Day 35 Salzburg

We woke up to a crisp blue sky in Innsbruck with spectacular views of the Alps surrounding the city. Our train ride to Salzburg was uneventful except for the beautiful panorama rushing past our windows; sprawling castles set high up on snowy mountains. We are staying in a great hotel near the train station with plenty of room and a swimming pool - rare to find but certainly worth it for the boys.

We had a terrific walk through the Altstadt. Another St. Peter's and another gorgeous cathedral (Mozart was baptized in this one). It is hard to find a building that doesn't make some claim to Mozart. The main shopping street is filled with elaborate wrought iron signs. The window shopping was fun - Lederhosen are far more expensive than one imagines. In the heart of the Aldstadt is a sprawling Christmas market. This one was far more focused on locally produced goods than the others we had seen. In fact it was a bit of work to locate a food stand. Similar to the Innsbrucker, the local sausage sandwich here is actually a pair of sausages in a roll - this time with an herb mustard.

 Mixed in with all of the Christmas decorations, we found Krampus masks scattered throughout the shops and the Christmas market. The Krampus day is an Austrian tradition on December 5, the day before St. Nikolaus comes - in a variety of versions, the Krampus men either beat the bad out of the children so that they can receive treats from St. Nikolaus or they carry off the bad chilrden.

The weather was quite cold so we decided to hop on a horse and buggy and bundle ourselves under the thick blankets as we rode past the main sights. Our ride finished just in time to take in a concert by a visiting chorus; a good mix of Christmas carols, both religious and contemporary. From there we headed to Mozartplatz where the boys ice skated for about an hour while Barb and I warmed ourselves at a nearby firepit. The sky was dark but the city was well lit and the hustle and bustle of shoppers and tourists seemed part of a timeless ritual. In fact much of the city's fortune is derived from its strategic location at a major north-south and east-west crossroads. It had been growing rich for centuries but when people began making pilgrimages to the city of Mozart, things really started to pick up. Now more than 8 million people visit each year. Throw in nearby access to a salt mine and you have the perfect formula for wealth and diversity. Yet for all its strategic value, the castle overlooking the city was never taken by force. Of course, they did voluntarily surrender to Napoleon, but I guess that doesn't really count for the locals.