9/17 – Departed for Salzburg via Zurich. Arrived late afternoon and was drizzling. My first challenge was to find accommodations for the next couple of days. After settling down, I booked myself a dinner concert (best of Mozart) at the Hohensalzburg fortress. Later I found myself being alone for a romantic candlelight dinner. This fortress towers 400 ft above the Salzach River on a rocky dolomite ledge and can be accessible by taking a funicular from the Old Town. The massive fortress crowns the Festungsberg and literally dominates Salzburg. The concert (quartet) was held in one of the halls where Mozart and his friends used to play. The setting could not be more perfect – the hall overlooking the city and listening to heavy doses of Mozart and lesser known Schubert, Brahms and Beethoven. If only I had a date! Heavy rain started to pour on my walk way back to the hotel.

9/18 – City walking tour. Salzburg, the Golden City of Baroque, birthplace of Mozart and home of the world-famous Salzburger Festspiele (Salzburg Festival). Salzburg lies on both banks of the Salzach River, at the point where it is pinched between two mountains, the Kapuzinerberg and the Mönchsberg. Man's contribution is a trove of buildings worthy of such surroundings: Beginning with Prince-Archbishop Wolf-Dietrich von Raitenau, who began his regime in the late 16th century, Salzburg's rulers pursued construction on a grand scale. Astonishingly, they all seem to have shared the same artistic bent, with the result that Salzburg's many fine buildings blend into a harmonious whole -- a cohesive flowering of Baroque architecture.

While Salzburg is a visual pageant of Baroque motifs, music is the element that shapes the life of the city. It is heard everywhere: in churches, castles, palaces, and, of course, concert halls. Since 1920, the Salzburg Festival, which draws a crowd to the city from mid-July until the end of August, has honored Mozart with performances of his works by the world's greatest musicians. Whether performed in the festival halls or outdoors with the opulent architecture as background, Mozart's music serves as the heartbeat of Salzburg.

Schloss Mirabell(Mirabell Palace). This palace and its gardens were originally built as a luxurious private residence called Altenau. Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich had it constructed in 1606 for his mistress and the mother of his children, Salome Alt. The scene in the 1965 film Sound of Music where Julie Andrews and the von Trapp children thrilling to the “Do-Re-Mi” was shot entirely here.

Altstadt
Most visitors head for the Altstadt, or Old Town, on the left bank of the Salzach, that part stretching from the river to Mönchsberg. This is a section of narrow streets (many from the Middle Ages) and slender houses, in complete contrast to the town constructed by the prince-archbishops across the river. The Old Town contains many of Salzburg's top attractions, including the Dom, Mozart's birthplace on Getreidegasse, and Petersfriedhof.

All of the Altstadt and much of baroque Salzburg on the whole left bank of the city, not just one particular building makes Salzburg world renowned for its beauty. Much of the celebrated architecture was created in the reign of prince-archbishop Johann Ernst von Thun (1687-1709). He secured the services of one of Austria's greatest architects, Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, who created a harmonious collection of baroque structures in the center of town. Von Erlach designed at least a dozen buildings in and around Salzburg, most notably the Kollegienkirche.

Thun's successor, prince-archbishop Franz Anton von Harrach (1709-27), wasn't all that enthusiastic about von Erlach and replaced him with his chief competitor, Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt, best known for the Belvedere Palace in Vienna. Von Hildebrandt proceeded to design the Residenz and Schloss Mirabell, the latter famous for its Marble Hall and grand staircase.

Both these architects were credited with changing the face of Salzburg. Fortunately, the architectural treasures were spared from the fury of Allied bombing raids in World War II.

Petersfriedhof (St. Peter's Cemetery)
This cemetery lies at the stone wall that merges into the rock called the Mönchsberg. Many of the aristocratic families of Salzburg lie buried here along with many other noted persons. The Romanesque Chapel of the Holy Cross and St. Margaret's Chapel, dating from the 15th century are monuments to a way of life long vanished.

Residenz State Rooms/Residenzgalerie Salzburg
This opulent palace, just north of Domplatz in the pedestrian zone, was the seat of the Salzburg prince-archbishops after they no longer needed the protection of the gloomy Hohensalzburg Fortress of Mönchsberg. The Residenz dates from 1120, but work on a series of palaces, which comprised the ecclesiastical complex of the ruling church princes, began in the late 1500s and continued until about 1796. The lavish rebuilding was originally ordered by Archbishop Wolfgang (usually called "Wolf") Dietrich. The Residenz fountain, from the 17th century, is one of the largest and most impressive baroque fountains north of the Alps.

The child prodigy Mozart often played here in the Conference Room for guests. In 1867, Emperor Franz Joseph received Napoléon III here. More than a dozen state rooms, each richly decorated, are open to the public via guided tour.

On the second floor, you can visit the Residenzgalerie Salzburg, an art gallery founded in 1923, which now contains European paintings from the 16th to the French, Italian, Austrian baroque, and Austrian 19th-century schools are exhibited.

Glockenspiel (Carillon)
The celebrated glockenspiel with its 35 bells stands across from the Residenz. You can hear this 18th-century carillon at 7am, 11am, and 6pm. The best way to hear the chimes is from one of the cafes lining the edges of the Mozartplatz while sipping coffee.

Salzburg Cathedral (Dom)
Located where Residenzplatz flows into Domplatz (where you'll see a 1771 statue of the Virgin), this cathedral is world-renowned for its 4,000-pipe organ. The original building from A.D. 774 was superseded by a late-Romanesque structure erected from 1181 to 1200. When this edifice was destroyed by fire in 1598, Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich commissioned construction of a new cathedral, but his overthrow prevented the completion of this project. His successor, Archbishop Markus Sittikus Count Hohenems, commissioned the Italian architect Santino Solari to build the present cathedral, which was consecrated in 1628 by Archbishop Paris Count Lodron.

Hailed by some critics as the "most perfect" Renaissance building in the Germanic countries, the cathedral has a marble facade and twin symmetrical towers. The mighty bronze doors were created in 1959. The themes are Faith, Hope, and Love. The interior has a rich baroque style with elaborate frescoes, the most important of which, along with the altarpieces, were designed by Mascagni of Florence. In the cathedral, you can see the Romanesque font at which Mozart was baptized. The dome was damaged during World War II but was restored by 1959. In the crypt, traces of the old Romanesque cathedral that once stood on this spot have been unearthed.

The treasure of the cathedral, and the "arts and wonders" the archbishops collected in the 17th century, are displayed in the Dom Museum entered through the cathedral.

Sound of Music Tour:
Schloss Hellbrunn (Hellbrunn Palace)
A popular spot for outings, 20-minute drive from Salzburg, this palace dates from the early 17th century and was built as a hunting lodge and summer residence for Prince-Archbishop Markus Sittikus. The Hellbrunn Zoo, also here, was formerly the palace deer park.

The palace gardens, one of the oldest baroque formal gardens in all Europe, are known for their trick fountains. As you walk through, take care -- you might be showered from a surprise source, such as a set of antlers, when you least expect it. Set to organ music, some 265 figures in a mechanical theater are set in motion hydraulically.

The castle has some fascinating rooms, including an octagonal music room and a banquet hall with a trompe-l'oeil ceiling.

On the grounds, a natural gorge forms the Stone Theater, where the first opera in the German-speaking world was presented in 1617. A Hellbrunn Festival is held in the gardens, palace, and theater in August.

This is where Liesl von Trapp sang "I Am Sixteen Going on Seventeen" and where Maria and the Baron woo and coo "Something Good."

Schloss Leopoldskron, a fabled estate where famed theatrical and opera producer Max Reinhardt once hosted Austria's rich and famous; today the palace is an exclusive conference center. The estate's magical water-gate terrace, adorned with rearing horse sculptures and "site" of so many memorable scenes in the movie, was re-created elsewhere on the lake for the actual filming; its balcony, however, was really used for the scene where Maria and Baron von Trapp dance during the ball.

We left the city limits for the luscious landscape of the Salzkammergut. These are the hills "alive with music," where Julie Andrews prances about in the opening scenes, forgetting all about her sister nuns. Then to the shore of the Wolfgangsee in St. Gilgen before we head for the town of Mondsee, where, in real life, Maria and Georg von Trapp were married at the twin-turreted Michaelerkirche.

Finally we stopped for a coffee break at the Hotel Schloss Fuschl in Lake Fuschl (Fuschlsee), this fifteenth-century hunting lodge and former summer residence of Salzburg's archbishops on Lake Fuschl boasts a breathtaking alpine backdrop of blue clear but chilly waters, mountains, and evergreen forests. In 1977, the property was transformed into a luxury hotel with elegant accommodations, modern amenities including extensive meeting and conference facilities, and a health and beauty spa. Guest rooms, bungalows, and all three dining rooms have "spectacular views" of the Alps across the lake. Very nice romantic getaway. I have to come back here someday.

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