Getting To Know Salzburg (Part One)

Anyone who has ever traveled to Salzburg on vacation or on business cannot deny that although the city is incredibly old (traces of human settlements can be dated back to the Neolithic Age) it has a certain freshness to it. Of course one might argue that this is due in part to the lovely landscape of the mountain ranges of the Alps and the Salzach River running through the city. In truth the freshness of the city is ascribable to the daily life of its inhabitants.

Salzburg has a very diligent daily life and people are always busily bustling along in the narrow streets of the city off to one appointment or another. For someone that is not from Salzburg this aspect of the city makes it seem rather lively- which Salzburg is most of the time no doubt. One can find people rushing off to the bakery or grocery store, taking a ride in a horse-drawn carriage, riding their bikes to work or university, etc . . .. [The people riding in the horse-drawn carriages however, are typically tourists 99% of the time].

Amidst the scurry of people however, it is never too hard to spot a tourist or non-native along with the help of certain stereotypes that have evolved over many years. Here are a few examples:

Americans are: more casually dressed (and tend not to care as much about their appearance as their European counter-parts do), boisterous, easily recognized as Americans when they try to speak a different language other than their own.

Here's an example of how an American might sound when speaking German.

Hear what American tourists from Arkansas have to say while visiting Salzburg:

British are: easily recognized in passing—the accent becomes immediately apparent. By looking at them they might be confused with an American because of their apparel.

Italians are: always traveling in very large groups, are noisy, and rarely make an effort to speak German. They also tend to wear dark sunglasses and dress in designer clothes.

Hear what the Italian tourists had to say while visiting Salzburg:

[Note: When listening to the clip it is obvious that the woman who made the recording was very much taken away by the Italian charm of the Italian men surrounding her.]

Japanese are: always traveling in very large groups and always taking pictures.

[Note: (Pictured Above) The remainders of a very large tourist group, taking their time and not walking as fast as the rest of the group. See the Camera's in their hands?]

Stereotypes aside, there are many other tourists not mentioned above that wander the streets of Salzburg.

Anyone who has ever visited Salzburg knows that the city itself is not very big. For some the city may seem crowded, but in reality that is not the case. According to Emporis.com the current population of the city of Salzburg is 143,978 people. Take that number and compare it to the population of Austria, which is roughly 8.2million people. That means that approximately .02% of the population of Austria live in the city of Salzburg. [Makes one think twice about how busy the streets of Salzburg actually are, doesn’t it?] Nevertheless, even though the population of the city is rather minimal great deals of tourists are in the city every day.

[Note: Salzburg is a favorite tourist stop (in Austria), and at times the number of tourists outnumber the locals by a large margin (especially during peak times of the year. E.g. Christmas, Easter, Summer Holidays, etc . . .]

Obviously Salzburg is not like New York, or Paris, or Rome, with their overcrowded streets where one normally can’t tell their left from their right. No, Salzburg really cannot be compared to those cities. Salzburg is its people and their traditions. Salzburg is the mountain range of the Alps. Salzburg is the river that runs through it. Salzburg is definitely something. Yet there is so much more to Salzburg than its tourists.

I'm signing off, so if you want to read more come back again soon!

TTFN- Ta Ta For Now!