The kids were feeling a bit cooped up when we decided to do a daytrip to Salzburg, Austria. The hike up to the fortress helped use a huge amount of their energy (thankfully!). Lucy doesn't remember visiting Salzburg as a 5-month-old, but I vividly remember my brother Sam hiking all the way up with my chubby wiggly daughter strapped to his chest in a Baby Bjorn.(Sam, did I thank you enough at the time? If not, thank you thank you again! I could barely drag myself to the top!) Gavin was very taken with the castle and said it reminded him of Minas Tirith in the Lord of the Rings.
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| Festung Hohensalzburg. Seriously hohe. |
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| Race to the top. These guys are crazy. |
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Every medieval castle should have free wi-fi!
Austin was giddy. |
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| "The tree of Minas Tirith" |
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| A gorgeous spring day. |
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| A gorgeous view. |
I have a soft spot for churches and cemeteries. Especially baroque churches and over-the-top cemeteries. Luckily, our visit to Salzburg was early enough in the trip that the kids had not yet declared that they Would. Not. Visit. Another. Church.
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| Nun holding a church! |
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| Cool crypt art. |
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| Salzburg cemetery. |
Salzburg is the birthplace of Mozart, and they get a little crazy about Mozart. Every shop is packed with Mozartkugeln (Mozart Balls), a rather overrated chocolate-marzipan candy, and other interesting Mozart-themed items. After a lot of looking we found Gavin the perfect feathered Denker hat and a hat pin from Salzburg. From that point throughout the trip, my son looked like a little German grandpa.
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| New hat! |
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Mozart looking askance at the Mozart duckies,
spring-loaded Mozart dolls, and Lucy. |
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| Headed back to Augsburg on the train. |
