Maria’s postcard theme for this week is “Mountains”.
I decided to start looking in my ‘Western Europe’ Postcrossing Cards album, and the first one that caught my eye was this one:
(AT-183436) Postcrossing card from Austria, May 2014
I have actually visited Salzburg once, but it was in summer, not winter. It was on a tourist bus trip to Germany and Austria in 1990.
Salzburg is the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; and of course remembered by many as the setting for the musical film The Sound of Music.
Reading up on things in Wikipedia, I notice that since I was there, the Old Town of Salzburg has also been listed as a Unesco World Heritage site (since 1997). From my own visit in 1990, I remember trekking up that hill to the fortress – Festung Hohensalzburg. I think I went up there not with the group, but alone, in the ‘free’ time we had in Salzburg to stroll around by ourselves…
Thinking back on this, I decided to also have a look in my old photo album from that trip. Ah yes. Here is a postcard with a summer view of the Hohensalzburg. And - oh joy! - I actually used “photo corners” for the postcards rather than glueing them on to the album pages. How very wise of me. That means not only can I take it out and look at the back now, but I can also put it on my scanner, and show it to the World, all these years later…
(Back in 1990… all the digital devices now taken for granted, would still have been more or less “science fiction”, I suppose… At least for private use! If I took any photos of my own from up at the fortress, those were probably diapositives. Which are still in a box down in my basement storage room, never unpacked since my last move… nearly ten years ago…)
Taking out this postcard from my album and turning it over, I expected to find the back empty (as in having bought it myself). It was not, though. It was posted the next day (to my home address in Sweden) by one of the friends who were my travel companions on the trip. Translated into English, her message is: “Hi! I thought you might enjoy a greeting from this trip. When you see the castle you’ll remember your hike!”
Next to the card in the album, there is also a ticket to the fortress area, marked with date and time. This is glued to the album page; but using a bit more science fiction magic (digital camera, editing software…) – here is the proof that I was up there on 28th June, 1990, at 16:25 pm.
…
Got so wrapped up in my memories that I think I’ll save my other “mountain” postcards for another occasion! ; )
What a fantastic place to visit! The castles, fabulous architecture, small lit streets...I wanted to go there in my younger years, so I can practically see it all now. How long did you stay? I hope you will be posting some of the photos you took there.
ReplyDeleteGinny, Salzburg was one afternoon, not sure how many hours. As I say in the post, if I took any photos in Salzburg, they must have been diapositives (slides). The whole trip was 10 days, from Sweden down through Germany, a little bit into Austria, back up through Germany. another route. Guided bus tour with mostly short stops. The main attraction was the 1990 Passion Play in the village of Oberammergau. And then also one day up in the Alps. My album from the trip is a mix of postcards, brochures, tickets etc + some photos of my own (I think I probably had two cameras on the trip, diapositive film in the best one and regular in an older one. But even so, one did not take as many photos back then as one does now with the digital cameras.)
DeleteBeen to Salzburg a couple of times when we lived in Stuttgart, Germany, beautiful city.
ReplyDeleteYes, I can well imagine that one could happily spend more time than just a few hours there :)
Deletethat certainly would be a trek up that mountain, but worth the trek. so beautiful, the cards and the place. i agree, in 90 digital was not even on my radar, my first computer was in 1997 and no digital camera until 2002
ReplyDeleteI got to buy a second-hand computer cheap from work in the mid 1990s. I did not buy my first digital camera until 2006. But I think that from around 2000, I had digital copies on CD made from new photo negatives when sending those to have them developed. But as for older photos, I have only scanned a few from albums when I've come to think of them and wanted to use them for something.
DeleteAs for the trek, there were stairs - but still. My 62 year old self (knees in particular) would not feel up for it. My 35 year old self was a bit bolder! (But I think there was/is also a cable railway going up there.)
DeleteI like the postcards and how they are connected to your memories. I have never been in that city.
ReplyDeleteThanks Eva. I guess the saying is true that a picture is sometimes worth a thousand words :)
DeleteLike you & Eva, I love how postcards connect us to our memories. You've done such a great job in keeping these souvenirs from 28 years ago. Thank you very much for sharing these with us! Have a nice week ahead!
ReplyDeleteThanks Maria. As so often when blogging, I just started out with one picture/card and then one thought led to another... ;)
DeleteSome time around 2005, I think, I went to Salzburg for work. We did work all weekend but had a few hours left to do as we pleased, and I went up to the Festung, too. No photos or other mementos of my visit, though, just my memory. I also went to have a look at Mozart's birth place but didn't go in - too much of a tourist trap for my liking, I'm afraid.
ReplyDeleteAs a group we may have visited the Mozart house too, but I have no clear memories of it. Perhaps we did not go inside either. I do remember buying 'Mozartkugeln' in some little pastry shop, though :)
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