Salzburg

Spires dot the Salzburg skyline Sunset over Salzburg

Pheew! Where do I even begin to describe the trip? I think I have to reconsider what I wrote in our profile's blurb. No mistake here: Salzburg was pretty; the people, warm despite a stereotype of being a grumpy lot; the food, sweet; the weather, although rained on two mornings, was forgivable; the guesthouse, very hospitable and charming; and the cost, very much within our budget.

The problem here was Sophie. Yes, so sad to report that the little darling girl has begun to assert her independence and presence in a way that is not very agreeable to her parents. Parents who had very different ideas in mind on how to enjoy the 3-day sojourn in Salzburg. One wanted to explore the enchanting little shops in the historical UNESCO World Heritage town, savour Austrian cuisine, and complete her pilgrimage to the Sound of Music mecca. The other was in an unusally enthusiastic mood to photograph, and wanted nothing more than to disappear into the bushes, go prostrate along the tight alleyways and hang from the bridge across the Salzach River to capture that perfect angle for the scene that shouts "SALZBURG". Both torn between dumping the baby on the other and preserving the other's sanity, if anything, out of respect for the eve of their second wedding anniversary.

Domed ceiling of the Salzburg Dom

Back to Sophie. Perhaps it was the lethargy of being out the whole day (well, it's not like she sleeps a lot at home, anyways) or an overdose of stimuli, but she was absolutely difficult to pacify even with the usual sure-win tactics. Given that she had behaved a lot better in Rome, we can only put it down to teething (where?)and the "development of character". I can imagine the fury that the other 50 tourists in the Salzkammergut tour, or the two smartly-dressed diners at the Zum Mohren restaurant, or the woman who was trying to catch a quick nap on the Stansted Express felt. It's time for some disciplining when we get back. You're in big trouble, young lady.

Under the archway of foliage in Schloss Mirabell (Mirabell Gardens) where Julie Andrews and her seven charges skipped and sang part of "Do Re Mi" in The Sound of Music

Frayed nerves aside, we managed to take in quite a number of sights, most importantly, the Schrannenmarkt Farm Market (a local farmers' market held every Thursday), the Schloss Mirabell, Mozart's Birthplace, Salzburg Dom, Hohensalzburg Fortress (fantastic aerial view of Salzburg & surroundings), Hellbrunn Palace (I did get conned by one of its famous trick fountains but YL was too paranoid about the leeches and kept a good distance), Untersberg mountain range (where Julie Andrews famously twirled and sang "The hills are alive..."), and Wolfgangsee and St Gilgen out in the Salzkammergut, set admist Austria's famous lakes & mountains.

View of Salzburg's right bank from the Old Town

Gingerbread on sale at the Schrannenmarkt Farm Market

Interestingly, all our souveniers were food. From L to R: natural salt from the Salzkammergut region, animal-shaped marzipan, Mozart-kugel (famous Salzburg chocolate with a marzipan center), wild honey from Salzburg

As usual, http://photos.yahoo.com/csylwedding has more photos from the trip.