Our second and last day in Salzburg was a short one because we needed to get on the train to Vienna, 3 hrs away. We woke up semi-early, check out of the hotel so they could start cleaning it for the next people, stored our bags with the front desk, and headed out for a few last things to see.
First, we went to the house Mozart was born in, then we visited the house he actually spent most of his childhood/teenage years in. We were able to see some of his pianos, manuscripts, and letters to his family. His dad Leopold, was a successful musician himself who was a hired composer for the courts. You would think his dad was one of those crazy dads that put tons of pressure on their sons to succeeded, but they sometimes had to actually keep Mozart away from the piano or he would play all day. Leopold was smart though and knew his son was incredibly gifted so he did manage and push his early career. Mozart's career started around age 5! After seeing his houses, we went back to the hotel and picked up our luggage. Lunch was at the train station, and off we went on our last train ride on this vacation.
When we got to Vienna we dropped off our luggage and got a restaurant recommendation. I'm glad we did too because we had an amazing Austrian dinner! I had veal goulash and Brooke had beef stroganoff. I would have never thought I would love veal goulash! During dinner we heard people singing in a nearby cathedral. Then we saw a bunch of catholic priests and congregation walk out of the church in the opposite direction from us. We finished dinner and started to walk back but ran into that same group now coming towards us.
We stopped to listen and watch because it was so interesting. I''ve never seen a group of priest and catholics walking down the street holding candles, singing and praying in Latin. As they went by, an older woman came up to us and asked us to join them. She was super nice, and actually reminded me of my 'Nanny' (grandmother). The lady asked if we were catholic, we said no, but she asked us to come along anyway! She explained to us that they were walking through Vienna visiting 7 different cathedrals where they pray, sing along the way, and have a picnic at the end. It sounded cool and we are open to trying new cultures. We got our candles and book with the song lyrics, and started walking! We stuck out like sore thumbs.... two obvious Americans, me with a Mavs cap on and Brooke with a Pasadena California sweatshirt on haha.
I'm pretty sure it was a form of communal liturgy but I'm not sure if they call this particular event something different. It was really interesting how they came together to do this, and I was really impressed with the dedication and unabashed religious display showed.
Mozart's birthplace
