Breathtaking Piece of Folly: More Salzburg Sites

Melinda, admiring the scenery:
"The hills are... I don't know... they're..."
Me, in a dramatic tone:
"Alive? ...with the sound of music?"
Girl, walking past shaking her head:
"Oh wow."

Our day started with a guided tour of the Festival Halls. We really had no idea what to expect, but I knew this was the location of the hall used in the music festival at the end of The Sound of Music so I wanted to see the interior. We discovered that there are several concert halls and I was disappointed that preparations are underway for their huge, annual music festival; the rock window openings so well-known from The Sound of Music were boarded up for the set of an opera to be held in the hall. I could still recognize the area and I've included a photo for fans of the movie.

The music festival hall used in The Sound of Music.

I was fascinated by how carefully they designed this hall. The focus was primarily on the acoustics but also for comfort - the fabric was tested and chosen because it absorbs the least amount of sound and the temperature is controlled through vents at each seat so the temperature in the hall remains consistent no matter where you're seated.

We caught a bus to Hellbrunn Palace, a place most well-known for the trick fountains designed by the Prince-Archbishop Markus Sitticus in the early part of the seventeenth century. I wish I could have met the man - he obviously had a very quirky sense of humour.

Hellbrunn Palace - designed as a day-time summer getaway.

Ponds and well-clipped hedges in the gardens at Hellbrunn.

A video clip showing a mural in a small room inside Hellbrunn Palace.

Guests should consider themselves warned.

This dining table is one of the most well-known of the trick fountains. The bishop ensured that each of his practical jokes was designed with a dry area for him to take refuge while his guests were either sprinkled with water or completely drenched. At this table he hosted lavish suppers and when the guests had enjoyed plenty of food and alcohol, he had the fountains turned on.

The designs on the wall above the table are created from coloured stones.

Water shoots out of holes in the ground all around the table as well as out of each seat. Although the bishop's seat has a hole, no water comes out of it.

If I were one of his guests, I don't think I would find it very amusing.

A strange fountain mounted on the exterior of the palace. There were two of these dripping water off the antlers and tongue. Odd.

Decoration inside one of the rooms holding trick fountains.

As we walked through some of the outbuildings and admired the mosaics on the walls, floors and ceilings, the tour guide turned on fine sprays of water which shot out of tiny nozzles in the walls and floors. The bishop must have had so much fun designing this place!

A bizarre little fountain in a pond - the figure of a deer, dressed in what appears to be a Roman soldier's uniform, is about one foot high. Water sprays out of the spear, the deer's mouth, and the mouths of each of the dogs.

A sample of one of the scenes created using power from a man-made stream. The figures are about six inches high.

This intricate scene showing townspeople engaged in various jobs is musical and all the characters move around. It was created in 1750 and it still works using only the gravitational flow of water - no pumps!

We returned to Salzburg and made our way to the Residenz State Rooms to explore the rooms where the archbishops began entertaining in the sixteenth century and where events are still held today.

Mozart performed in this beautiful room.
The ceiling is a beautiful sculpture with complete cherubs perched around the paintings. Click the photo to enlarge.

The first time a fancy ceiling painting has made me want to laugh. I just think it's hilarious that famous people and powerful politicians attended meetings or concerts here and if they looked up they were met with the view of a cow's huge rear end.

The rooms all had beautiful parque floors - amazing!

In the photo of the concert hall above, or in one of the photos from the Josephinum in Vienna, you may notice what look like massive ceramic urns against the walls. These are heaters and they allowed the fires to be stoked by servants from behind the walls so the residents and guests weren't disturbed. The photo above shows a tiny space in the wall where a servant would have stooped stoke the fire.

Next on our to-do list was taking in a cruise on the Salzach River. The forty-minute cruise was quite boring for the most part, but we still found ways to make it fun. A camera with a "video" feature helps. Our favourite part was when they turned on waltz music and let the boat spin down the river - quite dizzying, but a lot of fun after the slow cruise!

Video clip of the boat "waltzing" on the river.

We caught a bus to save a bit of walking and then climbed a few long staircases to reach Nonnberg Abbey, used in The Sound of Music as the convent where Maria runs in after singing, "The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music". As we walked up the stairs, I paused to take a photo and Melinda turned around to ask what I was taking a photo of. I answered, "A leaf."
She asked, "What's on it?"
I laughed and replied, "Nothing... it's just a leaf!"

Just a leaf.

The abbey was closed, but the main doors were worthy of a photo so our treck up the hill wasn't in vain.

We walked back into town, stopping at a bench overlooking the city to eat our picnic supper. As we walked, church bells repeatedly pealed from various areas of the city. I checked the time, but couldn't figure out why the bells were ringing. It was a beautiful sound, even if it didn't make a lot of sense.

Church bells ringing.

We passed a young woman wearing a traditional outfit so I asked her to stop for a photo. She obliged, with the, "You're crazy!" look on her face that has now become so familiar to me. The bow tied on her left indicates that she's single - if it were tied on the right it would indicate that she's married.

The final stop today, and the final site for our time in Salzburg, is the Mönchsberglift, an elevator to the top of one of the hills bordering the city. We saved it for tonight simply because it's open late and we wanted to cover everything else first. We didn't have any idea how fabulous the views would be! Tonight was one of those perfect, warm summer evenings with beautiful light and lots of laughter. An ideal finish to our vacation.

The view from the top.

We agreed that Salzburg was our favourite city during this trip - it seemed laid-back and friendly, there were plenty of sites to explore, none of the streets felt unsafe, and we felt at home here. Salzburg also has the best city skyline of all the places we've visited - we had a great time taking photos of each other.