My parents once lived in Basel, Switzerland. They remember that the last tram of the night — which picked up all manner of drunks, weirdos, and ne’er-do-wells as it passed through town — was nicknamed the Lumpensammler…roughly, “Collector of Dirty Rags.” Sometimes when I leave a country, I have a few leftover bits and pieces that I haven’t yet shared on my blog, but are worth seeing the light of day. And so, here’s my hodgepodge Lumpensammler list for this visit to Austria.
Salzburg: Defiantly Traffic-Free. Salzburg’s Old Town is beautifully pedestrian-friendly — and that’s because it’s brutally car-unfriendly. The city got fed up with people flouting its traffic restrictions, so they installed a series of ruthless rising bollards that are designed to essentially destroy the car of anyone who dares to slip through behind another vehicle. One day on Mozartplatz, I heard a terrible crunching sound, and looked over just in time to see an unlucky car get totaled: The hydraulic bollard slowly and insistently rose, tearing apart the engine from underneath. Four different types of automotive fluids went running down the street toward the river, and the driver had to stand there and wait, in shame, for the tow truck to come rescue him. Later, I had a revealing conversation about this with a local. Expressing my sympathy for the driver, I was met with steely resolve. “But you don’t understand,” she protested. “We have to keep unauthorized cars out. People were sneaking in.” My pleas for some intermediate solution — one that would be taken seriously without actually damaging violators’ property — got zero traction. So, motorists heading for Salzburg: You have been warned. Salzburgers love their draconian bollards.
Salzburg Parties with Fish on a Stick. Salzburg is a city that loves to celebrate. There are festivals nearly non-stop. When I was there, one of the main squares was lively with an open-air concert series for several days. My evening routine was strolling past the square to see who was performing, and to grab a little street food. It was fun to see all of the festival-goers in their Drindls and Lederhosen. But one local delicacy I’ve never quite acquired a taste for is Steckerlfisch: grilled mackerel on a stick.
Camouflaged Corporations. Austria has strict regulations for advertising along its historic drags. That means big companies have to get creative about displaying their logos. In Innsbruck and Salzburg, the golden arches fit (more or less) subtly into the historic signs.
Salzburg: Home of Mozart, The Sound of Music…and Red Bull. In the 1980s, Dietrich Mateschitz founded Red Bull in Salzburg. Today the energy drink magnate is Austria’s richest man (net worth: more than €10 billion) and employs 10,000 people. Mateschitz owns several sports teams (ice hockey, car racing, and multiple soccer teams) and collects airplanes, race cars, and other expensive vehicles. He’s opened his own private hangar (called Hangar-7, across the runway from Salzburg’s airport) to the public. Anyone is invited to come for free and wander through his toys. While most visitors — more interested in the austerity of Fräulein Maria — find this a borderline-grotesque display of wealth, gearheads love it.
I love the shopping streets in Salzburg! Charming with wonderful products! Would always want to walk down this traffic free street!
Salzburg is currently a mess with heavy construction equipment tearing up the pedestrian streets. On June 1 squares were closed off for rock concerts stages being set up. How current is your post?
This was written a few weeks ago. I did see the construction you’re talking about–mostly along Getriedegasse–but much of the center was still OK.
Hi Cameron, as an aviation enthusiast I appreciate aviation museums being included in the guidebooks. I’ve visited several in Europe and haven’t been disappointed!