us –or was it the other way around ?!!.Anyways – we embarced each other !! Like long lost friends . We stepped out of the bus – our guide welcomed us and said “ Welcome to the town of Mozart and the Sound of Music !!”
Salzburg is a town on the river Salzach –which dissects the town into two parts .A beautiful quaint bridge connects the two parts of the town .As you walk over the bridge – you fill find thousands of locks on it .!!( more of that in my second part). At various points of time in history –it was a part of beautiful forested Bavaria , part of Nazi Germany( Hitler persecuted the Jews in Salzburg and sent them to concentration camps ,and also converted it into a camp where prisoners of war were housed) ,and is now the 4th largest town in Austria .It is heavily German speaking and Munich in Germany is only 150 kms from it ( Vienna is twice the distance away at 300 kms ).Just 25 kms away from Salzburg is Berchestegaden – which was Hitlers favourite hangout .Leaders of the world rushed there in the 1930s to meet and convince him not to precipitate the Second World War by agreeing to some of his demands .Its a 20 minutes drive from Salsburg .Salzbur is also the birthplace of Mozart and the setting of the legendary movie –The Sound of Music .!! As my student friend ADITI KATARIA wrote to me – THE AUSTRIANS DID A GREAT JOB IN CONVINCING THE WORLD THAT HITLER WAS A GERMAN AND MOZART WAS A AUSTRIAN!!!( Great one Aditi –see how students teach school Directors !!)Both were born in Austria !!
All this was in my mind (infact , ever since I started seeing movies and studying History), as we boarded a beautiful two decker bus from the Opera House in Vienna .The buses are a pleasure to ride in – you don’t feel a bump and you don’t hear a sound .You have wifi which is very powerful and hence one is connected to the net and whatapp etc ). It was early morning – the traffic was less ( even at the worst of traffic hours ,Vienna has less traffic than the best of traffic hours in India !!).Very soon – the bus was travelling through fabulous countryside .
I have travelled a lot in buses , trains and cars in Europe ( I include Turkey in Europe – I travelled the length and breath of it in car ,not once but twice. I have travelled in Scotland ,England ,Paris ,Czecch Republic- Praha to Karlovy Vary by train is postcard pretty as well- ,Hungary ,Slovakia ,and many more ).But the stretch between Vienna and Salzburg is very very pretty .We cut through thick forests and lovely countryside .We passed St Polten and Linz .In between we passed several villages .The house are so colorful and so well maintained .We passed through areas with castles dotting the landscape .Suddenly , we we would see a temple spire jutting into the blue sky , or a crystal blue colored lake !!. We saw lovely ,well maintained trails taking off from the main highway into forests –and then reappear after sometime near a house on a hill .The open fields had hues of different colors –for the first time I saw swathes of purple amidst rich green ,light green ,yellow and brown fields .I had seen something like that in Frankfurt – but the colors and hues were out of this world .Luckily ,Sangeeta and me got the first seats on the top deck –and we had the large glass in front and on the sides .We had the drivers view .
We stopped at what are called Landzeits – resting places on the autobahn ( highway ). Amazing places .You can get everything in a Landzeit –from fruit ,to any kind of food ,drinks ,pastries ( strudels always there!), beer .The Landzeits are situated in the most beautiful areas .They overlook lovely forests ,and open spaces .They are quiet .You pick up your food and sit anywhere .The second of these Landzeit is at the Mondsee Lake ( where parts of “ Sound of Music “ were filmed .We ate our normal croissants and had lovely cup of coffee .We paid .50 Euros to use their 5 Star washroom facilities !!
Our next halt was inevitably the Mondsee Lake( moon lake ) It is among the last of the privately owned lakes in Austria .It on the outskirts of Salzburg and is famous because of the filming of the movie ( part of it ) ,The Sound of Music .It is also mentioned in Ian Fleming book of James Bond “ Thunderball” .Aside from the lake ,it also has a Cathedral in which the wedding scene of Chirstopher Plummer and Julie Andrews was solemnized .Both of them are alive –and so are the men and women who acted as kids in the movie .There is something about the place ( its psychological ), that gives you goose pimples .I am sure one would not get them if one did not know enough of the place .But it’s a visual delight –whether you know anything about the place or not .The Landzeit ,overlooks the Lake which is surrounded by forests ,mountains and beautifully built town and villages .We took a lot of photographs here – everyone did !!
We had one last look at the Mondsee lake –when comes another chance to repeat a destination when there are so many places yet to see?!!!- turned our collars to howling breeze and made our way towards Salzburg .Very soon -the city rushed towards us –or was it the other way around ?!!.Anyways – we embarced each other !! Like long lost friends . We stepped out of the bus – our guide welcomed us and said “ Welcome to the town of Mozart and the Sound of Music !!”
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