Let me explain how we ended up in Salzburg.
Nicholas wanted to run across a field yelling “THE HILLS ARE ALIIIIVE.” That was the whole reason. He’d seen The Sound of Music enough times, and Salzburg was on the way from Český Krumlov, so he said, and I quote, “we have to go.”
We got there. He Googled the hills. They were all on private land. You had to take a tour bus with a guide and a scheduled stop and a gift shop, and Nicholas would rather eat his own passport than do that.
So that was the end of the Sound of Music dream. Before it even started.
The thing is, once we stopped being disappointed about the hills, we realized Salzburg is kind of amazing.
Morning: The Hill Behind the Hotel#
We were staying at the Stein Hotel, which sits right on the Salzach River in the Old Town. That first morning, we noticed a path going up the hill behind the hotel. It looked like a casual walk.
It was not a casual walk.
The path turned into a proper hike up the Kapuzinerberg, which is basically a forested mountain rising straight out of the city on the east bank. Steep switchbacks, stone steps, the whole deal. The higher we got, the more ridiculous the views became.
At the top, the path wound through old fortress ruins hidden in the forest. Crumbling stone walls, overgrown archways, little windows looking out over the valley. The kind of place that makes you feel like you’ve accidentally found something you weren’t supposed to.
Midday: Town Wandering#
Back down in the city, we wandered through the streets on the way to Mirabell Gardens.
We found two things Nicholas wanted to photograph for his sisters. First: a café called “From Julia: Origin of Life” with the most plant-based, crystal-energy, hippy menu you’ve ever seen. Very much Julia’s vibe.
Mirabell Gardens#
Mirabell Gardens is the famous garden that shows up in The Sound of Music during the “Do-Re-Mi” sequence. So even though Nicholas couldn’t run across the actual hills, he got his Sound of Music moment here. Sort of.
Afternoon: Old Town, St. Peter’s, and the Catacombs#
We crossed back to the Old Town side and worked our way through the narrow streets toward St. Peter’s Abbey and its cemetery.
St. Peter’s Cemetery is tucked against the base of the Festungsberg cliff, and it’s one of the oldest and most beautiful cemeteries in Europe. Wrought-iron crosses, carved stone tombs, flowers everywhere. The graves date back to the 1200s.
The graves here go back to the 1200s and they’re still immaculate. Salzburg takes care of its dead.
We also found a tombstone that said “Anna Scherpf.” Close enough that Nicholas photographed it immediately and sent it to his sister Anna.
But the real find was the catacombs. Carved directly into the cliff face above the cemetery, these are rock-cut chambers that may date back to early Christian times. You climb up through narrow stone stairways cut into the mountain, through tiny tunnels, past old tomb chambers, and then you pop out at these small windows with views over the entire abbey and Old Town below.
After emerging from the catacombs, we hit the Salzburg Cathedral and wandered through the main squares.
And then, in a courtyard café, I found my soulmate.
Evening: Rooftop Dinner#
We ended the day on the rooftop terrace of the Stein Hotel, watching the sun set over the fortress and the river. Burgers. Drinks. The whole skyline turning gold and then pink.
Nicholas came to Salzburg for one thing and didn’t get it. Instead he got a forest hike through ruins, Mozart’s memorial, a Sound of Music garden (close enough), catacombs carved into a cliff, a topiary bear, and a rooftop sunset that went on for an hour.
Sometimes the backup plan is the whole plan.