Linz was our next stop up the
Danube. This city is another that has
been around for over a thousand years.
It is the home of two universities that educate European’s at no cost to
the student. Salzburg has three
universities.
(Aside) Could it be that
better educated people are least likely to become a drain on countries where
this not the case?
But, what was important to
this cruise is this is the gateway to Salzburg.
We traveled about two hours by bus to this magical town lead by Helmut,
with two dots over the U. An Austrian by
birth, he lives part time in Linz and part time in Salzburg. He regaled us with stories about The Sound of
Music and Mozart for the entire trip up to Salzburg. (Sorry, we didn’t get a picture of him in
his authentic Austrian garb.)
People of Salzburg are not
altogether thrilled with the depiction of the Von Trapp family in the
movie. But, Hollywood was not to be
denied. The family did escape the Nazi
annexation of Austria by escaping to Italy.
Not by climbing 600 miles over the Alps, but by train. Not as romantic for sure. A funny story Helmut told was the scene in
which the Nazi banners were hung up for the movie were left up over night. The next morning a Russian contingent of
politicians arrived in Salzburg to witness the banners hanging in the
square. Not what they were expecting,
I’m sure.
Of course there were
Christkindl Markets galore but Chris and I took the funicular up to the castle
to witness an exquisite view of the city.
This is also where I believe Chris fell in love with sausage. Never one to partake in sausage, “too many hard
chunks to bite into”, she loved the Brats and beer.
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| View from the Castle in Salzburg |
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On the way back, Helmut was
asked more about Mozart, who never had the name Amadeus except in the movie. He
also did not die a pauper. He was,
however, buried in a mass grave. His son
was also a composer who suffered from the identity crisis that comes
from having a famous father.
All fun stuff we learned on
our trip up the Danube.
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