Day 45 – Walking Tour of Salzburg (Monday 27th May 2024)

A stroll along the banks of the Salzach River on a sunny morning seemed like a good way to start the day so that’s what we did when the bus near the Makartsteg foot bridge. Ten years or more ago it became a “thing” for young lovers to secure a padlock to the railings of their city’s bridges then throw away the key to symbolise their eternal love for each other. City engineers weren’t so crazy about the idea as they argued that the additional weight of tens of thousands of brass padlocks was possibly detrimental to the structural integrity of some of the bridges in their care. The city engineers of Salzburg were not of the same mind so today the bridge remains covered in padlocks. There is barely a square centimetre available for any new ones to be secured.

 

From here we walked downstream towards the next footbridge, the Müllnersteg, about 600m away. This bridge links the Altstatdt to the beautiful and famous Mirabell Palace Gardens. More about them later. The broad footpath that extends well beyond our beginning point and end point was being very well patronised by locals and tourist alike. Unfortunately a section of the adjacent bicycle path was closed for repair so the footpath had to be shared with cyclists some of whom neglected to slow down, even a bit, and all of whom neglected to use theirs bells. As you all know there is nothing quite so disconcerting as having a bicycle whizz past your ear from out of the blue. They may know that you’re completely safe and that they’ve seen you but they forget that that is just a one-way conversation. Cycling is a very popular way to get around Salzburg, not in the Amsterdam league but very common, nevertheless. The city is not large (our hotel is “out in the sticks” just 5km from the river) and, although surrounded by massive tors, the city is quite flat. The population is just 150,000 strong, only 60% of Geelong’s population. I’m continually intrigued that so much world-renowned fine art and culture can continue to thrive in such a relatively small place.

We took shelter from the crazy bicycle riders at a cafe in an elevated position above the path and opposite the Müllnersteg. From here I observed with some amusement (I’m easily amused) that on the path at the entrance to the bridge are turning lanes complete with little white arrows painted on the bitumen. That tells the story of how much bike riding happens in this town. Coffee finished, we strolled across the bridge to the bike-free path on the other bank for much less stressful walk back upstream. The Salzach River has a really strong current to the point where swimming in it is not permitted. Those who try face a very hefty fine when the police eventually fish them out miles downstream.

Having had no luck buying postage stamps yesterday or Saturday we tried again. Normally resident in the Salzburg Museum building in Rezidenzplatz we discovered that it had been relocated to a couple of ATCO portable sheds around the rear of the Museum while the Museum building is undergoing significant renovation. We bought the stamps we needed and had the postcards sent. Hooray! No telling when or if they’ll arrive, Mum, as the girl behind the counter was on her first day, I reckon, and although a teenager, couldn’t speak English. I’m not being foreign-tourist tosser, I’m just surprised that someone so young hasn’t learned English. I thought it was a standard part of the curriculum in European schools. I must be wrong.

After a quick bite to eat and a visit to the majestic Salzburg Cathedral we scurried back over the river for out 2:00pm appointment with Zoe, our GuruWalk guide. This is the third time we’ve used this service and so far, so good. The tour started with a quick look at the Mirabell Palace, a magnificent Baroque building built in the very early 17^th century by Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau for his mistress Salome Alt and their 15 children. OK, tell me what’s wrong with this picture? Archbishop-Mistress-15 children…. are you starting to see it? Young Wolfy wanted to marry the lovely Salome but, of course, didn’t want to give up his power and weatlh so he emailed the Pope in Rome to ask for special dispensation to skirt around that pesky celibacy rule that Roman Catholic clergy sign-up for. Two years later the Pope emailed back with a firm “Not on your life!”. Woops, Wolfy and Salome were already two down, thirteen to go! Not copping that, Wolfy got in touch with some powerful buddies in Prague who were prepared overlook the Pope’s email and the wedding happened. Incidentally, when Wolfy eventually went to explain all this to the big man in the clouds the next Prince-Archbishop, Marcus Sittikus, threw Salome and her kids out into the street. Such compassion! I think the actions of Wolfy and his successor epitomise what most, if not all, of the Price-Archbishops of Salzburg were like – such lovely and caring chaps.

 

The gardens in which the Palace is set truly reflect their name – Mira-belle – loosely translated from Italian as “Beautiful View”. Fountains, statues of Greek gods and other deities, manicured gardens beds recently planted with annuals, orderly groves of shady trees and numerous park benches upon which to sit and enjoy it all create a very peaceful and relaxing place. The garden itself is art. Hollywood thought so too, as the gardens are the location of some of the most memorable scenes from “The Sound of Music”. Back across the river we walked with Zoe as she switched the discussion from popular art of the 20^th Century (Julie Andrews et al), to popular art of the 18^th Century (Mozart) to the 1000 years of history of this town. As we wandered the streets and lanes and passageways of the old town she would stop to talk about one or all of those things sometimes within a distance of less than 50 meters.

 

By about 4:30pm the tour ended. We rewarded Zoe for a wonderful afternoon’s entertainment ans education and headed for a famous Salzburg beer hall we’d learned about from our friends on the Balkan tour - the Augustiner Braustübl. A little out of the old town we walked there, nevertheless, although in hindsight after a big day of walking it may have been a bridge too far. We sat in beer garden with hundreds of other people under the shady trees and enjoyed a cool drink for twenty minutes. Both very tired we opted not to have a second, instead heading to the No. 28 bus-stop which, thankfully, was right outside the venue.