The sound of Salzburg

Salzburg is a city so polished it almost feels like a movie set waiting for Julie Andrews to twirl back into frame. The cobbled streets are swept clean, the facades glow like they’ve been freshly lacquered. And somewhere between the baroque cathedrals and the Mozart trinkets lies a deep pride, the kind that’s been marinated in centuries of high art, imperial smugness and sugary pastries.

Terrace on Mönchsberg Cliffs.

Mozart looms large here. His name is slapped on everything from concert halls to chocolate balls. A prodigy turned brand. You can almost hear him laughing from the grave as tourists shuffle through his birthplace, eyes glazed over from too many selfie sticks and too few actual notes played.

He was born here in 1756 and the house on Getreidegasse 9 is now a popular museum, rivaled only by the place on Makartplatz where he moved in during 1773. Even though Mozart infamously died in Vienna while composing Requiem, some of his family is buried in Salzburg at St Sebastian’s Cemetery.

The grave of Mozart’s wife and father at Friedhof St. Sebastian.

Nevertheless, it’s fun to visit sites such as Nonnberg Abbey, the Mirabell Gardens, the horse fountain on Residenzplatz and other familiar places from the movie. Even though the locals don’t give a damn anymore, the tourists devour it like a schnitzel.

The entrance to Nonnberg Abbey.

This year the city of Salzburg celebrates the 50th anniversary of the film with a lot of activities, and today I attended a gala event at Felsenreitschule, the amphi theater where the Trapp family once performed, both in the movie and in real life.

During the event, four of the real movie children, now 50 years older, appeared when whistled. Also some of the real Von Trapp children flew in from Vermont for the occasion.

“Will the real Von Trapp please stand up.”

The streets are alive with the sound of Salzburg, to paraphrase that movie. But if you can tune out the musicals and the Mozart kitsch, something beautiful remains. Wander the Getreidegasse early in the morning before the crowds arrive. Have a Doppler konfekt instead of a Mozartkugel. Walk up to Mönchsberg. Sit down for a Salzburger Nockerl. Get lost in the alleys around Steingasse.