Once Upon a Time...

Well, I think I jinxed the weather. Today was a rainy and overcast day in Salzburg. It poured on and off all day long. Good thing I packed my rain boots and a durable umbrella.

In spite of the gloomy weather, we went on our weekly Stadttour today to the Altstadt with Bernhard, after a really interesting lesson in Austrian Medieval history. I've lately found myself recalling last fall's History of the Crusades course with Dr. Shadis and I'm very glad I took it. Not only was I interested in the subject matter, it put European history in perspective for me, which has proved useful as we journey to the sights around town.

Today we visited Residenz, the original home of Salzburg's archbishops. However, I hear that this building was anything but a religious cloister. It seemed to be something more of a palace for the frequently partying bishops. Hey, there's nothing wrong with having a good time. Today, both the old and the new versions of Residenz, (which are right in the center of town) are still in use, one as an art gallery, and the other as a current house of government. They are located in and near Mozartsplatz, which also holds mosaic pieces of a sign from the time when Salzburg was part of the Roman empire. Afterwards, we headed to the Dom, where we explored some eerie catacombs underneath the cathedral. Although I'd been to mass there already, there was so much in the church I hadn't seen up close. We also saw Franziskanerkirche (my favorite to visit and attend) and Universitätskirche (which is under construction) before heading to Stirnbräu, a 700-year old brewery, for drinks.

Living day to day and visiting the sights in a city this old is almost unbelievable. In America, we like to talk about our historical sights and boast that a building or a statue is 200, maybe 300 years old. It's hard to fathom the age of some of the structures that I frequent on a regular basis. Some are as many as 1300-1400 years old. These buildings and churches were built without modern architectural technology, without the tools we have today. However, they are very sturdy and most of their artwork has remained intact, thanks to the painstaking care of a great deal of people in the past who thought that preserving history was important. No matter one's religion, a person has to respect that such things have been carefully tended for so long. I am in awe of the scenery and ambiance that the people in Salzburg still work so hard to keep beautiful. As much as I love modern Western culture, it's nice to be able to find a place that still takes you back to fairytales.