Here are some pictures from around this beautiful city.
The love lock bridge -
The setting sun cast a beautiful glow on the Hohensalzburg Fortress one evening.
We rode a cable car to the top of the Hohensalzburg fortress to get some great views of the city, as well as take a tour of the fortress itself. It is the largest fully preserved fortress in central Europe.
Inside the fortress, the Golden Hall and the Golden Chamber were particularly interesting, as they are very richly decorated. We had not seen anything quite like this before in any other castle or fortress we've gone to.
In addition to the fortress, we also walked through three very beautiful churches, the first of which was the 17th century Salzburg Cathedral. This is the cathedral where Mozart was baptized.
The sunlight pouring into the cathedral was absolutely gorgeous!
Next up was St. Peter's Cathedral and Cemetery.
The look of the cemetery had almost a whimsical feel to it. Laurel said we really need to step up our cemetery game in America after seeing this...lol!
At the back of the cemetery, carved into the cliffside, are catacombs, believed to have been built by early Christians. It was very interesting to climb all those stone steps up into the catacombs and take in the different rooms and altars.
Our last church stop was the Roman Catholic Franciscan Church.
Although this was a beautiful building, what really caught our eye was the poster Laurel saw when we first walked into the building. I tried translating it, but can't really figure it out. Nevertheless, all of our many, wonderful Nazarene friends will appreciate it!!
The last thing we did before leaving town was drive out to the Untersberg and take a cable car to the top. This is the mountain from The Sound of Music that the Von Trapp family climbs over at the end of the movie. Still snow covered, it was teeming with snow lovers armed with skis and walking sticks. It was a 10 minute ride to the top for some spectacular views and lunch at a cute little restaurant. Some of these pics are hazy because I took them from inside the cable car with my cell phone because I accidentally left my camera in the car. Of all the times to leave the camera behind, this would not have been my pick!!
Well, what can I say about Salzburg and the surrounding area except that I absolutely adore it. It's my new favorite place, and I cannot wait to go back!
