Stunning Salzburg
Austria, April 2011
Forget that Mozart was born here and that The Sound of Music was filmed here. Forget the summer Music Festival and the Christmas Markets. Just visit to see the Austrian town of Salzburg and it will be a weekend you will never forget.
...a valley covered in green fields, farm houses and in the distance the snow capped Alps.
The perfectly preserved old town of Salzburg is squashed between the Salzach River and the Mönchsberg Mountains and your arrival into the heart of this UNESCO World Heritage Site couldn’t be more dramatic. The airport may only be a 15 minutes away but to enter the old town you have to drive straight through solid rock. The Sigmundstor tunnel is 131m long and was completed in 1766 and as you exit the other side you will find yourself transported back in time surrounded by baroque architecture. Seconds later you will be following the fast flowing river gazing up at the “Coldtiz style” Hohensalzburg Fortress built in 1077.
It is possible to walk up to the fortress but the quickest way is by Austria’s oldest funicular railway, built in 1892. After you have explored the interior buildings and courtyards it is worth stopping for a coffee on the terrace of the Festung Restaurant to admire the fortress’ best views. Surprisingly, these views are not of the town but of the other side of the mountain where you will find the quintessential Austrian landscape – a valley covered in green fields, farm houses and villages and in the distance the snow capped Alps. Once you’ve taken enough photos you may notice a large grassy field and at the intersection of two diagonal paths, a solitary house. This was the home of the town’s executioner and, perhaps not surprisingly, it was deemed unlucky to live anywhere near him.
Directly opposite the fortress, further along the crags, sits The Museum of Modern Art or the “shoebox” as the locals call it. It is reached by a lift built inside the mountain but you don’t have to visit the museum to enjoy the magnificent view. Instead buy a ticket to the M32 restaurant and bar and from its large sunny terrace you can gaze down on the pastel green, yellow and beige buildings whose grey roofs are interspersed with green turrets, spires and domes. From here you can really appreciate how dominating the white fortress is and just how much the town is squeezed between the mountains and river.
On the other side of the river is the Mirabell Palace and gardens followed by a row of elegant mansions. Behind them the city opens up into the valley beyond. However, directly across from the fortress sits the Kapuzinerberg Mountains and, as with its neighbour across the river, it has forced man to build his homes literally into the rock face. Several of these townhouses along Steingasse are clubs and restaurants and at the intersection where the road leaves the river, with its cycle path and pedestrian walkway, is a fun place called the Winter Garten.
Standing in front of a car park, this unusual bar resembles a small bungalow and its triangular beer garden is the perfect place to gaze across to the Old Town whilst enjoying a glass of Grüner Veltliner wine. However, if you prefer your views and wine at a higher altitude, take the lift to the rooftop terrace of the Stein Hotel next to The Staatsbrücke Bridge. From when it opens to the public at 12 noon until the DJ finishes his set at midnight, this restaurant/bar is “the” place to be particularly at night when the fortress and town are floodlit. Alternatively, if you need some exercise, take a walk up the mountain to the Cappuchin Monastery, directly behind the hotel. You will find the beginning of the path along the pedestrian shopping street of Linzergasse which is also worth exploring.
As you stroll around Salzburg you will notice that there are no Starbucks, Costa or Café Nero’s. The reason why is very simple. Salzburg has some of Austria’s oldest Viennese coffee houses where the waiters dress formally and your coffee or tea is served in china from silver pots presented on individual silver trays. Each establishment also has its own speciality cake to accompany your cuppa and there is none more mouth-wateringly delicious than the Sacher-Torte.
Café Sacher, located in the Hotel Sacher, has a fabulous old fashioned tea room as well as a river front terrace where you can enjoy a slice of its apricot jam infused chocolate cake, created in 1832 and whose recipe is a closely guarded secret. You can even buy a whole Sacher-Torte to take home presented in a beautiful wooden box. Equally addictive is their apple strudel and hot vanilla sauce (aka custard).
Just as famous is Café Tomaselli, founded in 1705 and located in the Alter Markt not far from Salzburg Cathedral. The most popular seats are on its first floor balcony overlooking the square and reached by a spiral staircase. After you have ordered your beverage, a waitress in traditional dress carrying an enormous silver tray, will tempt you with different slices of cakes and pastries. Even if you can’t get a table on the terrace or balcony take a seat inside and enjoy this 300 year old tradition.
...if you prefer your views and wine at a higher altitude...
If your sweet tooth is still crying out for more, then directly across the square is the Fürst confectionery shop. Although established in 1884, it was in 1890 that Paul Fürst invented the Mozartkugelor Mozart balls as they are now known. The little tea room serves lots of other delicacies and ice cream but it’s their silver and blue foil wrapped balls that attract the tourists. On the counter sits a large glass bowl filled with individual balls so you don’t have to purchase a whole box in order to try one. As the sweet was never patented you will find several shops selling their versions of the Mozartkugel but it is at Fürst where you will find the original.
If you prefer a more savoury snack, then visit the town’s oldest bakery dating back to the 12th century. Stiftsbäckerei St. Peter is located in the vaults next to the watermill beside the entrance to St Peter’s church. Join the queue with the locals and watch the baker make his bread in the original stone ovens before buying a couple of warm rolls. You will probably spot the entrance easier after you have explored the church’s cemetery surrounded by eerie crypts and its catacombs that are cut into the cliff face and date back to the year 700.
There are many old shops in the old town which stand out against today’s high street and designer brands such as the Fürsterzbischöfliche Apotheke – an old pharmacy on Alter Markt. There are also several traditional clothes shops where you can buy lederhosen and Tyrolean felt hats and on Sundays you will see many of the locals dressed in traditional dress going to church. Just off the Alter Markt is a wonderful medieval lane called Goldgasse but the most photographed street in Salzburg has to be Getreidegasse.
All the shops and restaurants along the length of this pedestrian street still use traditional signs to advertise their wares. These signs come in different shapes, sizes and colours but are all elaborately welded ironwork covered primarily in gold paint. They jut out into the street on either side, each one trying to protrude a bit further and be more eye-catching. The first few times you walk up and down Getreidegasse you will be oblivious to what is in the shop windows and will undoubtedly walk past the numerous alleyways that lead into courtyards beyond.
At No.39, there is a small shop called Sporer that has been here since 1903. Primarily an off-licence selling schnapps, wine and beer its counter also doubles as a bar. Look out for the locals outside on the street with their glass having a smoke or if it’s raining they will be in the covered alley standing under wall heaters. It’s worth squeezing in and, with the help of the exceptionally friendly staff, trying a couple of different schnapps from their long list. If it’s too full to get in through the front door there is another entrance up the alley which leads into a small sitting room where you can approach the bar from the other end.
After experiencing one of Salzburg’s oldest bars, directly across the street and looking slightly out of place is the very modern Carpe Diem. It’s a great spot for a cocktail or glass of champagne either inside or on their designer terrace and if you aren’t in the mood for a traditional Austrian meal their restaurant and bar serves modern tapas or as they call it “finest fingerfood”.
Salzburg has its fair share of breweries such as StieglKeller located a little further up the road from the entrance to the funicular railway. If you have walked up or down to the fortress, you will pass its beer garden located at the first (or last) bend of road. Further along the river is the most unusual beer drinking experience you will ever have. Augustiner Bräustübl is a massive tavern serving monk-brewed beer. However, it’s definitely a locals’ venue so here are some tips to help you fit in.
Equally addictive is their apple strudel and hot vanilla sauce (aka custard)
Firstly, you have to find the place. Rather than taking the river path it’s easier to follow the main road that runs parallel to the river past the lift to the Modern Art Gallery. The original entrance is up a side street and despite the brewery name painted above the arch you would be forgiven if you thought it led to a monastery. As there were no signs or directions of where to go, we ended up following a man who we hoped was in search of a beer rather than God.
He led us through a door at the end of a corridor and down a grand staircase into the basement of the building. At the bottom was a long corridor with little food shops running along one side and opposite doors led into a massive, wood panelled beer hall with communal tables. Here you have two choices. You can either be seated by one of the staff who will then go and get you a beer or you can get your own beer and then try and find a seat. (NB There were several other beer halls off this central corridor, one was being used for a private function and the other was non-smoking and, if its a sunny day, down even more stairs is a large beer garden.)
Getting your own beer is definitely worth doing. First you pay at the counter buying either a stein or half stein and choosing one of their two types of beer. Then go to the shelves that line the wall opposite and grab a porcelain stein. Next give it a good rinse out in the old fashioned water fountain before handing over your receipt to a man who will pour your beer from a large barrel. After a couple of beers you will soon forget you are a tourist, although you will never really blend in unless you are wearing traditional costume.
When you research your trip to Salzburg you will be inundated with references to Mozart and The Sound of Music. However, if neither takes your fancy don’t be put off as you can easily walk past the Mozart Museum and his birthplace without going in. On the web you will also see numerous tours to visit scenes from the Sound of Music (“SOM”) but in town we didn’t see one reference to the movie. You will then be told that the best time to go is in December for the Christmas markets or in August for the music festival. I’m sure Salzburg is absolutely amazing then but it’s equally stunning with so much to do all year round.
In fact you could easily spend more than a weekend here as there are numerous hikes and day trips you can do such as visiting Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest or the Hohenwerfen Fortress; the salt mines where Salzburg got its name or the largest ice caves in the world. So forget about Mozart, the Sound of Music and the festivals. Just come and enjoy Salzburg along with numerous cups of coffee and cake, glasses of Austrian wine and steins of monk brewed beer!