Salzburg Day Four // Museum der Moderne & Mönchsberg Terrace

For my last day in Salzburg, I chose to take things easy. By now my Salzburg Card had run out, but I'd managed to do most things on my list. For the record, the 72 hour Salzburg Card costs €42 and, had I not had one, I would have spent €90 on entrance fees and public transport... and that's with my morning wasted on fixing my phone and a badly-timed trip to Vienna in the middle. It's well worth it! The one thing I hadn't been able to do was visit the Museum der Moderne, or Modern Art Museum, embedded in the side of the Mönschberg mountain.

To reach the museum, and the walking trails along the top of the mountain, you can either hike up or take the Mönchsberg lift. I'd expected this to be a furnicular but nope. It's a literal lift. Like you get at Westfield. You need to pay to use the lift but it's a whole lot easier than hiking up and, as I was visiting the museum, I just bought a combination ticket. There's also a lovely restaurant at the top and if you eat there, you get a complimentary ride back down so you only need to buy a one-way ticket for €2.30. The ride takes about 20 seconds and, as I was travelling so high so quickly (and through an actual mountain), the pressure made my ears pop which was an experience! When I reached the top, I wanted to see the view from the terrace first, since it's widely regarded as the best view of Salzburg.

Yep, it's flipping beautiful! The Hohensalzburg Fortress is one of my favourite Salzburg landmarks so it was lovely to have such a great view that includes it, rather than from the top of it! I had great views towards the Kapuzingerberg and mountains beyond, as well as the old and new towns. This terrace is where two scenes were filmed in The Sound of Music- when Maria leaves the Abbey and looks over the city (the Abbey is the other side of the town but that's the film industry for you!), and when the children start putting words to Do Re Mi. What I found really sweet is that the wall hasn't changed at all, although there is now the inclusion of a couple of penny presses which made my day since I collect pressed pennies. You can also walk along the Mönchsberg between the museum and the Hohensalzburg, which is definitely something I want to try next time.
After admiring the view, I sat on the terrace of M32 restaurant for a couple of drinks. Since it was such a sunny day, the umbrellas were up on all of the tables and I didn't have as great a view as I'd hoped but it was still a really lovely place to sit and relax. I'll be going back for a meal as I've heard their food is fantastic! (Tip: It starts filling up for lunch from about 11:45 so get there around 11:30 for a table at the front of the terrace)
When I finally decided to visit the museum, I found myself in a bit of a pickle. A huge glass wall divides the entry foyer from the lifts but I couldn't work out how to get in. After circling the lifts a couple of times, looking for a door, I swallowed my pride and decided to knock on the glass wall to catch the attention of the girl behind the desk and ask. Turns out that glass wall is one massive automatic door, so as soon as I approached, it slid right open. Composing my face into my best yeah, I knew that was going to happen expression, I walked to the desk and showed my ticket. I was handed a map of the museum which was handy as it's quite a complex layout.
The space itself is somewhat similar to many other modern art museums, with plain white walls and concrete floors, although it does have the odd glass wall with spectacular views. Artworks are spread out so each room feels airy and it was very quiet. This combination made the gallery a peaceful place to spend a few hours. There aren't places to sit and take in the art on display- not even in the rooms with video installations- which is a shame but I'm quite partial to sitting on a floor à la Jeremy Corbyn anyway so that wasn't a huge deal for me. I found the documentary This is What Democracy Looks Like by Oliver Ressler so interesting that I sat on the concrete and watched the entire 40 minutes. I was also fascinated by the Hans Haacke survey which asks visitors questions relating to current socioeconomic issues and displays the results for each week. Haacke has been surveying visitors to art galleries across the world since 1970, and the museum displayed a stack of early completed questionnaire. Considering the surveys are now completed on iPads, I found the contrast between then and now really striking. As well as the modern art you'd expect, there was also a fascinating look at Salzburg's history including the relationship with the rest of Europe during World War Two. As a bit of a history buff, this exhibit was the one that really stood out for me.
By now I was feeling peckish, so I travelled back down in the lift and visited Hans W- a hot dog place with great reviews that's right by the bottom of the mountain. Guess who forgot to take cash out and went to another cash-only restaurant? This fool right here! I did have some cash in my purse but I was struggling with telling each coin apart, so the waiter very kindly counted it out for me. To my immense relief, I had exactly the right amount. I apologised profusely but the waiter said he needed the change anyway and didn't make me feel like an idiot! The Salzburg people are all so friendly and patient, even to annoying English folk like me! 
To end my last day, I went for a slow stroll around the old town until I reached Mozartplatz where there were a whole load of giant bean bags and hammocks in the square. I found one in the shade and lay down, taking it all in. It was a quiet afternoon with a low hum of people eating on cafe terraces, the clip-clop of horses circling the square and a busker playing What a Wonderful World on a glockenspiel. I honestly couldn't believe how perfect it all was. Although I was sad to be leaving Salzburg, I'd had such a wonderful time and this was the perfect way to end my trip. Of course, I'm already planning my return. See you at Christmas, Salzburg! 
I was very kindly provided with a Salzburg Card but all opinions are my own Bloglovin' // Twitter // Instagram