Thanks to salt.

Salzburg became a wealthy baroque city because of the huge, highly productive salt mines in its vicinity.  Though the mines closed in 1991 after hundreds of years of operation, we got to experience a bit of the miner's life - taking a little train deep underground, then sliding deeper, and deeper still!

After the salt mines, we spent a gorgeous, warm, sunny afternoon in Salzburg's pedestrian only "old town", and then dined and slept in a warm, friendly Austrian guest house (gasthof) at the base of Hitler's Eagle's Nest.

On top of Salzburg!

On top of Salzburg again!

Mr. Craig and Manjason Salzburg Selfie!

Still on top of Salzburg!

One of the many branching mine shafts deep under the Alps.

The Celtic miner turned into human-jerky in a salt mine collapse.

The joy (and terror) of the miners' slides!

Family resemblance?  See above.

Jason tries out his "fierce" face.

Mo, imprisoned in the Salzburg fortress dungeon.

Observing the instruments of torture in the Salzburg Fortress.

I think Rachel's hood is a little tight.

On the miners' train ready to descend hundreds of metres below the surface.

I don't know the game, but Tori and Braeden are pretty good at it.

Ready for descent.

The girls like their stylish new miners' threads.

Rock beats scissors?

Kasmira wonders if you can get these at Brandy Melville.  Or whatevs.

Mo and Max:  more matching than you.

Mr. Craig and Sammy selfie.

Emma and Rachel non selfie.

Squinty.

Chase: A useless battering ram.  

Inside the Salzburg Fortress courtyard.

One of the many monuments in the Salzburg cemetery (see Sound of Music)

The amazing interior dome of the Salzburg Cathedral.  A bomb went right through this dome in WWII, necessitating 15 years of repair work before the church could be reopened.  Mozart was the church organist here when he was a teenager.

In the creepy crypt of the cathedral.

Not sure where this shadow came from...

scary.

Looking up at the Salzburg Fortress.

The famous giant Salzburg pretzels.

Blake wonders why his pretzel is cold and drippy.

Cheese bacon.

This guy was pretty happy when I asked him if I could buy 54 pretzels for my group.

He temporarily hired Sarah to help serve the pretzels.  Pay was not that good though.

Dude ate his pretzel pretty fast.

Here's Mozart, trying to entice you with one of his balls.  But the look on his face says it all - these are sub-standard, awful little balls of some sort of artificial chocolate substance - not fit for human consumption.

Give them nothing.

Madi really like Mirabella Gardens.

Max and Mo really like matching.

Rachel really likes photobombing. 

Caitlyn shows off her expertise in the Kegelbahnen lanes.