September, 2003: Two weeks in Austria to sing with BCF

It's September 25, 2003, and we are back from singing with the Berkshire Choral Festival. We spent two weeks in Austria, where there was good relief to be free of the automobile: The only time we were in a car was this last Tuesday morning, riding in a taxi from our hotel in Salzburg to the Salzburg airport, a 15-minute ride.

The next morning we hopped on the train to Salzburg and on to Zell am See, somewhat south of Salzburg. It's on a very nice lake, quite a few tourists, the weather mostly either rainy or cloudy; when the clouds lifted we could see the high mountains, with fresh snow on them above 2000 meters elevation, scenic. In this image of Zell am See (here on a sunny day), the community is visible at the right.

One can go around the lake: Next to the water there is a footpath, with trees, and next to the footpath a bicycle path, and next to the bicycle path, the rail line with short passenger trains about every half hour and an occasional freight train, and finally next to the rail line, farthest from the water, a relatively high-speed road.

We thought about this arrangement of transportation modes. It is symbolic, revealing an underlying sensible ordering of priorities. The most important thing is the footpath, with just the human body's muscles and joints providing the traveling mechanism. Next in order of importance comes the bicycle, slightly more mechanized, then the train, and last, farthest from the attractive lake shore and therefore the least important, the road. We arrived on the train, stayed in a pension for two nights and a delightful hotel for another night, and walked everywhere, most often on the lakeshore path.

While we were walking on the lakeshore path one afternoon we were treated to this nice rainbow. If you look closely, you can see that the order of the colors is reversed in the secondary bow.

During the following week we stayed in another small community at Mondsee, 53 minutes on the post bus east of Salzburg. At the right is one view of Mondsee. Fortunately it was sunny (just like this photo) while we were there, a nice contrast to the previous week.

Here was the start of our choral week with the Berkshire Choral Festival, where over 100 singers gathered to sing under the direction of Herbert Böck, our lively, modest and well-known Austrian choral director. [We learned more than music from Herbert Böck. Here are a few quotes.] With daily rehearsals each morning and evening culminating in performances Saturday evening in Mondsee (five motets) and Sunday morning in Salzburg (Haydn's Paukenmesse and a Bruckner motet), we were not bored.

The church in the foreground dates from the eighth century, when it was a monastery. It's where the wedding scene from the Sound of Music was filmed, and also the venue for the first of our pair of choral performances. Our rehearsal hall was under those roofs in the right foreground, part of the original Mondsee castle (Schloss Mondsee) and now a music academy.

In the background you can see the “Dragon's Wall” (Drachenwand). There is a path to its summit (about 2000 feet above the lake) up which we climbed about three-fourths of the way one afternoon, a steep path, with cables to hold on to for parts of it. The sign at the left is at the start of the path. Afterward we asked Bettina Hemetsberger (our Pension hostess at Pension Hemetsberger—a delightful pension right on the lake shore) what “nur für Geübte” meant. She told us it means “only for those who know what they are doing”. I've since learned from fellow Berkshire Chorus member Renate FitzRoy (from Scotland) that “geübte” is derived from the verb “üben” (to practice). Therefore although the literal translation might be “only for the practiced” or “only for the experienced”, Bettina's translation is surely fine, and has a nice flavor.

At the right is one view of a piece of the path, showing a steep ladder and also the cable to hold on to.

Curiously, there is a window in the top of the Drachenwand. The snapshot at the left was taken by someone looking through the window at the view below. We did not get up to see this window close up, but we did hear some stories about the dragon, this window, and a beautiful maiden, perhaps seduced by that very dragon.

On another afternoon we took a tour to Halstatt, an amazing ancient (1000 BC) salt-mining hillside village. (“Hal” is an old Celtic word for “salt”. Salt is no longer mined in Halstatt, although it is possible to tour the existing ancient mines.) The image at the right is dominated by the Protestant Church.

There is also the Catholic Church, sited farther up the hill. Before cremation was an acceptable way to deal with the dead, persons buried in its tiny graveyard could remain there for only 10 or 12 years, after which they were exhumed to make room for the more recent dead. The church's Charnel House (“Beinhaus”, or “bone house”) contains hundreds of the skulls of those exhumed. They were sun-bleached, painted with decorations and names, and are currently on display for any who care to look at them.

With its steep terrain and almost no space for motorized vehicles, Halstatt is almost completely pedestrian oriented—a quiet and peaceful place, with most buildings accessible only by those willing and able to walk.

Pedestrians seemed to be treated with respect wherever we went in Austria; we noticed this particularly in Mondsee, where we walked each day to rehearsals and meals. If we stood at the curb at a crosswalk, any car approaching would, without exception, come to a stop to let us cross.

Our second performance took place in the Salzburg Cathedral last Sunday morning, where we performed Haydn's “Paukenmesse”, integrated with the mass service. At the right is an image of Salzburg showing the cathedral with the green dome and towers, just below the Salzburg fortress.

For our final two nights, we stayed at the Hotel Wolf, and what a delightful place it is. This modest hotel is in an ancient building in the old part of Salzburg, where the streets are narrow and cars are few, only a short walk from the cathedral.

It is also a nice walk to the ancient (1077 AD) Fortress (Festung Hohensalzburg), from which there are great views of the surrounding city and its many green spaces. Here is a panoramic (applet) image that will give you the flavor of the experience.

It's easy to get around Salzburg, not only by walking or by bicycle, but also by using buses. At many bus stops, there is a pillar that displays a listing (by number) of each bus that visits that stop, along with the number of minutes before the next bus of that number will arrive.

The owners of the Hotel Wolf have, like many in Austria, a real flair for the aesthetics. In the room where the breakfast is served (wonderful fare) are tables with white tablecloths, a small white vase on each table, each containing a real red rose. The charming music of Mozart plays in the background. It was a pleasing scene to hold as we headed off to the Salzburg airport and our long flight back to San Francisco.

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As implied in the first paragraph, I put together this page shortly after my wife Celia and I returned from Austria in 2003. Only minor changes have been made since then. ()

— Peter Scott