Christmas in Salzburg

Snow capped mountains, a fortress looking down from a sheer cliff face, a cathedral lined river meandering through the middle of the city.  Add some Christmas markets, ice skating rinks, roasted almonds and gluhwein, and you've got a pretty special place to spend Christmas.

In Salzburg, music fills every part of the city, from the rooftop orchestra playing out over the Christmas markets to classical concerts in the old prince archbishop residence, and of course the 2 main tourist draw cards- Mozart and the Sound of Music.  The city is Mozart mad, with Mozart museums, Mozart concerts, Mozart chocolate, Mozart liqueur, Mozart souvenirs.  We went to both the Mozart Geburtshaus (where Mozart was born) and the Mozart Wohnhaus (where Mozart lived his early years) which had all the information and displays you could possibly want to see about the life and works of Mozart, and the period during which he lived.

Mozart Geburtshaus museum

Spotlight on the rooftop orchestra

The rugged landscape in which the town is built means there is plenty of places to take in the picturesque views of the city from above.  Just across the river from the old town is Kapuzinerberg mountain.  One morning we walked through the forest where, even though we didn't make it all the way to the top, there was nice views in all directions, but particularly over the river and the old town.  Back on the other side of the river, the Hohensalzburg Castle also has nice views over the town and the countryside.  Although there is an elevator and a funicular that can take you up the cliff to the castle, we found some stairs and a nice walking track up to the top.  This gave us a bit more time to enjoy the view and a sense of achievement as we explored the castle grounds.

Path up to Kapuzinerberg

Through the forest on Kapuzinerberg mountain

Views over the city from Kapuzinerberg

View over the countryside from the Hohonsalzburg castle

The nearby mountain peak of Untersberg is a favourite of Salzburg locals as it is always visible on the horizon.  We hopped on the local bus and took the 25 minute ride to the Untersbergbahn cable car, both of which were included in the Salzburg card (which made it quite good value).  The cable car took us to the top of the snow covered peak which had beautiful views over the green fields towards Salzburg and also over the snowy alps in the other direction.  It was nice to spend an hour or so on the peak in the snow, where there were a few short walking tracks that didn't need any special snow or hiking gear.

Trying the local cuisine is always a must-do when travelling, and Salzburg did not disappoint.  Along with the Christmas market foods, soup and goulash were favourites in the cold, wintry conditions.  A specialty dessert from the area is called Nockerl, a fluffy, sweet souffle that is served as a wave-like shape, bearing some resemblance to the Sydney Opera House.  On another night we experienced the very authentic Augustiner Braustubl, a large beer hall run by the Augustiner monastery.  It is a bit intimidating upon arrival as it is very loud and busy, but after you pick up your own ceramic beer from the shelf, fill it with the one type of in-house brewed beer and take a seat on the old wooden pews around the large shared tables, it is time to relax.  The corridors around the main hall have stalls selling food that you can enjoy with your beer.

Select a mug

Wash it out at the fountain

Fill with beer, then find a seat in the beer hall

On Christmas Eve, we went on a Sound of Music bus tour.  It was pretty cheesy but it was nice to see some of the landscape and towns outside of Salzburg, as the tour took us to see many of the locations where scenes from the movie were filmed.  It was a good use of the day as many of the shops, cafes and restaurants were closed on the 24th and 25th of December, even in the tourist centre.  Finding a restaurant for Christmas Eve dinner would have been difficult.  Fortunately we had booked in advance for a nice dinner at the Mercure Hotel, but even when we were looking 1 month ahead of time most things were booked out.  I would definitely recommend to anyone thinking of spending Christmas in Salzburg to book somewhere well in advance.

The mansion that was used for the set of  the Von Trapp house in the Sound of Music

The church in Mondsee where the wedding scene in the Sound of Music was filmed

Mondsee

Mirabell gardens

View back to the city from Mirabell gardens

On Christmas morning, we took one final look around the city as we headed to the central train station for the next leg of our Christmas journey- Switzerland.