It was now Friday, Oct 11 and it was very nostaligic!
We spent the day reliving our honeymoon journey up to the castle. We passed the Jesus statue Michael are rediscovered earlier, retraced our steps on the steep walk up to the castle even passing a few of the ‘doors’ Michael had captured on film in 1983. Some memories were fresh, but many more have faded over the years. Some things are the same, but mostly I feel like the whole route was much cleaner.
At the castle, we visited the ‘gold rooms’ with the ceilings designed to be the night sky. The models showing the evolution of the building of the castle were still very much as we remembered them. The armoury museum had many of the same exhibits (Michael remembers them better than I), but also several newer ones. The marionette museum seemed familiar to me, but not to Michael – I still need to check out my old trip diary to confirm whether we visited it back then!
Down from the castle, we stopped into the church in the Dom Quartier square before heading to a great coffee stop Michael found called ‘220 degrees’. We had amazing Brazilian coffees and potato soup with bread – appropriately salted for ‘Salt’zburg. We followed that up with an audio tour of the Dom Quartier where the Archbishop residences demonstrated their clear opulence.
The Prince / Archbishop had many rooms to hold audience. The rooms decreased in size but increased in decadence as you progress in importance. Only the special office of the Archbishop / Prince was simpler in decoration. Every ceiling fresco had a story – usually with subtle (or not so subtle) references to the Prince himself. One depicted the leader holding a globe/ball over a metal bowl. If he fell asleep, he would drop the ball which would awaken him. It was believed that he needed to be constantly awake to protect his people. I’m not sure how well a sleep deprived leader can function!
I was interested to learn that the short beds of the time were not due to the height of the inhabitants. It was believed that it was unhealthy to sleep lying down since you could suffocate, so they slept prone in a semi-seated position. The tour of Dom Quartier also included the gallery where many impressive paintings were on display. But in the day, the walls would have been packed with art – not to appreciate the art, but to highlight the wealth of the crown/church.
Then back home to change and head off to the party! We picked up a couple of small gifts for Sue (bath salts and chocolates) and some Sport Gummies as a placeholder birthday gift for Dan – and the shop even had a wrapping station!
Dinner was a great success with all 10 of us standing around the table and rotating to take turns at each food station. We all crowded around Suz’s Ipad to see her trip photos (we need special cables next time), and checked out a couple of Michaels other videos. And then dancing – lots of fun ending with a rousing round of “Auf Wiedersehen Good Night” from the Sound of Music.
And so phase one of our trip is over as we have said good bye to the gang till next time. Off to Bratislava….