Friday, April 1, 2011

Salzburg Austria Travel

Austria was part of our itinerary during our Europe vacation package. Salzburg 'Salt Castle' is the fourth largest city in Austria. Salzburg was listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997 and is renowned for its spectacular Alpine setting.

Austria is well known as the city for the filming of “Sound of Music” and the birthplace of a famous 18th century composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Check out the spectacular Alpine setting in the background of the opening scene from the Sound of Music

After watching the movie “Sound of Music”, a musical production by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, which our wonderful tour manager Ricky Tiang specially brought for us whilst traveling to Salzburg, we visited some of the places where the movie was filmed:- the Mirabelle Gardens, Residence Square, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s birthplace at No. 9 Getridegasse Street.

Mirabel Gardens is one of the famous and beautiful baroque gardens.  Built in the 18th century, the gardens has countless statues throughout the park.  In the centre is a big fountain with four statues symbolizing the four elements of nature: earth, fire, water, and air.


The fountain surrounded by four elements of nature - not able to see clearly due to the snow
This is where one of the scenes from The Sound of Music was filmed and you can see Maria and the children dancing round the fountain.

One of the many statues

Another statue in Mirabel Gardens


Mirabel Gardens - all covered in snow

Grounds of Mirabel Gardens
The gates to Mirabel Gardens
St Peter's Cemetery, Salzburg
 St Peter's Cemetery is the oldest Christian cemetery in Salzburg.  Immortalized in the film The Sound of Music, St Peter's Cemetery dates back to 1627.

St Peter's Cemetery

St Peter's

St Peter's

In St Peter's Abbey

St Peter's Stiftskeller in Salzburg - one of the most exclusive restaurants located in St Peter's Abbey offering Austrian specialties

Entrance to St Peter's Stiftskeller

St Peter's Abbey, Salzburg

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was among the most popular of classical composers who composed more than six hundred music pieces.

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart's birthplace at 9 Getridegasse St
 Mozart's birthplace is now a museum which hosts precious memorabilia of Mozart such as the violin that Mozart used to play with, his portraits, letters and so on.



The doorway to 9 Getridegasse St

Capitalizing on the name of Mozart

We also saw the Salzburg Duomo and the Salzburg Castle. And since Christmas is just around the corner, there was also the Salzburg Christmas Market where we were given some free time to roam around and enjoy the snowfall.

Rock Riding School
 Currently the Rock Riding School, this is where one of the most famous scenes in the movie, The Sound of Music, was filmed.  Here, the von Trapp family sang the song "Edelweiss".

An Austrian traditional dress

Christmas season
Along the way, we passed by this statue on a bicycle
 The Salzburg Cathedral is a 17th century baroque cathedral.  The first Dom was completed in 774.


The present cathedral was completed in 1628.

















As the Salzburg Cathedral was partially damaged during World Was II, restoration was complete by 1959.



Organ

Salzburg Cathedral

Dome of the Salzburg Cathedral

Interior

Inside the cathedral

Another view of the dome

Close up view of the Dome of the Salzburg Cathedral

Exterior of the Salzburg Cathedral

A unusual treat

A souvenir shop

Mozart's chocolate

Enjoying a cup of hot chocolate

Mozart's chocolates for Christmas

Christmas items on sale at the Salzburg Christmas market

The Residence Fountain 
The Residence Fountain in Residence Square is supposed to be one of the most beautiful fountains in Salzburg.  Built between 1658 - 1661, the Residence Fountain is made of marble and is the largest  baroque fountain in the world.  Its waterspouting horses reached world fame thanks to their appearance in The Sound of  Music.



Residence Square

At the Salzburg Christmas Market

Beautiful Christmas tree

Residence Square

Salzburg Christmas Market

Residence Square is an especially magnificent forecourt in the heart of Salzburg's Old City.  This is a popular venue for events and is where the traditional Salzburg Christmas Market is held.  You can pick up last minute Christmas gifts such as toys, Christmas decorations and even Christmas delights.







Bookmark & Share

No comments:

Post a Comment