We recently returned back from a trip to Salzburg with Emily’s family. A trip 43 years in the making. We asked Emily’s mom to write about how she experienced the city she loves then and now. Here is what she had to say:
The very first time I ever heard of Salzburg, Austria was in a movie made back in the early sixties called the Sound of Music . However, now I recognize it as the city of Mozart, the Hohensalzburg (the castle), the Altstadt (the old city), the Untersberg (local mountain), friendly people, warm and wonderful memories, learning to speak in another language, finding a second family….meine (my) Familie Moser.
Salzburg Then
Salzburg is a great deal more than I remember from my early twenties. Over forty years has passed in between my visits to Salzburg. The city itself and its surrounding mountains brought back lovely memories of my time there as a junior in college from September, 1972 until May, 1973 and also memories of our honeymoon trip in 1975. Finally after praising Salzburg and my journeys there, I returned after 43 years with three of my adult children.
For me, Salzburg was the city of adventure, it was the first place I traveled far away from home and it was the first place I was able to find a second family. My host family from my study abroad days that took me in and treated me like a daughter. While there was a lot of the same structures like the castle and the old city there was differences too. 40 years is a long time for a city to grow and evolve and there were a few aspects I noticed during my trip.
Salzburg Now
One thing I noticed was the tremendous growth of the Hauptbahnhof (train station)…it has easily tripled in size. Then there was/is the growth of stores around the city.I don’t remember as many shopping opportunities back then.
The Altstadt seems to have been preserved which is a very good thing; clean streets, flower gardens, statues, history, and of course, way MORE tourists than I remember… Also English is more common now that it was 40 years ago. It was a lot easier to move around and explore the city.
All things considered, Salzburg remains in my heart ❤️ and mind as one if the most beautiful cities in the world. If you have a chance to travel there, do it. If you want to go back, it is never to late. Anyone or any place which impacts one for a lifetime is well worth the wondrous memories….Salzburg and the Mosers indeed impacted my life deeply. And our trip to Salzburg this year reminded me of just how lucky I have been and am!!