We woke up at about 7:15 AM and slowly showered and found
our way to a spectacular B&B breakfast. Eggs, fruit, bread, cheese, yogurt,
coffee, and more. We stuffed ourselves and finally headed out at about 10:30
AM. We had purchased the 2-day “Salzburg Card” which included free public
transport. So, we figured there was no point in driving our car into town and
trying to find a parking space. There’s a bus right outside the hotel that took
us to the city center in about 20 minutes. While waiting at the bus stop, we
met a young girl from India who was traveling through Europe on her own. She
was heading to Vienna and was very friendly and gave us several tips on what to
do and what not to do.
Although it was cloudy, it was not raining at this point. We went to the Mozart Geburthaus (birth house) because it was the first thing we came across and went through the museum. It was really interesting and fascinating to see exactly where and how he lived. It’s the original building (as are almost all the buildings in the area). It is also fascinating to see so many original possessions and manuscripts of Mozart himself. It’s amazing that such a large number of his letters and original documents still survive and we really have a pretty good idea of who he was and how he lived. It also talked about how it was untrue that he died a pauper’s death. Apparently, Mozart made plenty of money from lessons, concerts, publishing fees, commissioned works, etc. The problem was that he was a spendthrift and lived a lavish lifestyle. He may also have had a gambling problem. So, while he made a lot of money, he lived extravagantly and left his wife with a huge mountain of debt. Also, the fact that his body was thrown into a mass grave was not because of his poverty, but because it was apparently a common way to bury people in the day. Not many people had gravestones and private burials. I loved seeing many of his original manuscripts and reading of his many travels. He was so popular that he spent a total of 10+ years of his life outside of Salzburg – a third of his short life. I also enjoyed reading about how the most celebrated composers of the era were Haydn, Salieri, and Mozart. For some reason, Haydn and Mozart’s reputation seem to have endured while Salieri is not seen as an equal today. Interestingly, a hint of why came when we visited the Salzburg museum a little later. After Mozart’s death, his wife and sister spent considerable effort documenting his works and his life. His wife provided a lot of effort compiling a comprehensive biography of his life and publicizing his music. She needed to do so to pay off a lot of his debts. In 1829, less than 40 years after his death, an English couple who were rabid fans of Mozart’s music traveled to Salzburg to meet and interview his living relatives (wife and sister). Vincent and Mary Novello published their travel diary, which further publicized his life and works. Similarly, Franz Schubert was a huge fan of Josef Haydn and helped publicize his works. I don’t think there was anyone to do the same for Salieri and perhaps his work is less known and rarely performed because of poor marketing. But, that’s a naïve view that a true musicologist may find laughable.
We stopped by the famed Café Tomaselli where the Mozart family often visited (it was called Café then) and had some Sachertorte and Guglhupf on the terrace overlooking Alter Markt. I also had an expensive Tomasilliums coffee that included sliced almonds and white chocolate Mozart liqueur that was delicious. By this time it had started raining, but it was a light, steady rain and we headed out across the plaza and decided to see the Salzburg Museum. We spent some time there, but didn’t think it was particularly great. The part we liked the best was the section on musical instruments. It was fascinating to see a huge variety of original ancient instruments and watch the short videos of the instruments being played. We finally headed out of there and entered the Dom Quartier and spent a great deal of time going through the Archbishop’s residence and official meeting rooms. We also went through a couple of St. Peter’s Cathedral museums. As we exited, we found ourselves outside the Salzburg Cathedral and walked in. It is easily one of the most breathtaking Cathedrals I have ever been in. It seems like the entire inside of the cathedral from the ceiling to the floor has intricately carved stucco. The paintings are amazing and this is a place I would like to walk back in to and spend some time tomorrow if possible.
By this time it was already about 6:30 PM and we had bought tickets for a concert in the Marble room of Mirabell Palace. We stopped by a bierhaus called Zipfer where I ordered a Zipfer Utryp and decided to split a roast sausage with sauerkraut with Sheila. The sausage was absolutely delicious and we wolfed it down and decided it was so good that we ordered another plate. Satisfied (we never found the time for lunch other than the cake at Café Tomaselli), we walked to Mirabell Palace for our 8 PM concert. It was in a small but beautifully appointed room at the palace. The concert included pieces by Mozart, Haydn, and Schubert and was delightful. It ended about 10 PM and we caught our bus back to the pension.
After one full day in Salzburg, we realized we had only done a small fraction of the things on our list. We were busy enough to fail to have lunch. But, we haven’t even done the basics – Hohensalzburg, Mochsberg, Untersberg, Nonnberg, Mozart Wohnhaus, Mirabell Gardens, etc., let alone the many other “Sound of Music” sights on the list we had made. We tried to do a little planning but ultimately decided to see the Lake District and Mondsee on Friday (on our way to Budapest) and possibly just drive through Vienna and cut that out of our itinerary completely. We also decided to wake up early tomorrow and head out as early as possible.
Overall, it was a lovely day despite the incessant rain. I love this city and hate to think it might be another 17 years before I find my way back (it was 1998 that I last spent a few days here). Despite all my efforts to go to bed early (so we can be up early), it’s past midnight here as I finish writing this blog note. I still need to brush and get ready for bed. Oh well, who needs sleep anyway?
Although it was cloudy, it was not raining at this point. We went to the Mozart Geburthaus (birth house) because it was the first thing we came across and went through the museum. It was really interesting and fascinating to see exactly where and how he lived. It’s the original building (as are almost all the buildings in the area). It is also fascinating to see so many original possessions and manuscripts of Mozart himself. It’s amazing that such a large number of his letters and original documents still survive and we really have a pretty good idea of who he was and how he lived. It also talked about how it was untrue that he died a pauper’s death. Apparently, Mozart made plenty of money from lessons, concerts, publishing fees, commissioned works, etc. The problem was that he was a spendthrift and lived a lavish lifestyle. He may also have had a gambling problem. So, while he made a lot of money, he lived extravagantly and left his wife with a huge mountain of debt. Also, the fact that his body was thrown into a mass grave was not because of his poverty, but because it was apparently a common way to bury people in the day. Not many people had gravestones and private burials. I loved seeing many of his original manuscripts and reading of his many travels. He was so popular that he spent a total of 10+ years of his life outside of Salzburg – a third of his short life. I also enjoyed reading about how the most celebrated composers of the era were Haydn, Salieri, and Mozart. For some reason, Haydn and Mozart’s reputation seem to have endured while Salieri is not seen as an equal today. Interestingly, a hint of why came when we visited the Salzburg museum a little later. After Mozart’s death, his wife and sister spent considerable effort documenting his works and his life. His wife provided a lot of effort compiling a comprehensive biography of his life and publicizing his music. She needed to do so to pay off a lot of his debts. In 1829, less than 40 years after his death, an English couple who were rabid fans of Mozart’s music traveled to Salzburg to meet and interview his living relatives (wife and sister). Vincent and Mary Novello published their travel diary, which further publicized his life and works. Similarly, Franz Schubert was a huge fan of Josef Haydn and helped publicize his works. I don’t think there was anyone to do the same for Salieri and perhaps his work is less known and rarely performed because of poor marketing. But, that’s a naïve view that a true musicologist may find laughable.
We stopped by the famed Café Tomaselli where the Mozart family often visited (it was called Café then) and had some Sachertorte and Guglhupf on the terrace overlooking Alter Markt. I also had an expensive Tomasilliums coffee that included sliced almonds and white chocolate Mozart liqueur that was delicious. By this time it had started raining, but it was a light, steady rain and we headed out across the plaza and decided to see the Salzburg Museum. We spent some time there, but didn’t think it was particularly great. The part we liked the best was the section on musical instruments. It was fascinating to see a huge variety of original ancient instruments and watch the short videos of the instruments being played. We finally headed out of there and entered the Dom Quartier and spent a great deal of time going through the Archbishop’s residence and official meeting rooms. We also went through a couple of St. Peter’s Cathedral museums. As we exited, we found ourselves outside the Salzburg Cathedral and walked in. It is easily one of the most breathtaking Cathedrals I have ever been in. It seems like the entire inside of the cathedral from the ceiling to the floor has intricately carved stucco. The paintings are amazing and this is a place I would like to walk back in to and spend some time tomorrow if possible.
By this time it was already about 6:30 PM and we had bought tickets for a concert in the Marble room of Mirabell Palace. We stopped by a bierhaus called Zipfer where I ordered a Zipfer Utryp and decided to split a roast sausage with sauerkraut with Sheila. The sausage was absolutely delicious and we wolfed it down and decided it was so good that we ordered another plate. Satisfied (we never found the time for lunch other than the cake at Café Tomaselli), we walked to Mirabell Palace for our 8 PM concert. It was in a small but beautifully appointed room at the palace. The concert included pieces by Mozart, Haydn, and Schubert and was delightful. It ended about 10 PM and we caught our bus back to the pension.
After one full day in Salzburg, we realized we had only done a small fraction of the things on our list. We were busy enough to fail to have lunch. But, we haven’t even done the basics – Hohensalzburg, Mochsberg, Untersberg, Nonnberg, Mozart Wohnhaus, Mirabell Gardens, etc., let alone the many other “Sound of Music” sights on the list we had made. We tried to do a little planning but ultimately decided to see the Lake District and Mondsee on Friday (on our way to Budapest) and possibly just drive through Vienna and cut that out of our itinerary completely. We also decided to wake up early tomorrow and head out as early as possible.
Overall, it was a lovely day despite the incessant rain. I love this city and hate to think it might be another 17 years before I find my way back (it was 1998 that I last spent a few days here). Despite all my efforts to go to bed early (so we can be up early), it’s past midnight here as I finish writing this blog note. I still need to brush and get ready for bed. Oh well, who needs sleep anyway?
No comments:
Post a Comment