The past two days Case and I have toured the Hohensalzburg Fortress and the Hellbrunn Palace that are here in Salzburg! The Salzburg Card that we purchased when we first got here has by far been the most beneficial buy, as it's allowed us to skip all sorts of lines and get into these places without having to buy tickets, as well as being able to use all of the public transit including the cable car that took us up the steep cliff to the fortress. Makes it all a lot less stressful (and cheaper!) that's for sure.
Tomorrow we are going to hike the mountain to see Hitler's Eagle's Nest, and hopefully the weather isn't too bad.
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| View of Salzburg, Old Town is closest to us and on the other side of the river is New Town |
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| The fortress is huge! It's the largest and best-preserved fortress in Europe, with construction having started in 1077 and has been enlarged and renovated until the 17th century. |
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| Not entirely sure what this contraption is, but I'm fairly sure it's not used for thumb screws. Have to ask the expert in the picture. |
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| The fortress is also home to the Marionette Museum... creepy. |
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| Could really use some of that cash that's down there |
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| The Sound of Music puppets and set |
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| There were also WWI displays inside the fortress |
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| This room is the Golden Hall, where banquets and balls took place. A really fantastic wood paneled ceiling resembling the starry skies is supported by these giant twisted stone pillars. |
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| If you look closely, there are two turnips carved into the wall near the ceiling over the right arch, which happened to be Archbishop Leonhard von Keutschach's (one of Salzburg's rulers) personal symbol. The turnip was the staple food in Europe prior to the introduction of potatoes. |
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| A private toilet in the bedroom; quite a technological feat for the times! (think ~1500 AD) |
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| All of this detail is carved out of wood |
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| One of the oldest remaining parts of the fortress: an original chapel |
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| We climbed up to the Reck Watchtower to get an even better view of the city |
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| Some of the many buildings within the fortress |
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| One of the torture chambers on the way up to the Reck Watchtower |
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| The white house below is the Hangman's House. It is said that such was the desire of the citizens not to live next to the city's hangman, and so he was obliged to live alone in this isolated location. We walked by today, and people currently live there! I'd have to pass on that I think. |
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| This was on our walk back down, and on our way air raid sirens went off and all of the bells throughout the city began to ring. It was kind of frightening when we didn't know what was going on! I found out later that every Saturday at 12 noon they do a city-wide fire alarm by sounding the sirens. |
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| Hellbrunn Palace Christmas Market! |
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| The Hellbrunn Palace is famous for having trick fountains in the summer time, we looked today and saw that many of the statues have hidden water spouts inside the mouths! |
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| This is the trick fountain seating area. Markus Sittikus had these Roman theaters seats designed to spew out water without warning and soaking his guests as entertainment. |
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| Hidden spouts |
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| Checking to see if this guy's got all his molars. |
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| Probably trying to figure out how to get in |
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| Siblings |
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| The statue carvers here leave nothing to the imagination. |
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| A petting zoo in the Christmas market |
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| Lovely little things |
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| Krampus exhibit |
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| Krampus is a horned creature who is half-goat, half-demon. During the Christmas season, he punishes children who have misbehaved, whereas his partner St. Nick rewards the good kids with gifts. |
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| Festive and friendly |
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| A photo of a Krampus event that was on display |
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| A more severe consequence than a lump of coal is a visit from a goat demon |
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| A wood carved Krampus mask |
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| "If you're 555... |
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| Then I'm 666..." - Slipknot (Casey's caption) |
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| Salzburg at night |
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