We woke up bright and early to go on a guided tour of old town Salzburg. We first went to Mirabel Gardens--sight from the night before with the Milk Festival. There was no signs of the festival having taken place--instead it was simply a beautiful garden with a wonderful view of Old Town and the fortress behind.
We then walked across the river and through several little alleys to a market square--where David and I would later come for our lunch picnic. We visited several churches and graveyards and went back to the cathedral where we saw the labyrinth the night before. We got a Sound of Music introduction along the way.
Which, by the way, was one of the most annoying things for me about visiting Salzburg. It is a beautiful city with lots to offer, including being the birthplace of Mozart. But the Sound of Music dominates everything you see and do here. And while I did enjoy the movie, I don't really care if it is "factual" or if the movie producers changed a few things in the story to accommodate what would make a good and interesting movie plot. But everyone felt the need to "set things right" as if somehow it discredits the movie that basically put Salzburg on the map. Maybe I'm being picky, I'm not sure.
After our tour, David and I went back to the market and got lunch and then went to the river to eat our humongous pretzels, strawberries and coke. It was so cool by the river I wished I'd brought my jacket. Considering that it was 90 degrees elsewhere, it was very nice being cold.
Then we toured the museum of Mozart's birthplace. A very disappointing museum. We should have toured the residence, which, according to the rest of the tour that went there, was awesome. We went back to St. Peter's Church where I was the night before that was so crowded. I wanted David to see this church because it was so stunningly beautiful. There was a organist and singer practicing for a wedding--they were performing "Over the Rainbow." It was great hearing the music in that old church.
We then did some shopping (David got a painting and I got a necklace) and hung out until time to get ready for our Mozart Dinner Concert, which was one of the highlights of the trip. We had some decent food and wine broken up with music--both instrumental and opera. For one of the performances, the singers came over and sang our tour-mate Carl the "happy birthday" song. It was really sweet.
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