Salzburg

Slazburg ...

a very easy city to visit

public transport is great 

our camp was expensive, but lovely gardens, big trees, great facilities and exceptionally helpful staff

has a great inner city walk amongst large trees from the old fort down to the river with perfect views at every turn ( thanks Deb for this suggestion)

celebrates Mozart's birthplace and we loved the museum in his former home where I saw one of the violins he played

Had a choir singing sounds of angels as we viewed the sights of the Dom (the cathedral) from our spot up in the balcony

has the lovely Mirabella gardens 

And was where I tasted my first aperol spritz... A cocktail drink I'm going to have to get dave to serve at the Big Orange.

And here we also did the ...

Dom Platz - the residence of past bishops and the rulers of the day - living in staggering and obscene opulence in the name of God and as the rulers of the day. Generations of these guys were heralded as the founders of the city as they funded and sought to develop the grand buildings. While we toured through huge stately rooms, heather commented that I had the attention span of a gnat, as I fast forwarded the audio guide and just took the interesting bits. But I'd usually fare reasonably well when she'd test me on my general knowledge at the end of the visit. 

I was particularly fascinated with the heating furnaces, something I've been seeing for weeks and not known what they were. In this particular palace, they were installed in the 1600's , and are often ornate ceramic towers that look a lot like giant wedding cakes, standing about 8-10 feet tall. Behind these were huge fire pits and chimneys, and a space where the coals and embers could be placed inside the furnace. These interior fireplaces were nestled between walls, in a space big enough for a small room in our homes, but I guess on the scale of these palaces, it was inconsequential. 

The most interesting fact I learnt here - the closer the guests got to an audience with the prince archbishop, the smaller the rooms became ( as not many got this supreme privilage), and the rooms were not furnished with chairs, but the ornate tapestries and frescoes were said to keep the would be guests entertained. As they were reminded of their place in the world according to the spiritual order.

At another gallery visit, where I chose to sit in the wings and rest up rather than tour yet another exhibition, heather announced that I had missed seeing a real masterpiece by Rembrandt. So up I got, whizzed through the rooms, looking out for the biggest and grandest, 

As Heather wasn't going to help me here. But they had saved the best for last, and in its own room, behind several layers of plate glass, was a small yet devine painting on copper, of an old women praying. Unlike Heather, I stayed and read the exhibit info, and so could educate her for a change on some of the details that contributed to making this a masterpiece. AND I really liked it.