Serendipitously as I was on my way to the tourist information centre at the train station yesterday morning (to do the city tour), I passed a woman with a poster and some flyers on day-trips with English-speaking guides. I double-backed and got a flyer and spoke to her about the trips they run, which include Salzburg (tick), and Neuschwanstein Castle (second tick). She seemed nice and knowledgeable, as well as helpful; on top of that the prices are good, and with a discount if you have a valid rail pass (third and final tick - I was sold). With a bit of planning, I decided to do the Salzburg trip today (Saturday) as the trip doesn't run on Sundays because the shops are shut - apparently some people go to Salzburg for the day to go shopping (what??), and then do Neuschwanstein on Monday (hopefully with less people there with it not being a weekend).
And so it was that I turned up back at the railway station at 9:30am this morning (the tour starts at 10:15am, but I had a couple of things I wanted to sort out first - like forward travel bookings through Germany), and discovered that Valerie (the woman I met yesterday) would be our guide. Even better, I discovered that there were around 18 people going to Neuschwanstein and only three of us heading to Salzburg - bonus! The other people on the Salzburg trip were a lovely young American couple from Seattle, Washington: McKenzie and Corey, who have just graduated from university so are taking a month's trip in Europe.
Salzburg is just across the border in Austria, approximately 140km east-southeast from Munich (much closer than from Vienna at around 280km); the train trip takes around 1 hour, 45 minutes.
I had thought of just heading to Salzburg by myself and getting around; however, I am glad that I didn't, because with only a day, I saved a lot of time and effort by going this way, and know that I saw places that I wouldn't have known to see - great job Valerie!
So, if you are ever in Munich and want to do a day-tour, check out Munich-Direct Tours (www.munich-direct.com) - I thoroughly and highly recommend their services.
Salzburg is on the banks of the Salzach River, at the northern boundary of the Alps, and sits in an ancient glacial depression.
On the musical front Salzburg was the birthplace of 18th-century composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and was the setting for parts of the musical "The Sound of Music". On the scientific front, it was also the birthplace of famous physicist Christian Doppler (of the well-known Doppler Effect).
After walking through the "Do-Re-Me" gardens (actually the Mirabellgarten, or beautiful garden) from the Sound of Music, we passed over a footbridge (complete with lovers' locks) to enter the Old Town. From almost everywhere you have views of the Hohensalzburg Castle, one-time home of the local Prince-Archbishops, which sits imposingly over the city.
In deference to the history, the hanging shop-signs are all in "theme" - even the local McDonalds!
I must admit, I don't understand it, but apparently some tourists come to Salzburg to shop - which is strange given the history, architecture and beauty all around.
We passed through a market and went past the Cathedral, to get to the much more important St Peter's Church and Cemetery, which date to the 12th century. The home of the Benedictine Monastery, St Peter's Abbey was founded in 696 by Saint Rupert, Salzburg's patron saint.
The present-day Romanesque building was dedicated in 1147.
The ceiling fresco is stunning:
Hohensalzburg Castle (literally "High Salzburg Fortress") sits atop the hill Festungsberg, overlooking the city. Built at the behest of the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg, largely to remove themselves from the riff-raff population of the city, with a length of 250 m (820 ft) and a width of 150 m (490 ft), it is one of the largest medieval castles in Europe.
Construction of the fortress began in 1077 and underwent numerous expansions over the centuries. The fort was surrendered without a fight to French troops under General Jean Victor Marie Moreau during the Napoleonic War of the Second Coalition in 1800 and the last Prince-Archbishop Count Hieronymus von Colloredo fled to Vienna. In the 19th century, it was used as barracks, storage depot and dungeon before being abandoned as a military outpost in 1861.
Today, the castle offers wonderful panoramic views over the city and surrounding countryside.
At 507 metres (1,663 ft) above sea level, the Mönchsberg, at 507 meters (1,663 ft) above sea level, is one of the five mountains of Salzburg. It is named after the Benedictine monks of St Peter's Abbey at the northern foot of the mountain (the church from earlier).
Personally, I preferred the views from this vantage point, because you get to see the Old Town and the castle - of course, from the castle, the one thing that you cannot see is the castle itself, so it's great that there is another high-up vantage point.
The first recording of a cathedral on this site dates to 774 (built by St Rupert), however, it burnt down and was replaced a number of times (8 in all), with the current Italian Baroque style structure dating to 1628. The cathedral was damaged during World War II when a single bomb crashed through the central dome over the crossing (the railway yards were the main targets); repairs were somewhat slow to take place, but restoration was complete by 1959.
The central crossing dome is impressive from the inside, and in its simplicity, possibly one of the most beautiful that I have seen so far on my travels - so for that alone I am glad that I made it inside.
In Salzburg, its monumental size is surpassed only by the Cathedral; with its grandiose façade it is one of the most magnificent Baroque churches in Austria and its style later influenced late Baroque church architecture in southern Germany. The consecration of the church began on November 20, 1707 and lasted for eight days.
Inside, there are the usual chapels, and also a number of quite delicate cherubs adorning various walls; all-in-all, I'm glad that I wandered in here.
Making it back to the meeting point at the allotted time, Valerie seemed surprised that we were all there - perhaps this doesn't happen every day! So that meant a leisurely pace back to the train station to catch the 5:12pm to Munich, where we arrived just after 7pm.
One of the really nice things about this tour was that with the free time we had, I didn't feel pressured or obligated to do anything or go anywhere in particular, but had more than sufficient information about the options available to be able to make some good decisions.
So, once again - a big thank you to Valerie and the team at Munich-Direct Tours - you can find them every morning from about 9:15/9:30am until 10:15am inside the main front entrance (at Bahnhofplatz) of the Munich Hauptbahnof (main train station), in front of Le Crobag Café, right next to Blumen flower shop.