In which we visit the Salzburg Fortress/Castle/Thing

26.05.13

Salzburg Excursion, Day 2

After having slept quite well, we woke up the next morning and had breakfast at the hotel, which consisted of a roll, butter and marmalade, and spreadable meat paste if you were so inclined.

Here we are gathering in the lobby before heading out for the day.

The first stop on our journey was the Festung, the castle which overlooks Salzburg.  To get there, you can walk up a trail or take a funicular railway to the top.  Our SalzburgCards provided us with access to public transportation and one free entrance to most attractions in the city, including a free funicular ride.  The word funicular, by the way, has been burned into my brain by the English translation loud speaker announcer on the tram in Graz, which translates Schlossbergbahn as Schlossberg funicular, which really doesn't explain much.  Anyway, here we are waiting for the next train departure.

Here we are boarding the train.

And then we go up...

And up...

And into a tunnel cut through the walls of the fortress.

The Festungsbahn lets out on one of the lower levels of the fortress.  We intended to take a tour through some of the inner rooms, which required going up stairs.  Before that, we enjoyed the view and took pictures.

Here's a view of Salzburg.  The building to the right with the copper domes is the cathedral.  Further explanations of this view are just going to have to wait until I get home and can physically point at the picture.

This is the mountain the castle is on.  Where the castle is, it's called the Festungsberg, and farther down (right side of the image) it's called the Mönchsberg, or Monk's Mountain, due to a monastery on that end.  Geologically, it's one big long hill.

Thanks to my awesome students, there are actually some pictures with me in them!

My attempts at a self portrait weren't turning out very well if I tried to smile, so this was my solution.