Snow in Salzburg

If we had to have snow on our European autumn travels, it really had to be in Salzburg, right?

Especially while on the Sound of Music tour, singing at the top of our lungs (trust me, this was a mandatory requirement in order to participate in this particular tour!) "raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens, snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes, these are a few of my favourite things . ."


And every other song from the movie as well. It's hard to believe I first saw the movie when it was first released in Australia (from memory in 1965), and 45 years on, the movie - which is adapted from a musical, which was adapted from a stage show, which was adapted from a  . . . well you get the general drift - is still making money in ways that Hollywood couldn't possibly have imagined.

And the cuisine in Salzburg also lends itself to snowy, wintry weather - the delightful, citrusy punsch (preferably with rum), Salzburger nockerl (a light as air souffle-style dessert), together with other standard Austrian fare are far better savoured when the weather turns chilly!

But more surprises were in store for us. Because of the snow, we really didn't feel like going far for dinner, so when I spotted a place across the road from our cute as cute hotel - called Carpe Diem - well it just seemed sort of appropriate. I was even prepared for it to be "finest finger food" as announced. Even better, a first class restaurant upstairs from the somewhat smoky tapas-style bar on the ground floor. Perhaps we were dining early, perhaps it was because this is a new venture, but we were treated, almost literally, to the most amazing dinner. We ordered one main course each, and then provided with a "from the kitchen" tasting plate.

My venison and mum's veal were probably the best and most tender that either of us had ever had. Bravely, we pushed on with dessert. Mozartkugel and pomegranate for me, sherbet for Mum.

And despite our location in the quaintly antique old town, some beautiful modern interior design to set off the wonderful meal.

As our tour guide said, "the first snow of the season is the most beautiful". Despite the freezing cold, I can't think of a better introduction to this most beautiful of cities.

Lots more photos in my Picasa album.