Happy Birthday Mozart! Salzburg loves you!

On Monday we had a full day ahead of us! It was Mozart's birthday so we decided to visit both his house museums. How cool is it that we ended up in Mozart's birthplace on his birthday! We first went to the home where he was born. It was so interesting to read some of Mozart's letters (any of the parents or children's writings), see relics, and just be in the place where little Wolfgang spent his early childhood. Oh and there was a giant Mozart cake to celebrate his birthday right outside the house. Next was the Mozart house museum where the family moved to across the river for a bigger living space. That museum had more writings, actual pianos and organs, an audio tour, and a sketch of Mozart's face that the government did as a reconstruction to see what he actually looked like. I have to say, there was a definite resemblance to Nicholas Cage! For those who don't know, Mozart is quite romanticized to look much more handsome than he actually was. There are many statues and paintings of him that portray him as some sort of Roman God. He was quite the opposite: short, thin, prominent nose, and bulging eyes. Poor guy, but hey, he could sure write and play music to make up for his looks! After getting our fill of Mozart (and some delicious bratwurst) we hiked up to the Salzburg castle overlooking the city. What a hike and what a view! There is definitely a reason why it has never been taken, and we discovered it on our strenuous hike up. Yep, we are music majors, not athletes. In addition to the amazing views and medieval relics, there was a creepy marionette museum in the castle with a talking Wolf Dietrich. If you haven't seen the last blog post, he was the crazy Salzburg Archbishop. We had a lot of fun in the museum and Melanie and I even put on a puppet show with a Wolf Dietrich marionette. She does a great impression of good ole Wolfy! Later that night we headed to the Mozarteum to see the Salzburg Camarata play some Mozart symphonies and Gluck/ Mozart arias. We were all blown away by the brilliant sound of the orchestra. It was a wonderful surprise to see this group have such a sparkling bright sound and hear wonderful vocalists. It was a great way to spend Mozart's birthday!  

At the Salzburg Castle overlooking the town

Annalise, Alexandra, and I as Sound of Music Marionettes

In the Mozarteum for our concert

Panorama of the gorgeous view at the castle

Cannon at the castle 

Wiener Schnitzel!!

More castle views

Beautifull wintery tree at the castle