Salzburg, Austria

Go Ahead placed us in a sweet little hotel right at Mirabell Gardens in the "new" section of Salzburg. It was just a few blocks walk to one of the bridges that cross over the Salzach river and into Old Town Salzburg. We crossed over right next to the Hotel Sacher. Yes, that Sacher...as in torte...as in chocolate heaven. At this point in the tour we had a guide so I just made mental notes of all the places I wanted to return to and the shops I wanted to go in. There are so many right as you cross the river that will beckon you inside! (as always, just click on the photo to see the larger version)

This funny little guy reminded me so sharply of Harry Potter that I couldn't resist taking a photo of him. I was to quickly learn that he was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to the metal signs in Old Town Salzburg!

 He, also, wasn't the only "critter" I was to find on our walk. This gargoyle had many of us guessing exactly what type of critter it  is actually supposed to be. Demon? Dragon? Dog? What is your guess?

 The signs were many and they were extremely ornate here. What I loved most was the use of color in the signs. Many of them had not only the black iron but also the gold leaf and orange, yellow, blue and red painted iron! Beautiful.

I don't think you could say this is a "critter" but we stopped and admired the artwork. I, originally, took the photo as a way to dress up a skeleton for Halloween but, once I got it home and started really looking at it, I realized that he is amazing to look at because of the details. He was in the same cemetery they used to film The Sound of Music. This will hardly be my only reference to that movie while writing about Salzburg. So many of it's details and scenery were used in the filming of this movie to not notice them as we walked through the city.

 The funniest sign was this one for a tailor. The little short pants hanging from the amazingly ornate sign post had us all giggling like 12 year old girls.  

 Speaking of clothing. These do look like they are out of The Sound of Music but this shop caters to the local people. We were told that the older generation, over 40, still wears this type of clothing daily and we did see several people wearing them. My theory is that only the older generation can afford them! The ladies ensemble would cost around a thousand US dollars!

 Hands down this was my favorite sign. "Busy" doesn't begin to describe it! I can't think of anything that was left out. There is the golden eagle, the crown, the lions, the flowers, the filigree, a holy cross and even a crest all fit into one sign! We were fairly amazed by it and I became completely enamored.

I'll be heading further into Old Town Salzburg and we'll visit the most breathtaking church I have ever seen!

Cat