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Salzburg Coat of Arms Side Trip to Salzburg : Innsbruck, Austria : Trip Report
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On the way to Salzburg

While we prayed for snow later in the week we did our first side trip to Salzburg, Austria. Salzburg is the nearest large city to Innsbruck and has a fabulous history as well as some interesting sites. Many people know of Salzburg as the birth place of Amadeus Mozart. It is also the birthplace of Christian Doppler, as in Doppler Effect.

On the way to Salzburg we stopped at a small town called Ratternburg. I'm not exactly sure why we stopped except to get us to spend some money there. We were taken to a small glass trinket factory where we watched people make glass products. That was only moderately interesting. We then walked around the town and found our way up the hill to the ruins of a castle at the top. There we found a fabulous view of the town and surroundings.
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Following our guide with the yellow umbrella.
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Who herded us into the glass factory.
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Guy working with glass.
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The finished product.
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Hey, let's find our way to the castle on the hill.
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It was worth the trip up the icy path.
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The view wasn't half bad either.
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I liked the head peeking out a small window. Nice touch.
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Around Salzburg

When we finally go there the bus dropped us off near the old town. The guide took us past a palace built by Prince-Archbishop Wolf-Dietrich who built it for his mistress, Salomé. Nice place for a mistress. Afterwards we took the scenic route over the Salzach River to the old town to Mozart's birthplace. This was the meeting point in the afternoon. We were also taken around a few more spots around the Old Town before being set loose.

Salzburg is also famous for several sites appearing in the movie The Sound of Music. I personally haven't been able to sit through the entire movie but I'm told several scenes were shot in Salzburg and fans of the movie will enjoy seeing them in real life.
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Mirabell Gardens and Palace of the Archbishop's mistress.
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Birthplace of Christian Doppler.
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Lily and I pause for a goofy picture next to the Salzach River.
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Birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
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Some statue in a fountain covered by a triangular glass and steel cover.
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The Dom Cathedral in the center of the old town.
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The inside of the church was very ornate.
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I especially like the ceiling above the altar.
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And this section on the side.
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In the back was the pipe organ.
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Next to the church some people were playing with very large chess pieces.
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Another church.
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A nice fresco on the side of a building.
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We were amazed by the structures built on the side of the VERY steep hill.
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Next stop, the fortress at the top.
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Hohensalzburg Fortress

After walking around the city and having a bite to eat we decided to walk up the hill to the fortress at the top. We were lured by reports of displays of torture devices and since the tram was out of order we had to walk. It was quite a workout walking up the steep icy paths the 400' to the top.

It took a while but we made it. We paid our fee and walked around the exterior of the fortress. There were several spots where you could take in breathtaking views of Salzburg. After we checked out the outside we paid our fee for the museum inside. Parts of that were fascinating. We especially liked the display of medieval weapons. There was a display of torture devices but it was only one small room. We also liked the Queen's quarters which included a private "throne".
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The path up the hill was quite steep.
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Phew, finally here.
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The plaza inside the fortress.
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Posing for a scenic picture.
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Mark and Dorothy enjoying the view.
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Ling molests a plastic cow.
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Looking back across the old town you can see another stone wall on the opposite hill.
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Looking down at the path we climbed.
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The chess game was still in progress.
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Yes Mark, people were shorter then.
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One section of wall was exposed to show the original structure.
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Howard trying to lie down on the very small bed.
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There was an exhibit of medieval weapons.
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My favorite weapon, the crossbow.
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Some sort of torture device.
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Not sure how this is used to torture people.
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We all appreciated the workmanship of this chastity belt.
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Some of the detail of the Queen's bedroom.
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The bedroom was complete with a 'throne'.
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On the way back we stopped for Mozartkugel, which we called Mozart Balls.
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