Salt Castle

  Salzburg, Austria
Saturday, November 10, 2007

Once upon a time there was a mountainous region in Austria where rich mines of salt were discovered. The world craved salt for many reasons but the most important one was to preserve meats in times of no refrigerators, so the Austrian salt mines were exploited to the fullest. A city not too far from these mines began to flourish thanks to the wealth that the "white gold" brought, and so the city was named Salzburg, meaning Castle of Salt.

Then, in the 18th century, a man would be born that would strip the city's title as salt capital of Europe and name it music capital of the world. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, by then an already exquisite baroque city designed and run by a powerful and wealthy archbishopric. Today the city's tourists outnumber the locals during high season, and with the majestic view of the mountains not too far away from the grand baroque domes and steeples, it's hard not to be drawn in by Salzburg.

Ed and I arrived on a cold Saturday morning, when the first snow flakes were beginning to fall. Our hostel was pretty close to the Old Town, and although we had originally reserved in an 8-bed room, we changed our minds when we arrived and took a private room for €80 which for a hostel during off-season seemed like an armed robbery. We took it anyway because we were tired and wanted our own clean bathroom for a change.



The streets of Salzburg were empty. We couldn't tell yet if it was because it was snowing or if it was still too early on a Saturday morning. Nonetheless some of the shops were slowly opening up, particularly the ones selling schnapps, not to be mistaken by American schnapps a sweeter counterpart. German and Austrian schnapps is a drink distilled from cereals, roots or fruits tasting pretty much like vodka, with an alcohol volume of 42%, served as an aperitif.  Here they are sold in tiny glass bottles shaped like violins, in honor of Mozart.

We stumbled unto the Kapitelplatz where a full view could be appreciated of the Hohensalzburg Fortress perched on top of a panoptical rocky peak. The otherwise busy square was empty with its attractive baroque fountains covered up to protect it from the frost. A strange bronze sphere with the figure of a life-sized man stood just outside the entrance to the Cathedral's square, looking up to the Fortress.



The cathedral, or Dom, was dark and quiet inside and made for a nice shelter from the rain and bitter cold outside. Candles flickered on the foot of the tiny lateral chapels and a few locals sat in prayer in the old wooden benches. The church's origin apparently dates back to the 8th century but has been altered and built on top of for centuries, until its present form. The Baroque playfulness with light and shadow is evident in the dome where small windows allow light to enter at the very top, where a silver dove irradiates gold and light.



Next we moved on to the Residenz, home of the Archbishop for years. We took an audio tour around the rooms decorated with the most extravagant items brought from Vienna, some personally hand picked by the Holy Roman Empress herself. It was in the Arms Room that an 8 year old Mozart debuted at the piano for the archbishop, making him the talk of courts and parties in Vienna and the rest of Europe. Gilded chairs upholstered in beautiful bouquets of flowers and roses, crystal chandeliers, tapestries and marbles of different kinds were seen in this palace made for the head of the church in Salzburg.



Outside on the Mozartplatz it was raining harder now and the cold was unbearable. A fine horse-drawn carriage waited outside the palace hoping to take some warm-blooded tourist on board. We opted for a small alley just off the square which seemed cosy and less windy. We were delighted to find many shops selling Christmas decorations of every kind. A nice lady inside invited us to take a look around at her color-coded shop where it was warm. Ribbons of every color tied on pine cones and angel queens, wooden hearts and tiny cascabels, lights and glitter shimmering from every corner.

We continued walking and came across a pewter shop with all sorts of vases and jugs. We were peering inside when an elderly typically Austrian-looking woman came rushing back with her lunch to open the door for us and invite in for a chat. Her shop had ceramic and pewter beer jugs, the kind with the little flip tops to keep goblins from jumping inside and drinking all your beer. Lamps and clocks, picture frames, ladles, vases, and plates all shone like mirrors in the tiny wooden shop.



"I am so sorry for this horrible vether!! It is too cold to be autumn and too soon to be Christmas!" she exclaimed as she held up her pint of freshly poured beer. After a long gulp she peeled back the foil from a plate revealing boiled potatoes, cranberry sauce and schnitzel: pork meat breaded and fried. She showed us her meal with pride, savouring her lunch already. Our hunger was immediately stirred so we asked for a good place for a traditional Austrian meal. She pointed us around and corner and thanked us for our visit.



The restaurant was warm and cosy, shaped like an alpine cabin with wooden furniture, red mantle pieces and beer jugs on the beams. We ordered wheat beer while we waited for my potato cream soup and Ed for his schnitzel. We couldn't have asked for a tastier meal at such an amicable place, and their apple strudel was heavenly. Before leaving we ordered a couple of cherry flavoured schnapps. Thinking it was going to be sweet and wonderful, I open my mouth wanting to down the whole shot but stopped midway when I realized my lips were already burning. This was no liqueur; this was pure alcohol with some cherry aroma to make it smell sweeter. Ed ended up having mine and his, and since we all know how Ed holds his alcohol, I had to listen to his babbling for the next 20 minutes. At least he cheated the cold.