Salzburg - I can hear the symphony of Mozart !! ( Part 2 )

The first thing that strikes you when you enter Salzburg is the fact that here the tourists outnumber the locals .There are people moving around looking at buildings ,shops ,gardens .There are a number of luxury tourists buses which are parked in a very orderly way .There are men and women who have cameras hung around their necks –the Japanese go a step forward ,they carry with tem their movie cameras and tripod stands!! Undoubtedly ,Salzburg is a tourist favorite,but there is no hustling ,pushing and frantic crossing of the roads .One sees very few vehicles in the form of cars .They never blow their horn ,don’t make sound ,and don’t emit gas.
The building that dominates the skyline of Salzburg is the –Hohensalzburg Castle .It sits atop the Festungsberg. It is one of the largest medieval castles in Europe and is situated at an altitude of 506 m . A funicular takes you upto the castle at a cost of 5 or 10 Euros .One can also walk upto the castle .We did not go into the castle because of shortage of time .I am told it is a awesome castle
As far as I am concerned –the most beautiful building in Salzburg is the Salzburg Cathedral .Its the first baroque church built in this part of Europe and has some exquisite statues ,paintings and frescoes .In one of them , a Marian figure is surrounded on four sides by allegoric figures representing angels, the devil, wisdom, and the Church. According to a plaque on the side of the cathedral, the figure group shows reactions to the mystery of the Immaculate Conception—the angels are delighted, human wisdom vanishes, the envious devil growls, and the triumphant Church rejoices.The building is made of dark grey stone .Its exquisite .The bells are as old as 1628 !! It’s a Roman Catholic Church built in the 17th Century .During the Second World War a bomb ripped through its Dome – however by 1959 ,it had been restored .And Salzburg Cathedral still contains the baptismal font in which composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was baptized.
There are many beautiful sights in Salzburg.Mirabell Place is one of them where some shots of the Sound of Music were filmed .In particular there are a row of steps on which Julie Andrews and the kids sing Do Re Me .These are not filmed as steps –what is there to film about steps ?- but in the film they are used as rows of Piano on which children keep hopping of and on in line with the musical notes !! I also tried to hop –so did many !! On ones way out from the castle –one passes the house in which Doppler lived !!
The Getreidegasse near the Cathedral is Salzburg′s busiest lane: one super-expensive boutique next to another show that the average tourist visiting Salzburg is definitely not the type of person that keeps the city going. The stores in the Getreidegasse make most of their money with the rich guests of the Salzburg Festival. Sangeeta and me kept looking for the brands which were NOT there rather than the ones which were there !! From Omega ,Versace , Mont Blanc etc etc –they have it all .The difference between this street and lets say Oxford Street in London is that these stores are housed in quaint little buildings and narrow cobbled streets and squares .
The Getreidegasse winds its way towards a yellowish colored building where everyone seems headed – this is Mozart birthplace. The Mozart family had rented a flat in the house of the wealthy merchant Lorenz Hagenauer.We were finally looking at the house in which the great man was born .!!We were confronting history !!" There was studied silence .It was clear that his reputation was following him .We took a number of photographs 
A very interesting part of the street is the way a shop is advertised .We were told that in olden times most people did not know how to read or write .So they could not figure out lets say a cobblers shop .So what did they do – they hung a shoe outside the shop to denote that it was a shoemakers shop .!! Same for watches ,clothes ,carpenters ,bricks (hang a brick ), etc .Absolutely fascinating .!1 Beautiful street .
There is a pedestrian bridge that connects the Old Town ( where the Castle is ), to the New Town .This bridge is built over the river that separates the two parts of the town – Salzach.The bridge is called the Makarsteg Bridge .But it is a bridge with a difference .A sea of of padlocks are attached to the fence just below the railing of the bridge.What are these padlocks doing there ? Actually, according to some sources the practice was fueled by the Italian movie, I Want You, based on the book of the same name by Federico Moccia. Apparently two teen lovers attach a padlock engraved with their names to a lamppost on the Ponte Milvio in northern Rome, then throw the key into the River Tiber. The days of hearts carved on trees with a arrow piercing, with names like “Cintoo loves Bunty”, it are over !! 
Isn’t love grand! I stopped to try and read some engravings on the locks .But then I felt , it was like unexpectedly interrupting two lovers on a park bench, coming across all those locks of love. I smiled knowingly, recalling the sweet magic that comes with falling in love. I moved on .For all of you who are in love or “think” they are in love – take a trip to Salzburg , lock a padlock and throw it into the Salzach River and whisper – “till someone can retrieve the key from the river and open our lock –it will last !!”.
Salzburg is seeped in History ,Music and Romance ! Don’t miss seeing it .It will just cost you the price of a Iphone or Apple laptop.You must choose spending your money judiciously !!