I Am a Goat

I am feeling rather bright-eyed and bushy-tailed after two days of invigorating mountain air and enough vitamin D to ensure that I am several steps closer to having some resemblance of colour, Birkenstock tan marks included. Aside from one freak storm, I was blessed with blue skies and temperatures soaring to ice cream diet temperatures (ice cream which was a strong contender for Granada's Claire!). Salzburg (or Sainsbury as my darling Ma keeps referring to it as; imagine an entire weekend at a supermarket, how great would that be!) is nothing but charming, with Mozart accosting you around every corner, crouching alleys leading to catacomb spaces, American women Austrian spirit dressed Maria Von Trapp style, overlooked by Monchsberg peak upon which sits Europe's oldest fortress, Hohenslzburg, and stunning snow capped mountains. Many a mountain was climbed and several occasions found lost, ridiculous amounts of photos taken (approximately seven per hour),and only one wierdo. The beautiful Mirabell gardens are lovely, and if you wander off the beaten path in the forest you may come across a group of old men and a cooker having lunch. They may be forest dwellers or perhaps have just decide to create homeliness for the day. Of all the Mozart sights of interest, I only went to Mozarthaus; a bizarre museum/artistic representation of his childhood in the residence where he was born, including a scary half man half baby doll and a drawing insinuating that he had an ear piercing!! Itziar and I had quite a giggle and some of the strange exhibits. A little south of the town centre is Hellbrunn; a palace, gardens, and trick fountains created by a Prince-Archbishop with a splendid sense of humour for whimsical days in the summer. The trick fountains are well worth the visit, involving seats that shoot water if guests get too rowdy, and doorways that shower unsuspecting visitors. As it dates back to the 16th C, it is all powered by water pressure; an amazing feat of engineering. You are guaranteed to get wet, which is unfortunate for all these Europeans that like to wear white pants! Somewhere in the grounds is the Sound of Music pavilion, which I spent hours looking for but neglected to find as I arrived late and had limited time due to the fact that the Salzburg Marathon was on that day so the buses weren't running until after 3pm.

I must admit that Salzburg offered more than I expected, and would have perhaps even like an extra day there; the hills were definitely alive with the sound of my smile! As it had been a month and a half since my last trip I was definitely getting a little caught up in the mundaness of everyday life, and this short but sweet excursion has reminded me of why I am here.

TASTY TREATS

To be fair, I dined mostly on ice cream and pretzels, but there were a couple newbies to my list of regional delicacies. With my lust for liquorice I was rather excited by this hard bread thing that looked like a giant cookie with fennel seeds. The lady at the stand warned me that it was hard, and boy was she right!! To tend to my amorous feelings for almonds, there was the Echte Salzburger Mozartkugel involving marzipan, nougat creme, and chocolate; the sweet ambassador for Austria.