Day 14 : The Piano Man (8/7/09)

Our last day in Salzburg saw us try to capture some more of the history of the place. First up we visited the site of the old cathedral excavations under the old cathedral and Domplatz. Some of the mosaics date back to Roman times of 300-200BC; and the old cathedral remnants date from 700AD onwards. Afterwards we visited the Cathedral Museum with historical relics from the Cathedral and surrounding diocese; then on to the catacombs etched into the surrounding rock. No trip to Salzburg would be complete without looking at the life of its favourite son - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. We started at Mozart's bithplace; then moved on to the later Mozart residence complete with sound and light show. It was an entertaining and informative way to learn all about the life and times of the gifted composer and his family. The cold reality of travelling then set in as we travelled home; picked up our dirty washing then took the bus to the other side of town to visit the laundromat and catch up on the dirty laundry. The last night saw dinner at the hotel with drinks. Beyond the historical sights, our abiding memories of Austria are Steigl, steins, schnapps, sausages, schnitzel and strudel. Tomorrow we tackle the Alps again as we make our way south into Italy.