Schnitzel, Strudel and Suds

After a somewhat fitfull and jet-lagged sleep (or lack of) we were awakened by a cacophonie of church bells.   Getting organized we breakfasted outside under clear skies at a charming Cafe.  We headed across the river to Old Salzburg.  Salzburg is famous for three things, two of them are musical, namely Herbert Von Karajan (famous conductor) and Wolfie Mozart.   The third is The Sound of Music.  In case you haven't guessed I'm not a fan of musical cinema and The Sound of Music being the worst of the breed, in my opinion.   In the annals of Hollywood changing the truth to make a more enjoyable story - this was an Academy Award winning movie?   

Following our good friend Rick Steves we set off on a walking tour.  First stop Salzburg Cathedral (Salburger Dom), a beautiful light and airy cathedral with ties to Mozart, who played organ here for a number of years.  He was also baptized here.  This place is so big it has 4 organs (4 organs, no waiting).    

It didn't take us long to realize that the old town of Salzburg is a whole lot of churches joined by a whole lot of platzes.  An interesting feature were 2 extremely ornate horse washes. Think car washes before the car.  We wandered on to St. Peter's Church, the only baroque church in Salzburg, lined with some very dark paintings and some amazing frescoes which have been iced with "a sugary Rococo finish".   And on to St. Peter's Cemetery - a beautiful and quiet garden-like setting for the remains of Salzburg's elite.  This location inspired a scene in the movie TSOM but it was actually shot in Hollywood like 90% of the movie.  

Time for lunch.  Feeling thirsty and a bit hungry we decided to try the Stiftskeller St. Peter Restaurant, reputed to be the oldest restaurant in Europe, circa 803.  Charlemagne ate here.  We figured if it was good enough for him it was good enough for us.  We decided on something light - apple strudel chased with a Schweppes Bitter Lemon for a meager €30.

We wandered the streets and alleyways of the old town seeing far too many interesting sights to catalog.   Of particular note was the Getreidegasse Street which reminded us of the Shambles area in York, England, except all the signs were in German.   It's been a centre of trade since Roman Times (third century)  and most of the buildings date from the 15th century.   Many of the shops have wrought iron signs with symbols designating their products.   Ron was lured by the siren call of Sporer where they have been brewing spirits for a century.   He sampled a particularly yummy carroway liqueur.  We ambled back to Café Tomaselli and settled in to people watch.

 As dinner time approached we wandered down the Salzach River to the Augustiner Monastery where the monks have been brewing beer since 1623.  Not content to keep it all to themselves the brothers constructed an enormous beer hall and garden, with a food court where you can get nearly anything as long as it's deep fried.  They have an interesting system.  You choose your stein off the shelf, take it to the ticket seller who charges you depending on size, take it to the fountain where you wash it and then to the beer guy who fills it.  

Strolled back along the river to our hotel.