Citizens of the World: A Stoic Podcast for Curious Travelers - Salzburg: Mozart, The Sound of Music, and Much More

Episode Date: May 26, 2023

In a few days I’m headed to Salzburg, Austria for my friend’s birthday (We need more of these kind of trips! Destination parties should go beyond weddings. Do you agree?)And that’s why today I��m speaking with Vivien Conacher, a trained opera singer from Sydney who now lives in Salzburg.From Mozart's birthplace and Sound of Music locations to the historic fortress and breweries, discover the magic of Salzburg and its hidden gems. Perfect for a solo or group trip or an adventure with your dog (this is a very animal-friendly place).Before moving to Austria, Vivien  founded Songhaven, a not-for-profit that organizes free concerts by top classically-trained artists for people with dementia. How wonderful is that? Clearly, Vivien has a passion for helping people and the performing arts. And today she’s helping us by sharing her favorite must-have experiences in Salzburg, Austria. Enjoy!If you have a dream like moving abroad but you’re feeling stuck, let’s chat. Book a consult with me — https://sarahmikutel.com/chat — and let’s talk about what we can do together to move you forward. Perhaps literally!How long will you wait before you start demanding the best for yourself? Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

Welcome to Live Without Borders, a podcast about how to live the good life through stoicism, personal development, and cultural exploration. I'm your host, Sarah Megatel, an American in England who's here to help fellow citizens of the world like you make the most of the brief time you have here on Earth. It is time to make every moment matter. In a few days, I am headed to Salzburg, Austria for my friend's destination of birthday. Happy birthday, Elise. And I can't wait a group of us are going. I've been to Salzburg once before, but only on a day trip from Munich. So I certainly missed some highlights. And that is why today I am speaking with Vivian Conica. She is a trained opera singer from Sydney, Australia. And now she lives in Salzburg, Austria, the place where Mozart was born, the sound of music was filmed here. So it is the perfect place for a music lover, such as Vivian. And she is going to share her favorite places, to experience the culture, the food, the nature of her latest adopted city. And before Austria, Vivian was in England and she found it something called Songhaven, which I absolutely love. This is a nonprofit that organizes free concerts by really top classically

trained artists for people with dementia. How wonderful is that? So clearly Vivian has a passion for helping people as well as the performing arts. And today she is. helping us by sharing her favorite must-have experiences in Salzburg. Enjoy. Welcome, Vivian. Thank you so much for joining me today. Thank you so much for having me, Sarah. I'm looking forward to it. So you are from Australia, but I know that you spent a few years in England. So what brought you here before you moved to Austria? I was in, so I'm born, born, born in Sydney, raised in Sydney in Australia. And then I moved to London to do my master's degree, which was at the Royal College of Music. And so I did that and then stayed, a very well-worn story that is probably familiar to a lot of people who go overseas

for study. But yeah, I stayed and I ended up being in London for 12 years. And then I moved to Salzburg in Austria in the autumn of last year, so in 2022. And what prompted that move? My partner, Joe, got a job here with a big company that has a head office in in Salzburg. So it was really a very different move to my move to the UK because, you know, I came over to London as a 20-something student going straight into a course of study that I'd got into. So I immediately had a sort of structure that I was jumping into through study. And then this time around, I'm now in my late 30s. I've, you know, I'm with with someone in a relationship. So it was very much a combined decision that we had to weigh up together as a couple

about whether that would be the right thing for us as individuals and also together as a couple. But it's been a really interesting process doing that fresh start, jumping into a new culture, jumping into a new country, a new city all over again. And particularly after the pandemic, I think we were. were both really craving something new and exciting and life's short. So we thought, why not? Let's give it a go. So what does Salzburg look like for people who aren't familiar with it? So Salzburg, I mean, is it in Austria. A lot of the time, even people in my family are thinking Strasbourg, which is not in Austria. That's in France. But yeah, people get mixed up.

We're at Salzburg. We're in Austria. And it is, depending on who you ask, the land of the Sound of Music or the land of Mozart. So Mozart was born here and the Sound of Music was filmed here. So they're two big claims to fame, I think, and that's what the tourists come for. It is a postcard, perfect, picturesque, gorgeous little city. And there's the Salzac River that runs all the way through. There's mountains surrounding us. And there's a big fortress on one of those mountains. So It really does look like you're in a picture book. And sometimes we feel like we're in a simulation. The other day it was raining and there was this rainbow that went from one side of the city

to the other. And I was like, oh, come on. This is ridiculous. I can't believe we live here. But yeah, it is such a beautiful city. And the pace is very laid back. So I would really recommend it for people. It's really family friendly.

It's, they're really dog friendly like people are in Europe. So if you're coming from other parts of Europe, It's a lovely place to come on a driving holiday. And if you've got a dog, it's totally cool here. You can bring them into cafes and all that sort of stuff. And it's walkable as well. It's a very small place. So it's got all of that history and culture,

but in a tiny little package that makes it really doable for a tourist to visit. You mentioned three sites or like pieces of history that I think we could experience in some way in Salisburg, The Fortress, Sound of Music, and Mozart. So have you done anything, or could you recommend any things to visit or experience while we're there? How long have you got, Sarah? I love all this stuff. Keep going as long as you are.

So I, so I've been here for a while and I've had various people come and visits. So I think I've got my favorite soul's tour down to a tea these days. Oh, perfect. Yeah, I'm really, like, I love. love showing people around because it is just beautiful here. So one of the things that I would recommend if you are a classical music buff or enthusiast, or even if you're not, and you're just curious, the Mozart Gaborg's house is where he was born. It's a little museum in the old town. It's really like just over a few floors of this tiny little house and there's all these

incredible objects and things from his home and from his work and his life. And you do get a sense of what life would have been like when he was living here. So I recommend that, Mozart's Goet House. I'm going to look back and be like, oh no, my German's so bad. But anyway, the house where he was born is a museum. Motzat's Kabut's house. And the fortress is wonderful to go up to. There is a finicular. little rail track that can take you up as well, or if you're feeling brave, you can do the walk up the mountain. Fabulous views, again, very historical and, you know, lots to see from up there,

even if you're just looking over the town. And Sound of Music, there's, I watched it recently, again, just since I've moved here just to kind of re-familiarize myself. And really, they did film everywhere in this city. So everywhere you look, there's a sound of music. film location. They do have the tour of buses that you can do for the Sound of Music tour and they play excerpts on the bus and there's cycling tours that you can do as well. But even if you don't want to do that, it doesn't take much to look up where the various main spots are. There's a beautiful

lake, Leopold's Curran, which is where the Sound of Music house is on the lake that was used in some of the shots. And that's one of my favorite walks that we just do on the weekends, down to that lake and it's gorgeous. So you don't need to pay anything. You don't need to pay a tour guide. You can just walk down there and it's absolutely stunning. So that would be one of the big ones, I think, is the Sound of Music House. Okay, you're just reminding me that I need to see this film before I go to Solomon.

Yes. Which is next week. Yes. I can't wait. And also the abbey, the abbey where Maria was a troublesome little nun. That is on the walk as you're going up to the fortress. If you go around the, around the side of that mountain, it's an area called Nantal. And Nantal Abbey is where that abbey in the film was.

And it's just beautiful up there. It's a gorgeous walk. So I really recommend that mountain walk up the Munchberg as well to get that real sense of where you are in the city. And you can walk all the way around to that abbey and all the way around to the lake where the sound of music was filmed. Okay. Sounds like the ideal day. Yeah. Now, what about music?

So visiting Mozart's house sounds great. I definitely want to do that. How about listening to classical music? Are there any venues or special events that you would recommend? Absolutely. So music is really key in Salzburg. It's part of the culture. There's a very famous summer festival, the Southburg Festival, which is on in the summertime,

which is a classical music destination event. So you do need to look at that in advance if that's, of interest and book your tickets, but that happens. There's three main music venues that are all in this big festival hall building. And there's the Felschen Riteschula, which is that was used in the Sound of Music film. The Salzburg Festival is also part of the film, you know, when they escape, and they pretend that they need to be singing in this concert. That's the Salzburg Festival. And the Felschen Rite Shula, which is the, it's kind of got these cut out, almost like, that catacomb-like arches in the rock face, which is the background.

It used to be, I think, an open-air cinema, but now it, not cinema, concert hall, but now it has a roof and it's a proper concert venue now. So that's one of the venues they use for the festival. Next door is the House for Mozart, which is a smaller concert hall, and then there's the Grosse Feschbiel House, which is the big one. So all of those have events all throughout the year. There's also a state theatre here, the Salzburg-Galanders Theatre, which has opera and ballet and theatre, if you happen to speak German,

and that has programming all year. And one of the things that I would really recommend people do if they're just coming for a little visit is to really look at the notice boards and they're all through the town outside all the churches. And there are concerts on all the time. You can go to daytime concerts in some of the beautiful big churches and cathedrals in the old town. There's, you know, Bach choirs and Mozart masses

and all sorts of stuff if you're interested in that. But there's also various concerts that happen throughout the year and they always advertise them in a really analog way with posters throughout the town. And that's how we found out about, like last week, they had the, it was the Langenacht de Kuer, the long night of choirs. And it was an, an,

all-night event where there was just harmony bringing out voices throughout the whole city. There were 19 venues, including the main cathedral and crypts and palace rooms and all sorts of little spots throughout the whole city. And you could just go for free, wander in and out and hear choirs singing. And it was just such a lovely, it was everything from folk choirs from the surrounding regions, lots of lovely older people in their traditional outfits and their Dendels and their Liederhausen and everything to cathedral choirs and the Mozartium university here, which is the big music school. So you've had everything.

And that, yeah, we found out about that through a poster that was, you know, just on a wall. So I highly recommend paying attention to the posters because there's lots of good stuff on that you might not be aware of. That's how I find out about everything in Fokston where I live as well. Traditional. There's a pillar in the center of town that has, yeah, fly. on it and yeah that's where I get all my best ideas of like different music and art stuff. It takes a little while to get used to that that's where you've got to get your news from.

But actually once you're kind of in the groove of it, it's quite fun. You don't really, you're not aware of things. And the other thing we found out about last week was there was a free museum weekend. So my partner and I, we just went to, he has barely had a moment to blink since starting his new job. So we just went to all the museums that he hadn't. been to yet and some of the art galleries and everything and it was all free and it was just a really nice, I mean, going to museums and galleries I love doing anyway, but it's even better when you're getting it for free and there's normally a fee. Yeah. So that's one thing I miss about London,

though, is that most of the big galleries and museums are free and you can go at any point. Here they're, yeah, they do charge a fee. So we tend to go when we've got people visiting, really. But not that weekend. Which museum is one of your favorites? The Dom Quartheir. So that's the state room. It's kind of four museums in one, which is great. So you get a little bit of everything, which I'm a big fan of.

It's right behind the Dom, the big main cathedral. It's the big building that goes in a big square around it. So it's the state room. So you get to look at these highly decorated, beautiful, old, you know, ornate grand rooms. And then it also houses an art collection and lots of depictions of Salzburg through the ages. So it's really quite interesting to look at these very pastoral, you know, landscapes with Salzburg back how it used to look.

And so that's really lovely. And then they also house the cathedral's collection of objects as well. So a lot of religious objects, a lot of very, very jazzy, ornate religious artifacts and things. And also part of that tour, you cross over a little walkway, and you end up on the balcony in the organ loft of the cathedral. So you get, as part of that museum experience, you get to see this incredibly grand, huge, gorgeous cathedral from the balcony.

And, yeah, it's got a bit of everything. But we also discovered there was an art gallery that I really enjoyed on that free weekend, which is almost the opposite of what I was just talking about. So we've done the big grand museum. If you want something really little, really unusual, it's the museum of the art of the lost generation for Lauren and Genoaccion, I think is the museum. But it is a collection of artworks that's been put together through the passion of one art collector of all of the artworks of the artists that were coming up and coming in the 30s before everything went really, really wrong in this part of the world. And so these artists, a lot of their works been destroyed,

lost. Their work as working artists was interrupted by world events. And so this man has brought all of these beautiful, incredible, modern artworks together so that the stories of these artists and and also their work can actually be seen and appreciated as it should have been. And I found it really moving and it's in this beautiful little building in the old town. It's a really small gallery, but the quality of the art was incredible and it was a real discovery for us. So if you want a little gem, the museum of art of the lost generation is another tip I'd recommend. Yeah, you gave me chills when you mentioned that. It sounds like such a special place and this is when the night.

Nazis started to come to power. Yeah. And culturally, it was a huge step back because anything innovative in, particularly in art making and music making and everything had to be really sanctioned by the people that were in power. And they stole a lot of art collections. A lot of things were destroyed if they weren't deemed appropriate. Yeah.

So it was just this huge loss of knowledge and talent and livelihood. for people. So I really, really enjoyed getting an insight into that. And yeah, I think that would be on my list of recommendations. There's so many fabulous museums here, though. You could really spend a week. And there's a fabulous discount card if you are here for a day or two. There's a Salzburg card, which makes it all really affordable. So you can get a 24 or 48 hour pass to go for free to a lot of the museums. One of the ones with the best views is the Museum de modern, which is that modern art gallery, which is right on the top of the Minchburg Mountain. And you can get an elevator up if you want to or do the walk. And it's just views over all of Salzburg, great modern

art collections that rotate and change. That's another tip as well for modern art lovers. What about food? What are some foods that we need to try when we're in Salzberger? What's local that we should give a taste? I hope you like schnitzel, Sarah, because that is their specialty. I'm actually not meat eater. So like a lot of... I'm not either. Well, don't worry. When you come and visit, I've got you covered.

I've got you covered. I've got the options. But the good thing is about Salzburg is it is, there is a lot of variety here. So you can eat here if you have dietary requirements. So don't let that put you off. But if you are going to be here with people who do like the traditional pork knuckle and the schnitzel and the soft. The Bosner is the traditional sausage in a roll here and the curry versed and all of that so stuff. That is definitely what I take people to when they come here.

But also they have a really good kind of bakery culture here. So if you've got a sweet tooth, yeah, you can get your apple strudel with the vanilla sauce if that's up your strassar or the sacca tort. there's a hotel sacker here. There's also one in Vienna. So the sackert is a very famous chocolate cake with a merilin apricot layer in the middle. I think it's apricot.

Yeah, it's a sort of jam through the middle. So that's definitely one to try. But also here, the Mozart Kugel. They're a little Mozart ball with their chocolate and pistachio, I think, and mazapan. And it's a little ball. and they're a bit of a delicacy here.

So that's another treat that you can try and all the various little petisseries and cafes and chocolate shops here. Are there any veggie versions of the traditional meat dishes? Yeah, so we've had to find those for various friends of mine that have come over. So we've sussed them out. One of my favorite restaurants,

which is a family-run traditional kind of, it's a guest house as well. So they have rooms upstairs, but they have this beautiful restaurant on the ground floor and opens out onto a beautiful square. It's called Gast House Hinterbrew and they do a vegan schnitzel. So when I had a vegan friend come, you know, others could get the duck and the pork knuckle and the chicken schnitzel and all of that. And he could have the vegan one. The other thing that they do here, there's a restaurant that I absolutely love called Krimplstetter. It's next door to the big brewer.

here, the Augustina brewery. It's the biggest in Austria. It's the biggest sort of tavern beer hall structure in the country, I believe. And that's, I actually wrote it down because I wanted to remember how long they've been doing it. It's been brewing beer there. The monks have been brewing there since 1621. And the inn that I'm talking about that's next door, Krimplstetter, which is attached to this brewery, the Augustina, Augustina brewery, has been there since 1548. eat. So it's, you know, one of the last traditional in sort of buildings that they have here. And they serve fantastic. They do these kind of bread dumplings here, so bread and spinach and cheese. That is a real Austrian staple. It's very hearty. You know, good if you're drinking lots of beer

lines at the belly. And they also have a lot of if you do, if people do eat fish, the lake trout, the Lacfarella, because obviously we're surrounded by loads of lakes here. So the lakefish is the other delicacy here. I'm trying to think of a forgotten anything food related. But Krimplstetter does a very good bread dumpling. That's my favourite place for those. Were there any culture shocks when you moved to Salzburg? You know what?

I think it was probably a very different experience for me than my partner. So he's a Londoner. He was born and bred in London. and he'd never lived, he's travelled, but he's never lived anywhere else. Whereas I've done it before. So I guess for me, I know, I know that I can do it. I know that it takes time. I know that it's a process and you have good days and bad days.

And it does take a little while to settle into any new culture. Even as an Australian going to the UK, there's cultural differences, even though we have a common language. There's a very different culture in the way people work and communicate and do things. So for my partner Joe jumping into a work, you know, a new job where there was that very Austrian culture present, they're very direct and they're very efficient. And I think he found it more of a culture shock than I did, to be honest, whereas Ozzy's a very direct and very efficient. So I've heard it really like, oh, this could work. But the main culture shock is the language for us.

So we are studying German so that we can just assimilate a little bit better and meet people that are from here and live here. And I think that's really important. I don't want to just have English-speaking friends, but I need to do some work before those friendships are going to be possible for me. I think that's great. So what does that study process like? Because I know if you've got an English-speaking partner and you guys are living together, it can be quite hard to, assimilate in a way that if you were living with somebody who spoke German, so how are you going about learning the language? Well, and also I should mention that particularly the younger generation

here, they all learn English. So it's almost harder to, for us to practice out and about in Austria because everyone else is wanting to speak English to us. And once they figure out that we're sort of are struggling to understand. They'll immediately switch. They're so, they're so bilingual here, or often multilingual. So I think for us, we have to really put a conscious effort into sitting down at home together. We're in the same German class. We do our homework. It's quite cute. You know, we've got something that we're working on together. And it's a process. Some days, there are certain parts of learning German as a language that are really frustrating because we don't have the same structures in English and you do sometimes we're going, why, why do they speak in this

order? It doesn't make any sense to me. But then some days you go, oh, actually, I've got it. This is great. So it's really good. And I think it's a really good exercise to, at this stage of our lives, to have a whole new language to learn. But we do need to put that time in and effort, I think is the main factor. Well, and you have a very good why, because German is not the easiest language. It does seem very complicated to me, but you want to meet local people and speak in their language. And, you know, I think that's a great reason to keep you going. Exactly. And I've never been a big fan of the expectation if you move to another culture of them having to adjust to you being there. I don't think you get full experience.

I want to make an effort with being here. And, you know, he's in a permanent role. So unless he quits his job, we are going to be here for at least a couple of years, I think. So why not? Why not just throw ourselves in and see what that brings? And it's lovely. Like in general, we found people to be really, really friendly,

and it'll be really helpful once we can speak a little bit better and hopefully get a little bit more entrenched, have those conversations locally with local shop people. and at the local wine bar and all that sort of stuff and just get to know people a bit better. You've mentioned to me before that you have been on some other podcast talking about creativity and you went to school in England for music and I just realized, oh yes, you're in such a musical city now.

So how are you expressing your creativity in Salzburg? It's been a really different experience for me coming here through partnership with my, you know, It's been a very different thing because my previous moves have all been about opportunities for me, taking advantage of opportunities, moving somewhere to study or to work or doing a contract somewhere. And this has been the first time where I've actually kind of gone, oh, I don't really know what I'm doing here. And that's okay. You know, it sounds like I'm being really negative about it.

But it has been a real opportunity for me to actually go back to. basics and really just start a little bit of fresh with my own creative and musical practice since moving here. So I have found a teacher here who has been singing recently at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and she's American so we can work in English and she's married to a Salzburg-born musician. So that has been a really big step is finding someone to work with on my own music and technique and kind of dust the cobwebs off after a long time not singing in the pandemic. And I have some friends here who are in the opera company.

So I have really enjoyed going to watch their performances and meeting people in their circle as well who are musicians. So yeah, it's a processor. I'm kind of getting my creativity back and settling in here and meeting people. and gradually those little puzzle pieces are falling into place. Well, before I let you go, can we do a lightning round of your favourite places in Salzburg? Sure. There might be, actually, this is probably good because I'll probably repeat some of the things that I've already mentioned.

All right, favorite cafe. I would always say that people should go to Cafe Bazaar, which is on the Salzac, it's on the river. It is one of those grand European cafes. It's next to the hotel, Saka. And go there, you can go for, you know, a glass of fizz. And, you know, if you're wanting to go for a drink or you can go for a coffee and a cake. And, you know, it's great people watching. Beautiful views of Salzburg.

You can spend all day there if you want. It's just a lovely, lovely atmosphere. The other one that I quite like, if you want something really small and really historical, There's like a tiny little patisserie cafe called Shats Contetore, and it's in the old town, and it's a family run. It's been in the same family since the 80s, but it's been in existence since the 1870s. And they have the Mozart, Google, the Mozart balls as well. And if you're a sweet tooth, that place is fabulous.

And what is cafe culture like in Salzburg? Are people like taking their time in the morning? Is it rushing around? It's really hard to find a coffee before 9 a.m. here. It's very different from London. People are not, people are a bit more chilled in the morning, a bit more late starting, I've noticed. There's a couple of little espresso hole in the wall places where you can get your coffee and go. But apart from that, it is very much a leisurely activity. You sit, you read, you. It's very European in that way, which I really love. In general, like everyone, all the cafe service is really good. I've found here they're very friendly and lovely. And I would actually one piece of advice for people who visit. You might be surprised if you're coming from London or big cities,

but it's very much a cash culture here. Everyone pays cash, tips in cash, all of that. So bring some euros if you're wanting to go to a cafe. Otherwise you might find yourself a bit stuck if you've only got a card. That's a great tip. I wasn't even thinking about that. And you're just at a cafe outside and flip through a newspaper. That's how I used to, when I lived in Brooklyn, that's how I used to spend my Sundays.

Get the New York Times, go to a muffin shop, hang out. brunch is the religion that I worship on Sundays. And it's less of a thing here than it is in Australia, but there are some great, there are some great little cafes that you can go to. Oh, there's also a really good little French patisserie called French style patisserie called Boltrum, which has the most delicious croissant. I'm not, I can't go there too often because it's, and macaroons as well. They have amazing stuff.

So I'll add that to my cafe list. What about restaurant? Where do you like to go for lunch or dinner? So I would say crimposteta, which I mentioned, which is the really old traditional inn next to the Augustina brewery. And yeah, there's, I love going to restaurants. So I have a whole list. But I would say for a first time in Salzburg, that would be, if you want,

the real traditional experience, that would be my top tip. Where do you like to hang out at night? One of my favorite spots. So Salzburg isn't really a nightlifey vibe. So if you're coming here and you want to let your hair down, maybe go to Berlin or somewhere on the way and go to a bigger city. Salzburg is very quiet, which suits me absolutely fine. So I really like to go. There's a brewery called Stigel, which is the other direction from the Augustina brewery. It's under the fortress on the mountain and it's actually dug into the rock, which is really cool. But they have an incredible balcony with views over the kind of tops of all the cathedrals in the old town. And we went there just Joe and I after he finished work on Friday last week. And it was just like it'd been

raining so much, but it was a clear night. It was just. are so quiet. We're on the balcony having a drink and all the church bells start ringing and it's just beautiful and you can hear the birdsong from the mountains. So that would be up there for a favorite place to go just for a drink and or a pretzel. That's the other thing you should have here. Pretzels are very good. That does sound like you're living in a film. Yeah, it's, I have to pinch myself a lot. It's yeah, ridiculously beautiful. Let's say, we visit Salisburg and we want to take a souvenir home of some kind? Are there any markets you would recommend where we could buy something local? And what would you buy? So there are two local food

markets, which are really lovely experiences to go to on a, there's one on a Wednesday, which is near the Mirabelle Gardens. And there's one on the Saturday, which is in old town. So when you're here, you can wander around those. There's loads of different stalls selling just about everything. But I'm trying to think for the Mozart Kugel, the little chocolates are a great gift if you've got a sweet tooth that you're buying a gift for. The other things that people... Salzburg, I mean, literally is salt. Salts means salt.

So they're famous for their salt mines and things like that. So they have lots of gourmet salts and things like that here. you wanted to get something like that. Let me think what I've got for people. They also have some markets around near the, near the finicular that goes up to the fortress, and one of those stalls has a traditional fabric stall where they use the traditional process to dye indigo, using indigo dye to dye fabric, but they pattern it in a very traditional way, which I think is UNESCO listed. So that is also another little tip. I've bought a couple of things from there for people, you know, little, little oven gloves and a little dress for my niece and things in that

beautiful, beautiful, bright, navy blue color with the white dots on it. So that's, that's what that looks like. I love to buy scarps in different places. So maybe I will come back with an indigo scarf. Yeah. And like if you're feeling like you want to go the full thing, Sarah, if you want to get the full durnal traditional outfit with the little apron on the front and the blouse and the sort of corset top, they have the most elegant stores here for buying those really high-quality, gorgeous ones. I actually ended up buying a vintage one myself for one of the cultural festivals here for the Maibalm of Stelan, which is where they raised the May Pole. It's a very, very Austrian thing that they do in May. So I bought, I,

I felt like I needed to fit in, so I bought one at a vintage market. But yeah, that is one of the things that you will 100% see when you're here is people do wear their leaderhosen and they do wear their dendals and track. And it's not a myth. It's what people wear when they're working as weight staff. And it's what people wear out to dinner and to weddings and on Sundays. So it's absolutely gorgeous. I love that tradition that they have here. Oh, wow.

Yeah. I was just going to ask you, is that just for special? events, but it sounds like people are always wearing these outfits. Yeah, like, particularly when the Salzburg Festival and all the big concerts are on, that, it's sort of like your smart wear, what you would wear to family lunch on a Sunday or what you would wear to a symphonic concert or, you know, whatever. It's, if it's a special occasion, you know, you see weddings and they're in their traditional outfits as well. It's really lovely.

Yeah, and I think if you're going to spend any time here, it's one of those things that's worth getting one so that you just feel you can fit in. It's very accepted for foreigners to wear it. It's not seen as cultural appropriation or anything like that. It's very embraced if everyone gets into the spirit of it. So you mentioned the May Pole Festival. Are there any other festivals? There are so many.

It feels like in May itself, like I'm surprised that an amount of people, public holidays that are happening. It's like there's always some saint day or something. But St. Rupert's Day, Rupertikir-Tag, is in September. That was the first one that I experienced because I only moved over in the autumn last year. So that is where the whole centre of the town becomes like a little, it's hard to describe, it's like a combination of a mini Octoberfest and a like a family fair. They have all these hand-painted, gorgeous old fairground rides, including this one of those swinging swing things that's been there. They've had that every year for decades and decades and decades.

Yeah, it's just the most beautiful. You've got the umpapa music playing and it's just everything you would want from an Austrian festival. All the breweries have stalls. And yeah, the other thing, I mean, I know I've mentioned beer a lot because there's, there are a lot of breweries here. But if you do want to have something alternative, they're very keen on the vice vine spritz here, like so white wine spritses and things like that.

They, in Austria, there's a few great varieties that they're very known for. And the Grunner Valchina is a very fresh white wine that is good in a spritz as well. So that's another tip. So you can get that at the Rupertikistak as well. I know Salzberg's quite small, but is there any area specifically that you would recommend staying in if we were there? It really just depends on so many factors. I think if you have the budget to stay somewhere where you can be near the water or see the water,

it is such a gorgeous view that you wouldn't regret waking up to the view of Salzburg. It's just worth it, in my opinion. The old town I would just say can get very busy in the high season. So I would personally, if it was me, I would not stay in the centre of the old town. Plus, let's remember those church bells, they go off every day at 7 a.m.

So if you want to be away from the church bells, maybe avoid the old town. My mom happens to love it. She came over to visit, and she could have the church bells all day. She was like really into it. Just depends on the person. I'm into it.

I'm into it. Yeah. Yeah. So I would say, you know, along the river, but just be wary of the high season, particularly in the summer where the old town can be really, really, really busy. And if that's not your vibe, maybe stay a little bit further out.

Well, this has been such a great conversation. Thank you so much for talking to me. Is there anything else you wanted to add? I would just really encourage people to consider Salzburg. It's a gem. And if you can, also the surrounding lake regions as well, if you can get a car and explore the nature that is surrounding this beautiful city, if you like hiking, there's the mountains. If you just want to be on a beautiful restaurant by the

lakes, there's plenty of places you can do that. So really just, it's a region that might not be on people's list, but it's so fabulous. Oh, and in winter you can ski. So yeah, it's got a bit of everything for everyone. So I hope it might be helpful to some of your listeners if they were thinking about coming to visit. Thank you so much for talking to me today. Where can people find out worry about you. I am on Instagram. If that's, if that's your jam, you can find me. My account is Vivian Metso, because I'm a M-S-S-Prono, so it's V-I-V-I-V-I-E-M-E-D-O. And I am often posting little snippets of Salzburg Life as well, if that's something that would be of interest. Amazing. All right, well, thank you again and I'll see you soon. Thank you so much for having me,

Sarah, and I will see you in Salzburg. I really loved that conversation with Vivian and I'm always so inspired by people who have a dream and they take action on it. They do what they say, what they want to do. But that is not easy for most of us. A lot of us need help from certain people. So if you have a dream like moving abroad or getting over performance anxiety but you are feeling stuck, let's chat. Book a consult with me, sarahigatell.com slash chat. And let's talk about what we can do together to move you forward.

What do you want to achieve this year? Where do you want to go? As I mentioned in a previous podcast, how long will you wait before you start demanding the very best for yourself? What would your life look like if you started today? As the Stoic said, Memento Mori, remember you will die. We only have one life potentially. Who knows, maybe we come back, but let's make the most of the life that you have right now.

Sarah Megatel.com slash chat. Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free conversation sheet sheet with simple formulas that you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you're in a meeting or just talking with friends. Download it at sarah micotel.com slash blank no more.