Salt in Salzburg?!

Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and scenes from The Sound of Music. The city of Salzburg is also famous for its Baroque style architecture and is well maintained and very quaint and lovely. Salzburg sits on the banks of the Salzach River at the northern boundary of the famous Alps. Salzburg means, "salt castle." The city's wealth was due to the mining of salt and transport of the salt on barges that uses the Salzach River, where tolls were collected for the transport of salt. Salt at one point in parts of Europe was a form of currency. There are old salt mines located in the city's outskirts for tourists to visit.

The famous landmark in Salzburg is the Holhensalzburg Fortress, which sits on the highest point in Salzburg. Going up to the fortress is a must as you get a panoramic view of the the city from its "old town" and Baroque architecture (the Old Town of Salzburg was declared in 1997 as a UNESCO World Heritage site). In addition to the view of the town and the Salzach River, you get a clear view of the Alps to the South and the rolling plains to the North. This is a must visit when you are in Salzburg and I strongly suggest you visit the Fortress first as you get the lay of the land. You can use the cable railway located on Festungsgasse. From January to April and October to December the Fortress is opened from 9:30am to 5pm and May to September is opened from 9am to 7pm.

You can easily get around Salzburg on foot or on bicycle. However, keep in mind some places you cannot ride the bike and must get off your bike and push your bike through the area.

Continue to follow my blog for more updates and will cover more on Salzburg tomorrow.