There's More to Salzburg than The Sound of Music and Mozart!
Yes, Salzburg has hills and the beautiful Mirabell Gardens. It also has Leopoldskron Palace where you can spend the day retracing the footsteps of Maria and the von Trapp children while quietly wondering why your family refuses to sing in harmony with you.
But Salzburg was serving up drama long before Hollywood arrived, and long before the von Trapp kids were even out of diapers!
Long before Julie Andrews arrived with a guitar, a young composer named Mozart was making music in Salzburg. A child prodigy, he performed throughout the courts of Europe, even becoming a court musician. It was here where he quickly rejected being treated like an employee and promptly left Salzburg for Vienna where he felt he could find more appreciation.
The irony? Salzburg now celebrates Mozart everywhere.
The city, itself, was ruled for centuries by Prince-Archbishops, who apparently felt that being both a religious leader and a political powerhouse wasn't enough. They also needed the enormous palaces, elaborate gardens and enough bling to make a king blush to go along with it!
Then there's the salt which paid for all the bling. Salzburg literally owes much of its wealth and name to salt, one of Europe's most valuable commodities.
But Salzburg saved some of its best weirdness for Christmas. Because when December arrives, Krampus comes out. And we're not talking about a cute little Christmas mascot.
We're talking fur-covered, horned, bell-ringing creatures with terrifying masks running through the streets. The basic idea is a wonderfully simple good cop/bad cop arrangement.
St. Nicholas rewards the good children with treats and small gifts. Krampus deals with the naughty ones. Made with everything from birch branches to fur and bells, these creatures appear on December 5th flooding the streets of Salzburg and this year, Europe Bound Journeys will be in attendance!
So yes, go to Salzburg for The Sound of Music. Sing the songs. Visit the gardens. Take the pictures. But stick around for Mozart, medieval power struggles, prince-archbishops, salt barons and Christmas demons!
Because sometimes, the hills are alive with more than the sounds of singing!
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