It's 6 am and we just got up from a great night's sleep at a camp on the outskirts of Salzburg (salt castle) which is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872.

It is a city known for its Baroque architecture and is one of the best-preserved city centers north of the Alps. The historic center was enlisted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996 and has three universities and a large population of students. 

It's not Vienna but we both took a liking to this city because it had a little bit of a small-town feel about it.

It's impossible to avoid knowing that the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, was born and raised here. Every souvenir booth is selling his name. He was employed as a musician at the archbishops' Court from 1773 to 1781. His house of birth and residence are tourist attractions. His family is buried in a small church graveyard in the old town, and there are many monuments to "Wolferl" in the city. This was the house he grew up in and it was packed with tourists looking at it, maybe hoping he'll look out of a window? 

That would be a miracle Mom said, he hasn't been around for a long time, only his music is.

The Pferdeschwemme is one of the two preserved horse "baths" in Salzburg's old town. In the middle of the fountain is a large sculpture of a prancing horse. Some visitors like to throw coins into the well for good luck. It was here, in the heart of today’s Festival District, that parade horses from the Prince archbishops stables used to be washed off and groomed.

The Trapp Family, including Georg von Trapp, Maria von Trapp, and their children lived in Salzburg until they fled to the United States following the Nazi takeover.

“Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love – they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.” 

So says Orson Welles as Harry Lime in the 1949 film "The Third Man". Welles added those lines himself to a script based on Graham Greene’s original story. And though he may have been a genius, Welles was wrong about the history of the Cuckoo clock. “When the film came out “the Swiss very nicely pointed out that they’ve never made any cuckoo clocks!” Indeed, although often associated with Switzerland, the cuckoo clock was more likely invented in Germany sometime in the 17th century.  “likely” is because the origins of the cuckoo clock are unclear and its invention is still a topic of debate among horologists.

Some dogs are free to roam the streets without having a lead and I would like that a lot too, but Mom doesn't feel I would be safe if she let me do that. 

We sat down and watch these guys playing a giant game of chess and my money was on the guy with the hat, Mom said the guy with the knapsack... .....My guy won

Now I got to put that stupid muzzle on again just to get on the ride up to Hohensalzburg Fortress which was refurbished from the late 19th century onwards and became a major tourist attraction with the Festungsbahn funicular railway, opened in 1892, leading up from the town to the Hasengrabenbastei; It stands today as one of the best-preserved castles in Europe.

During the early 20th century it was used as a prison, holding Italian prisoners of war during World War I and Nazi activists before Germany's annexation of Austria in March 1938.

We had an amazing view of the city and the Alps. It was overcast so the pictures did not come out very well.

Mom says it's very important not to get dehydrated and we need to rest, so we sat down to admire the view for a while.

Saint Rupert founded the church in 774 on the remnants of a Roman town, and the cathedral was rebuilt in 1181 after a fire. In the seventeenth century, the cathedral was completely rebuilt in the Baroque style to its present appearance. Salzburg Cathedral still contains the baptismal font in which composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was baptized.

Not sure what this gold ball represents we couldn't find an explanation 

A lot of od scaffolding is being put up for an upcoming concert which spoiled the view of the church and the gorgeous statues 

Back in town being tourists we sat down on the steps of a bank to do some people-watching and all of a sudden ..............here come our friends from the UK that we met in Croatia. I greeted them with all the love kisses I have

Mom told them the importance of being hydrated and luckily there was a place right there so while they chatted over a beer I worked the tables where people were eating. Surprisingly nobody gave me anything despite my performance?

I think Mom had something to do about that shaking her head...........why I asked?   

Mom is afraid I get sick and fat

Saying goodbye to our friends we continued our walk to the Residenzplatz a large, stately square in the historic center of the city  Originally named Hauptplatz, it is now named after the Alte Residenz (Old Residence) of the Prince-Archbishops It is one of the city's most popular places to visit

Horse Fountain at the theResidenzplatz is a grand baroque fountain that looked enchanting with light passing through falling waters. This fountain was executed by Tomasso di Garona from 1656 to 1661 and is made of marble, and it is considered the largest baroque fountain in Middle Europe.

Four 45ft. tall horses leap out of the base with 2 streams of water jetting out of their mouths. The Greek God Triton spouts water from a seashell at the top of the fountain.

One of the filming locations of the movie Sound of Music was around this massive fountain. The scene was where Maria's family gleefully splashes while performing the song: "I have confidence in Me". 

There are beautiful horse carriers for tourists everywhere and we think they have it better than in Vienna because it's less busy here and no cars in Centrum

        .

 Allied bombing destroyed 7,600 houses and killed 550 inhabitants. Fifteen air strikes destroyed 46 percent of the city's buildings, especially those around Salzburg railway station. Although the town's bridges and the dome of the cathedral were destroyed, much of its Baroque architecture remained intact. As a result, Salzburg is one of the few remaining examples of a town of its style. American troops entered the city on 5 May 1945 and it became the center of the American-occupied area in Austria.

Oh, here's another interesting story for Jeopardy Watchers.......... Josef Mohr was born in Salzburg. Together with Franz Gruber, he composed and wrote the text for "Silent Night". As a priest in neighboring Oberndorf, he performed the song for the first time on Christmas Eve 1818.

Pretty soon Mom will pack things up and despite really enjoying this smaller city I would like a place even less busy for a change and she promised me we'll find a relaxing quiet place somewhere north of here. 

We're off to new sights and new adventures

Stay hydrated ya all 

Wet kisses Henry

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