Salzburg

Let’s get started with the customary Wikipedia entry, to save you the trouble:

Salzburg[a] is the fourth-largest cityin Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,852.[7] The town occupies the site of the Roman settlement of Iuvavum. Founded as an episcopal see in 696, it became a seat of the archbishop in 798. Its main sources of income were salt extraction, trade, as well as gold mining. The fortress of Hohensalzburg, one of the largest medieval fortresses in Europe, dates from the 11th century. In the 17th century, Salzburg became a center of the Counter-Reformation, with monasteries and numerous Baroque churches built. Salzburg’s historic center (German: Altstadt) is renowned for its Baroque architecture and is one of the best-preserved city centers north of the Alps. The historic center was enlisted as a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site in 1996.[8] The city has three universities and a large student population.

In the pursuit of a very travel-friendly carry, I decided to take my trusty RX1 with me on this trip. It easily fits into my coat pocket, weighs next-to-nothing, and has a fantastic Zeiss 35mm F2 lens. 35mm is a focal length that I’ve settled into, but I can’t help but wonder if 28mm is actually my more suited length, if not 24mm. These are typically “wide” lenses, but I enjoy the perspective so much. It’s very rare for me to explore 50mm and longer focal lengths, but they indeed have their place.

Anyway, walking around Salzburg in temperatures of -2º – 1ºC made for a very refreshing trip. I decided to walk up the Kapuzinerberg.

Kapuzinerberg is a hill on the eastern bank of the Salzach river in the city of Salzburg in Austria, which rises to an elevation of 640 metres (2,100 ft). It is located to the north of Salzburg’s historic city centre, and forms part of the city’s UNESCO World Heritage Site.[1][2]

It was a pleasure to walk through the forests on this hill, and breathe in the fresh air.

I hiked down and walked to the very pretty old town (Altstadt).

The following day, I repeated the hike, but came up the mountain from the other side.

It was quite comical at one point, as I was sliding up the side of the hill/mountain as my shoes had no grip and there was nothing but thick ice on the ground. But, I persevered and made it to the top.

On this day, the light was much better. But it was still [below] freezing.

Again I walked to the Altstadt, photo below.

And there we have it. Mozart’s birthplace, and the setting of ~The Sound of Music~.

Until next time - possibly with more photos from the Japan trip(s)…