Summer in the City
with Joanne Edwards
Fotos: Zeichnung: MasterSergeant – stock.adobe.com, Porträt: www.kaindl-hoenig.com
In winter, many people choose to spend a holiday on the Canary Islands, to escape the cold weather. In Autumn, many people fly to Greece or Sardinia to prolong the summer. However, in summer, the wonderful City of Salzburg is the place to be and this year is no exception. I consider myself very lucky to be able to live in a city where tourists pay a fortune to visit. We have everything right here in on our doorstep: a beautiful, safe city, steeped in history, lakes offering crystal clear water to swim in and mountains with hiking possibilities for everyone. There are kilometers of cycle tracks, where you hardly see any traffic, and there are reasonably priced restaurants on every corner, serving delicious food – and you don’t feel ripped off when the bill arrives.
Although I always appreciate the fact I live in one of the most beautiful places in Europe, this is made even more evident when family or friends come to stay. They all fall head over heals in love with the city and surrounding countryside, which offers the most amazing scenery. I am always spoilt for choice as to where we should go but, as long as the weather is good, the choices are endless.
In the next few days, the Salzburg Summer Festival 2023 will transform the city into one giant stage and draw tourists and music lovers from all over the world to experience the world’s most significant festival for opera, music and drama. This is exactly how the founders of the Salzburg Festival – Max Reinhardt, Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Richard Strauss, envisioned it to be – over 100 years ago. This year, the Salzburg Festival offers 179 performances over 43 days in 15 venues. The opera highlights include Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and Verdi’s Macbeth and, it goes without saying, Hugo von Hoffmannsthal’s Jedermann will be the centre of the 2023 drama programme and will be performed on the stage in front of the Cathedral. I always feel sorry for the organisers of Jedermann, as they never know until the very last minute, if this will go ahead as planned or be moved indoors at the last minute – due to bad weather.
It also goes without saying that many locals will complain about the thousands of tourists, who block the narrow streets in the city, the traffic jams and the pollution from the tourist busses. But, that is the only disadvantage of living in such a wonderful city. Remember, it wasn’t long ago that our streets were deserted and we were living in fear, due to a terrible virus that no one mentions anymore.
Enjoy your summer!
to choose – wählen
to prolong – verlängern
however – jedoch
no exception – keine Ausnahme
to pay a fortune – ein Vermögen ausgeben
on our doorstep – vor der Haustür
steeped in history – geschichtsträchtig
lakes – Seen
hiking – wandern
cycle tracks – Radwege
hardly – kaum
traffic – Verkehr
reasonably priced – mit vernünftigen Preisen
to be ripped off – geneppt werden
the bill – die Rechnung
to appreciate – schätzen
evident – offensichtlich
to fall head over heels in love – bis über beide Ohren verliebt sein
surrounding countryside – die Umgebung
scenery – Landschaft
to be spoilt for choice – die Qual der Wahl haben
one giant stage – eine riesige Bühne
to draw tourists – Touristen anlocken
the founders – die Gründer
to envision sth. – sich etw. vorstellen
performances – Aufführungen
venues – Schauplätze
Cathedral – Dom
to feel sorry for sbd. – jmd. bedauern
due to – wegen
locals – Einheimische
to complain – sich beschweren
traffic jam – Stau
pollution – Luftverschmutzung
disadvantage – Nachteil
deserted – verlassen
fear – Furcht
to mention – erwähnen
