Today we drive to Salzburg, the city of salt, a valuable commodity back in the middle ages and the root not only of Salzburg but also of the word salary. The ride through the Austrian countryside is beautiful with snowy Alps as the backdrop.
We are staying at the Hotel Elefant right in the middle of the pedestrian zone. This prime location makes it difficult to get to by car. After parking far away and finding the hotel on foot, we tromp back to the car and move it to a closer parking lot and tromp back to the hotel dragging our luggage with us.
We decide to go to the Neue Residenz which now houses the Salzburg Art Museum. They are having an exhibition of religious art from the Middle Ages. Wow, could anything be more perfect? But first, lunch.
As we seem to be doing, we find an Italian restaurant for lunch and decide to make lunch the main meal of the day. Although John’s pasta with tuna looks good, Sarah is the winner with grilled calamari with potatoes and vegetables. I wimp out with pizza and a salad. I am just not feeling adventuresome today.
After lunch we are off to the museum. John opts for the audio guide but Sarah and I want to test our saint-identifying skills (plus there are English placards explaining everything in each room.) We have a great time. Oh, there’s St. Catherine and her wheel and St. Denis carrying his chopped off head! We catalogue a few new saints such as St. Wolfgang with his axe and St. Leonard with his chains and fetters. It appears that there are some great reference books to expand our saint attribute knowledge but they are only in German. Rats! Sarah and I take a little break and play a magic square game. We get some looks from the lady in charge. We think maybe these games are supposed to be only for children.
Later we walk around the cute old section of Salzburg, pose by the Mozart statue and find some wine and snacks for dinner.
Tomorrow we will tackle the Old Residenz, the Cathedral, Mozart House/Museum, Fortress, and hopefully find somewhere for some live music.