Today we are off to Salzburg – famous as the birthplace of Mozart, the Von Trapp family and the Sound of Music. It was a four or five hour trip from Vienna to Salzburg but was broken up by a stop in the gorgeous town of Halstatt to perform at the Lutheran Church. It is a town that has literally been built into the side of a mountain and there is so little space that the houses are built on top of one another. No cars are allowed in the downtown area (except by special permit) and there were tourists galore. Our stop there was just under two hours which included a 45 minute concert. It would have been nice to have been able to stop for a longer visit.

We arrived in Salzburg about 6pm and just had time to stash our luggage in the room before heading down to a roast beef dinner in the hotel dining room. As a bonus we had two deserts tonight – one from the hotel and one compliments of the Ambrose family to celebrate John and Katherine’s 51st wedding anniversary. One could put on some weight on this trip!

After dinner we met our guides and did a two hour walking tour of Salzburg. History is everywhere here including a Fransciscan Church dating back to the 8th Century, Mozart’s birthplace, the building where his father taught violin lessons, the family gravesite (although Mozart is actually buried in Vienna), the Hohensalzburg Fortress and Salzburg Cathedral. We also saw the fountain that appeared in the Sound of Music movie. Tomorrow we will see more movie sites as we do the Sound of Music tour.

Back to the hotel now for a good night’s rest. Tomorrow will be another busy day.