Christmas Markets Salzburg

Day 6 Optional Tour Salzburg

Our coach tour started at 8:30 am when we were met by our driver and accompanied by a Viking representative. Approximately half of the cruise guests opted to go to Salzburg. The 1.5 hour bus trip passed by spectacular foothill mountains and every few minutes we would spot a new village nestled into the countryside.

Salzburg is the birthplace of the great composer Mozart and this historical fact has shaped the local community. Over 9 million tourists visit the town every year and all stop at the home where he grew-up as well as his birthplace. Our guide for the walking tour explained in detail the accomplishments of the town’s most famous composer. We also visited the stunning exterior of Schloss Mirabell, featured in the classic film, The Sound of Music. The guide pointed out the Mountains that the Van Trapp family was to ascend to reach Switzerland – in fact the other side of the mountain is still Austria and their target destination is over 200 miles away, obviously a Hollywood fib. We also saw the graveyard that was featured in the movie as well as several other movie locations.

Following a visit to The Church of Salzburg, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant that was founded in the year 900. We entered an upstairs dining room and we were mesmerized by the stunning Christmas decorations. In the centre of the room was a 20 foot Christmas tree decorated in gold ornaments. Lunch included a delicious turkey breast and a uniquely local desert dish – salzburger nockerl, which is like a large meringue with a raspberry sauce.

The balance of the day had us shopping at the local Christmas markets and we purchased a chocolate treat called a salzburger mozarttafel to sample. Our bus departed at 3:30 for the return to Linz When we arrived back at the ship, we decided to tour the city of Linz which was only one block from the dock. We looked at the Christmas markets and the local shops. This is a fantastic place to shop but we simply ran out of time. We decided to eat in the town and 10 of us enjoyed a dinner at a local restaurant and returned to the ship for a late night departure.