rick steves salzburg

Herr Sporer: Schnapps is distilled fruits. Rick: So this is apple and pear? At the mine, visitors slip into overalls, meet their guide, and hike into the mountain. Thanks to its charmingly preserved old town, splendid gardens, Baroque churches, and one of Europe's largest intact medieval fortresses, Salzburg feels made for tourism. Public marketplaces come with fountains, and Salzburg's are part of this city's ingenious medieval water system. It seems each plot is lovingly tended by relatives. St. Peter's Church Romanesque church with Rococo decor. That's because in Austria, grave sites are rented, not owned. Salzburg, which grew rich from the salt trade long ago, is touristy but still enjoyable today. The graves are a collection of well-cared-for mini-gardens. Home Salzburg Hallstatt Dolomites Fussen Lauterbrunnen Valley Chamonix Salzburg's Hohensalzburg Fortress ... Salzburg of course is the birthplace of Mozart and known for music. Since it was built in only about 15 years, the church boasts particularly harmonious art and architecture. Thanks to its charming Old Town, splendid Baroque churches, one of Europe's largest medieval fortresses, and so many great places nearby, Salzburg feels designed to keep its visitors happy. They dissolved it into a brine, which flowed through miles of pipes — the oldest hewn out of logs — to Hallstatt and nearby towns where the brine was, and still is, cooked until only the salt remained. Tucked away in the heart of the Old Town and abutting the rock wall of Mönchsberg is St. Peter's Cemetery. Back then Vienna's Habsburg royalty made it their annual holiday retreat, and today it remains as delightful as ever. Its 500-year-old altars and frescoes feature Hallstatt's two favorite saints: St. Barbara (patron of miners) and St. Catherine (patron of foresters) — lots of wood was needed to fortify the many miles of tunnels and boil the brine to distil out that salt. Terms of Service | Privacy, Upcoming Holidays and Festivals in Austria, Music Appreciation for Travel: Part II Share hotel & restaurant reviews. Oh...that's good. Salzburg is steeped in history. Idyllic and majestic, but not rugged, it's a gentle land of lakes, forested mountains, and storybook villages rich in hiking and biking opportunities. The one in Strobl near Wolfgangsee is about twice as long, and more scenic, with grand lake views. In the 13th century, Salzburg was plumbed with a clever canal system, which has brought water into Salzburg from nearby hills ever since. ▲▲ Getreidegasse Picturesque old shopping lane with characteristic wrought-iron signs. Rick Steves Best of Germany: With Salzburg Hit Germany's can't-miss art, sights, and bites in two weeks or less with Rick Steves Best of Germany! A briny spring sprung here, attracting Bronze Age people. This square, with its striking cathedral and Italian-style palace was the centerpiece of his Baroque dream city. Salzburg is forever smiling to the tunes of Mozart and The Sound of Music. we drove from Salzburg; it was easy (something like under 2 hours, as I recall), but do know people who did it by train. A highlight is riding miner-style from one floor down to the next...praying for no splinters. and staying 2-3 nights (2 full days). Hi, I just returned from my second trip to Salzburg and Germany in 2 years, and I am in love with Salzburg, and staying in the Altstadt area. Today, these riverside paths are much enjoyed providing easy access to the surrounding countryside. Herr Sporer: Apple and pear, yes. Rick- Glad to see that you are re-visiting some places that are among the favorites of my husband and myself- due to your TV show. For fans, it's almost a pilgrimage. On balmy summer evenings, this brewery has the ambience of a Renoir painting as all generations gather under the chestnut trees, as they have for centuries, to enjoy cheap food, good beer, and that special local coziness called "Gemütlichkeit." Good ones, like this one near the town of Werfen; give you a chance to experience the richness of Austria's rural life. see our FAQ. For centuries, Salzburg's leaders were both important church authorities and political rulers. How do you like that? St. Peter's Cemetery Atmospheric old cemetery with mini-gardens overlooked by cliff face with monks' caves. The 10:00 Mass is famous for its music, and today it's Mozart. It's also a musical mecca, and the city puts on a huge annual festival as well as constant concerts. Amidst all the tourists and chain outlets, its classy shops and traditional wrought-iron signs give it a touch of elegance. While much of the new part of town — on the far side of the river — was destroyed by WWII bombs, the historic Old Town survived. If you dug under these buildings, you'd find Roman and pre-Roman Celtic pavement stones from the ancient and prehistoric salt depot. ▲▲ Mozart's Birthplace House where Mozart was born in 1756, featuring his instruments and other exhibits. ▲▲ Hellbrunn Palace Lavish palace on the outskirts of town featuring gardens with trick fountains. Herr Sporer: You sip it, yes. Herr Sporer: Apple and pear. The place is filled with scores of scores, portraits, [and] insights into his family life and how the young prodigy was basically home schooled by his hard-driving father. He has a mysterious mansion at the edge of town, sponsors the local “Red Bull” soccer and hockey teams, owns several chic Salzburg eateries and cocktail bars, and employs 6,000 mostly good-looking people. One of Europe's mightiest castles, it dominates Salzburg's skyline. You can count on Rick Steves to tell you what you really need to know when visiting Salzburg and Hallstatt.Rick covers the essentials, including Berchtesgaden and the Salzkammergut. Alfred claims an hour on the lake is worth a day of vacation. Rick: So there's many different kinds of schnapps? This collection of lovingly tended graves abuts the sheer rock face of the Mönchsberg (free, silence requested). ... Last May we found ourselves in Salzburg with another couple. On busy nights, it's like a Munich beer hall with no music but the volume turned up. Things Italian were respected and in vogue. The surrounding Mirabell Gardens, laid out in 1730, are a favorite with locals and tourists alike. That was the idea. Rick Steves is America's leading authority on European travel. The square was ringed by blacksmiths, bakers, and craftsmen. Then home. We're heading two hours southeast of Salzburg to my favorite Salzkammergut town on my favorite Salzkammergut lake. Rich guys' fine Renaissance-style tombs decorate the chapel walls. You don't go to Salzburg to avoid the tourists. The Catholic church overlooks the town from above. The skulls resting on Bibles are those of the town's priests. Everything you need is here. Wolfgang Mozart spent much of his first 25 years in Salzburg — one of the greatest Baroque cities north of the Alps. The exhibits are aimed a bit more toward the Mozart connoisseur than those at Mozart's Birthplace, but the place comes with a good introductory video, is less crowded, and includes an informative audioguide. Herr Sporer: You have this after dinner as a digestif or you drink it beside a beer in the evening or... We too will be in Scandanavia (Oslo) (and London) soon- we fly out Thursday night. They were as kind as ever and the food was still as good as I remembered. It's a chilling, educational, important and memorable experience. Herr Sporer: We're always busy because we're very old traditional shop in the Getreidegasse. If you'd like to commune with nature in a uniquely Austrian way, Salzburg is the ideal jumping off point for spectacular countryside to the south. From our home base in Salzburg, we side trip into the Salzkammergut lake district — Lake Hallstatt and the town by the same name. Old Salzburg's busy and colorful main drag was, and still is, Getreidegasse. Strategic advice from Rick Steves on what's worth your time and money; Short itineraries covering Munich, Bavaria, Rothenburg and the Romantic Road, the Rhine Valley, and Berlin, plus Salzburg, Austria; Rick's tips for beating the crowds, skipping lines, and avoiding tourist traps; The best of local culture, flavors, and haunts, including walks through museums and atmospheric neighborhoods Through the centuries, Hallstatt was busy with the salt trade. See search results for this author. To properly enjoy this lavish palace — once the prince-archbishop's summer palace and now the seat of the mayor — get a ticket to a Schlosskonzert (my favorite venue for a classical concert; the palace is otherwise closed to visitors). Thanks to its formidable fortress and its knack for remaining neutral, the city managed to avoid the ravages of war until World War II. Music and the visual art complement each other. Austria — with its Germanic passion for quality — is enthusiastic about organically grown fruits and vegetables. The town's decorative woodwork, a tradition that dates back centuries, reflects the wealth salt brought. Apart from the waterfall, which rips through its middle, Hallstatt is an oasis of peace. Learn more about the Rick Steves Audio Europe app or download the app now: Prefer podcasts? This fountain could be straight out of Italy. To get to the Panoramabar from the main part of the library, you take a diagonally-moving elevator, which was a new experience for me. Salzburg's mighty castle offers incredible views in both directions, cafés, and a handful of mediocre museums. A steep funicular runs up the mountain to Hallstatt's salt mine. ▲▲ Salzburg Cathedral Glorious, harmonious Baroque main church of Salzburg. Best of all, it comes with a fun funicular ride to the Rudolfsturm "Skywalk" Viewpoint, with stunning panoramas over the town and lake. The oar lock is still made of the gut of a bull. ▲ DomQuartier Museums Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich's Residenz palace, cathedral viewpoint, and religious art. Learn about Author Central. Extending your trip? While this particular tunnel dates only from 1719, Hallstatt's mine claims to be the oldest in the world. Rick: Good. see our FAQ. In Salzburg we'll explore its delightful Old Town, enjoy Mozart in a palace, and relax in a sun-dappled beer garden. Hallstatt's Catholic church overlooks the town from above. Its bone chapel — or charnel house (Beinhaus) — contains more than 600 skulls (free to enter church, but small fee for bone chapel; open daily May–Sept 10:00–18:00, Oct 10:00–16:00, closed Nov–April). It's Austria's Salzkammergut lake district, where the "the hills are alive," and you're surrounded by the scenic wonder that has enthralled nature lovers from Emperor Franz Josef to Julie Andrews. Hi, I'm Rick Steves, back with more of the best of Europe. While fires have been a recurrent problem, many houses go way back. For coronavirus (COVID-19) travel information, ▲▲▲ Salzburg Town Walk Old Town's best sights in handy orientation walk (outlined in my guidebooks, and available as a free audio tour). And Alfred's not the only one with that idea. The organ loft fills the church with glorious sounds as Mozart, 250 years after his birth, is still powering worship with his musical genius. It was the harnessing of wind and water power with mills like this that helped kick the economy into gear and lift Europe out of what many call the "Dark Ages." It's simple: push to go, pull to break...a treat for kids of all ages. Wealthy as those guys were, when they ran out of caring relatives, they were dug up, shipped out, and their fancy tombstones ended up on the wall. And the Steckerlfisch...now that's my kind of fish stick! When he was 25 he was ready for the big city and moved to Vienna. The courtyard was the main square of this hilltop community of a thousand — which could be self-sufficient when necessary. It's Sunday morning. Each summer it hosts its famous Salzburg Festival. The Mozart family was successful enough to entertain Salzburg's high society in this fine room. The next day, in Salzburg we parked our bikes at the Augustinian monastery where, once upon a time, the monks (must have been the most popular monks in town) brewed a heavenly beer. Lovable Hallstatt is a tiny town bullied onto a ledge between a mountain and a swan-ruled lake. Does that sound reasonable as far as timing? This good-value restaurant on the edge of the old center has a dining room that's cozy in cool weather — and a balmy evenings, its great lakeside tables offer the best ambience in town. Pop into the fishery — two men have a license to harvest the lake of its plankton-fed Reinanke fish — much prized by local restaurants. Herr Sporer: And it's very typical for this area. They're reminders of the 1800s, when the first Romantic Age poets and painters discovered this region. Nine years later, a little boy was born — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart spent a good part of his childhood on the road, performing all over Europe. In the year 700, its Bavaria rulers gave control of Salzburg to the local bishop in return for his promise to defend and expand Christianity in the area. Fair enough. This family portrait shows Mozart with his sister — he was proud of his first-ever compositions for four hands, his father (also a fine musician and composer), and his mother, who died two years earlier in Paris. It's also the springboard for lots of alpine fun — from thrilling summer bobsledding, to idyllic boat rides in the Salzkammergut lake district, to exploring the delightful romantic town of Hallstatt. Is that right? Mozart performed for the prince-archbishop right here. Zum wohl! Since the views from the fortress are more exciting than the exhibits, it makes sense to visit late in the day, when admission is much cheaper (and for a bit after the museums' closing time, depending on the season, you can walk up and enter the grounds for free). Surveying the town, you can imagine Salzburg through the ages. It has very nice views of Salzburg, the surrounding mountains, and the fortress (far in the distance). And while you await your strudel, you can feed the swans. And way back when Wolfgang was still practicing his scales, Salzburg's busy open-air produce market gave farmers the chance to sell directly to locals. Germany's Munich and the Foothills of the Alps, ©2021 Rick Steves' Europe, Inc. | The energetic Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich, who ruled around the year 1600, had the greatest impact on the town. ©2021 Rick Steves' Europe, Inc. | Restaurant Bräugasthof, lakeside and under a grand chestnut tree, is just the place to try some of Lake Hallstatt's prized fish. This is Sound of Music country. Many of the dug-up bones and skulls ended up in the bone chapel. ▲ St. Sebastian Cemetery Baroque cemetery with graves of Mozart's wife and father. This one dates from 1597. Enjoying the garden/cathedral/castle view, it's easy to imagine how the prince-archbishop must have reveled in such a vista that reminded him of all his secular as well as religious power. (17:24). Behind the church, in the well-tended graveyard, is the 12th-century Chapel of St. Michael (even older than the church). Back then, salt was so precious because it preserved meat, and Hallstatt was, as its name means, the "place of salt.". Then train to Vienna for 3-4 nights. Herr Sporer: Yes, there are many fruits in Austria and we distill almost everything. This giant Baroque church, where Mozart was baptized and later served as organist, boats exceptional stucco work, five organs, and lots of light (it doesn't have stained glass, and never did — just clear windows to let light power the message). Getting a beer is fun in itself. The Weissacher family rents a couple of simple yet comfy rooms to supplement their farm income. Its ramparts provide the best views of the city. The regulars here know that there are enough flavors of schnapps to keep them coming back again and again. Prost! These canals powered about 100 watermills in Salzburg, which were busily cranking as late as the 19th century. Local students mix with tourists eating hearty slabs of grilled meat with their fingers or cold meals from the self-serve picnic counter, while children frolic on the playground kegs. Set your sights on the spire of the Augustinian Church, and you'll find what seems like half of Salzburg feasting and drinking. It's the easiest and best experience if you have an iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, or Android. If you're driving between Salzburg and Hallstatt, you'll pass two luge rides operated by the same company; each course is just off the road with easy parking. Posted on July 23, 2006 December 2, 2013. Archaeologists claim that since 7000 B.C., people have come here to get salt. Rick Steves' Europe. My Account. Its name basically means "salt fortress." Today, Salzburg's pride in Mozart shows itself best not in museums but in live concerts. Explore Salzburg! Austria Reviews. Rick: Obstler is apple and...? Its cannons evoke both threats of centuries past and the power of Salzburg's rulers. The New Town has the big business and train station, but the Old Town, sitting between the Salzach River and a hill called Mönchsberg, holds nearly all the charm...and most of the tourists. Donate to the band, and a maiden gives you a shot of schnapps. Rick Steves Vienna, Salzburg & Tirol Paperback – April 4, 2017 by Rick Steves (Author) › Visit Amazon's Rick Steves Page. Lightweight, yet packed with info on the cities' history and culture, Rick Steves Pocket Munich & Salzburg truly is a tour guide in your pocket. In Rick Steves Pocket Munich & Salzburg you'll find only the best of those two cities — admittedly a tough call! They're cooked up fresh and simple and served with a nice Austrian dry white wine. A series of interconnecting squares lead from here through the Old Town. ▲ Panorama Museum Wrap-around painting offering vivid peek of the city as it appeared in 1829.. ▲ Mozart's Residence Restored house where the composer lived. Admire churches in Munich's main square, Marienplatz, or visit the world-famous Hofbräuhaus and Nymphenburg Palace. Family of five (two young adults, one teen) Stuttgart and Munich advice. Mountaintop castle, with small museums, commanding views, and Salzburg the swans were! Find only the best of those two cities — admittedly a tough call the world-famous and! 12 days ( two young adults, one teen ) Stuttgart and advice. '' not because it 's one of the several hundred painted skulls has been lovingly named, dated, Salzburg... Fortress was to build... and make new friends would float downstream and be dragged back upstream by.. Hotels and restaurants or ask other rick steves salzburg about their reviews salt mine and hike into the Mirabell palace hear. 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