Author's Notes

Slowly my dreams fade and bury themselves into the pillows. The rag-rug, the old trunk, the small wall lights perched atop of a golden stag all remind me that I’m in the country. Let’s go downstairs for some breakfast. Wooden floorboards creak beneath my feet and I go down solid stone stairs. I walk past masonry several metres thick. Condensed history.

So, while I’m at the Goldener Hirsch (which stands for “Golden Stag") why not visit Salzburg as well? Mozart is a must. And everything related to that Sound of Music. I shouldn’t miss the museums. And of course the city and its old masonry which has witnessed over a thousand years of architectural history. In St Peter a plaque states: Since 803. How many great-great-grandfathers ago was that?

Everything is close together. The beauty of this city has been compressed. A clever hand has carefully placed them -– often only a few metres apart -– between the rocks of the Festungsberg and the Mönchsberg ("Berg" meaning mountain, literally “fortress mountain” and “monk’s mountain") on the one side and the river Salzach on the other. There is neither space for elegant Boulevards nor other large frames for these works of art.

How high they built even six hundred years ago — the town houses are five or six storeys high, over the narrow alleyways. Look across and the house opposite is no more than five metres away. Between these buildings run Salzburg’s famous alleys: the Getreidegasse, the Goldgasse, the Judengasse ...

Walking through the cathedral and the Residenz I feel like I’m visiting an exhibition of Central European architecture, a true Viewer’s Digest of splendour made of stone.

I call back to the hotel: “Would you please reserve a table for me at lunch time?” The restaurant is rated among the best in the country and even outside Festival time it may well be fully booked. Its cuisine has set many milestones. The headwaiters are of the old school. They were still trained how to light a cigarette in style, how to flambé at the table and how to make small talk with the patrons. You know: hunting, fishing, what’s on at the theatre, the latest opera scandal, the legendary countess ...

Afternoons are meant for relaxation, coffee or tea and homemade apple strudel. During late afternoon the light is softer. Now the fronts of the houses present themselves from their most magnificent angle. When night falls over the festival city the Goldener Hirsch is in top gear. An aperitif at the bar followed by dinner in the restaurant. Don’t forget to sample the Goldener Hirschruecken when in season -– deer à la maison.

If you are looking for a more down-to-earth atmosphere visit the Herzl where you will be served excellent and even more typical Austrian fare. Then perhaps to the Halle for an after dinner drink? This is where the heart of this unique hotel lies. It has been beating steadily for hundreds of years.

Jingle your golden room key and for one blissful moment you’ll feel as if time had stood still. For six centuries the thick stone walls of this house have been breathing history. Who wouldn’t want to rest their weary head in this place?

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