Salzburg. Day 9

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in Salzburg - The next day we will call Sound of Music Day – Carlos managed to annoy a lot of people by asking about all the spots from the musical. We decided not to do the tour because it was expensive (about 37 euros a person) and we could see most of the sights on our own for free. We did miss out on the church were Maria and Captain were married, and the gazebo, but all in all, worth saving over $80.

Our hotel was next to the Mirabelle Gardens where the cast sung Do Re Mi. We also saw the Nonnberg Abbey where Maria was a nun. We enjoyed this a lot; I especially liked the cemetery and the cathedral. There were no lights in one of the cathedral but I wanted to see, so Carlos the chicken stayed outside.

We also saw the Nonnberg Abbey where Maria was a nun

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Then we walked around Salzburg and just checked out the buildings and architecture. We also found several more scenes from the musical which Carlos recreated on the camera – where the Nazis were marching, and where Maria came out of the Abbey on the way to the Von Trapp house.

Then we wandered into a large plaza where there was some kind of festival; there were little souvenir stands and food vendors and a produce market. I got some marionette magnets and we saw a watercolor painter and we got two small works from him after a bit of negotiation. He made us promise not to tell anyone about his “top secret” pricing and said that his works were worth hundreds. He even showed us a calendar of all his paintings. We wondered why he was on the street vending and not in an art gallery somewhere…but in any case, the two paintings we got were 25 euros and at the very least better than Ikea.

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The day was very, very cold and overcast so it was a little unpleasant to be outside. We simply did not pack enough clothing; so we both wore layers of the clothes we brought. All our pictures will look the same…but at least our luggage has been light and easy to carry – handy when we’re running to catch a train or a bus.

One thing to note – everyone in Europe smokes. We could not walk through a crowd without being assaulted with cigarette smoke; it is truly ghastly. On our way back to the hotel I was cold, hungry, and tired and I had walked through yet ANOTHER cloud of smoke and I just lost it and said how sick I was of breathing it, and this Austrian guy walked up to me and said “not nice!”. The one time I lose my cool, I get reprimanded