Saturday Afternoon in Salzburg (End of 2nd Day)

Picking up where my last post left off in the afternoon of our second day in Salzburg, we grabbed some lunch at the Gyro place with a Turkish twist. It was the same place we grabbed a late night snack at yesterday. On Blake’s recommendation, I had gotten the Durum “Classic” yesterday and I got the same thing again today. Man, that burrito style sandwich is awesome! It is made with spiced lamb which they have run-through with a huge rotating skewer and you get to see them slice it off right there. Then they add lettuce, some tomato, and this awesome sauce that is kind of like ranch, but with an extra ingredient. They also put curry and some other spices into the mix to add more zest. It is served warm and the result of all this is an explosion of flavor that is filling, warming, and satisfying.

Then we proceeded to wonder around Salzburg town for a little while, making sure we hit all of the best shops, the big town squares, giant marble statues, fountains, and yes, the monster Castle Holhensalzburg looming upon a mountain overlooking the ancient city of Salzberg. In fact, Austin and I bought tickets to enter the Castle and it was absolutely amazing! The sheer scale of the Castle is astonishing as it really takes up the entire top of a mountain. Its walls extend even further out than that with the last wall snaking through several mountains and leading to other smaller forts. There are many keeps and just as many different layers of walls. Construction on the Castle was begun in 1077 A.D. and was built kind of in phases, with each Arch bishop that ruled over the town adding their own section. The first Castle Hohensalzburg was built between 1077 and almost 1100 A.D. and was built over the reigns of a couple of Archbishops (ending with Konrad I) in the Romanesque style architecture. Then succeeding Archbishops continued to add new walls, buildings, keeps, and layers. The last piece added on was finished in the early 1700s, but the Castle remained in use until the 1950s and into the 1960s.

Not only did the exhibits in this castle teach us about the history and beauty of the castle, but they also informed us about the history of the town and surrounding region. In fact, there have been numerous inhabitants of the region, including the Romans, as well as even older civilizations. It was simply breathtaking as I constantly imagined old Austrian soldiers marching up the steep road to the monolithic fortress. Whenever I saw a tower and its arrow slits or the gaping holes in the exterior wall overhanging the approach below, I would envision what it would be like to storm such a castle while being showered with arrows from the towers and boiling oil from the overhang. But castles were not just places of violence; they were also a major center of commerce and often included large courtyards in the middle for markets. The courtyard at Hohensalzburg was huge! It was about 150 yards long by 100 yards wide with a large stone well right in the center.

The views over Salzburg and the surrounding countryside from such a high perch were expansive, but what caught my eye most were the many signs posted all around the castle indicating when each part was built and by whom. I loved this part because it constantly sent me back in time. Each sign made me think about what was going on in Austria as well as the rest of the world at the time, and also about the progression of the castle through hundreds of years of change and renovation.

Anyhow, after the castle visit, Austin and I met back up with Blake, Katie, and Jordan (the other three friends of ours on the trip) and retired to the hotel for napping, journaling, blogging, and skyping. After about 2 hours we struck out for the town again, this time in search of some grub. We found a little Italian place by the river and decided to go in. The food was great, the company better, but the interior decorating was quite atrocious. In fact, it served for great table talk as we waited for our food. I had some spicy pasta with bacon, salami, and tomato sauce while the others got fish or pizza.

We finished our dinner around 9:30pm and decided to cap off the night with some dessert. We decided to go to the Sacher Hotel where they served the supposedly world renowned Sacher Chocolate Torte, which was delightful even though I had never heard of it. Finally, after the pasta had filled our bellies and the torte had satisfied our taste buds, we headed home and fell fast asleep.