Salzburg castle on top of a hill

Salzburg, the birth place of Wolfgang Mozart, the prolific and influential composer of the classical era, has a special place in the hearts of music lovers across the world. Nature is rocking its own cradle here with the snow-clad Alps overarching and the resplendent Austrian architecture weaving a brilliant beauty in the land which is cut in the middle by the gurgling Salzach river.

The charm that Salzburg weaves is mystic with the mist emanating from Alps setting the perfect stage. The idyllic city and its suburbs, located west of Vienna — and needs three hours travel from the Austrian capital by rail – are lavishly decorated with meadows spread in acres where small yet inspiringly beautiful yellow-headed dandelions peep out through lush green grasses to see the outer world. The sight of these meadows is simply awesome.
The classic movie The Sound of Music which was shot at Salzburg, tells the story of Von Trapp family hailing from Salzburg during the Second World War era. It has streets and countrysides that have a leisurely pace and are safe even in nights and inhabited by gentle people. The Salzburg castle, gorgeously set on a hill atop the city centre must be one of the most romantic castles of Europe, passionately visited by tourists from across the world. The Von Trapp villa can still be spotted on the city landscape, neatly kept.
The Salzach River, flowing a stone’s throw away from the castle, actually gives the romantic charm to the city that plays host to grand old buildings. The meadows on the sides of the banks sloping into the river are a haunt of people who like to bask in sunshine when the climate turns bright. Ducks that are capable of flying long-distances also take off and get down to the rushing peach like water of the river and make merry. One or two high-power boats are also deployed in the waters to carry tourists through the river.
The sight-seeing spots in Salzburg include the Hellbrunn Park where a vast green meadow and tulips in a myriad beautiful shades and also maples invite natives every evening. Cuddling lovers could be seen there while elders engage themselves in a game of football to keep fit even as young mothers bring children to the children’s park there. At Helbrunn, the famous pavilion used in the song ‘I am sixteen going on seventeen’ in Sound of Music is exhibited.
Mirabell Gardens is another exquisite invite of Salzburg. The original gardens were re-modelled according to plans by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach under the reign of Prince Archbishop Johann Ernst Thun in 1689.
Today Mirabell Palace houses the offices of Salzburg’s mayor and the municipal council. The Marble Hall, formerly the prince-archbishops’ ballroom and concert venue for Leopold Mozart and his children Wolfgang and Nannerl, is a beautiful wedding hall also. Mirabell is filled with flowers of myriads colours, fountains and statutes and is swarmed by tourists from Europe, Asia and America.
Trekking or driving by a bike or car to the peaks in the Alps like Untesburg and Gaisberg and the grand view of the Salzburg town and the landscape from the peaks leaves a great feeling in the mind that lasts for a long time to come. The view of and from the highest point of Alps in the region at Grossglockner, a valley of snow built by mountains silhouetted against the sky, is just amazing. It’s a two hour drive from Salzburg.
Another specialty of Salzburg is that it is dotted with nearly a dozen clean and beautiful lakes where boating is possible.