A Garden for Salome, A Story for Us

We found something in common between Salzburg’s Mirabell and Yogyakarta’s Prambanan

SDB and I captured from various angles in the garden (All photos taken around Mirabell Gardens are mine. Permission to use photos with SDB has been granted)

As we descended Rosenhügel (Rose Hill), the more steps we took, the deeper we fell into joining the great admirers of this city. The atmosphere of Salzburg is real, I admit. What’s this city? Maybe we can blame it on my unpreparedness, but I only had two things in my head: this is the town where Mozart was born, and home to Mirabell Gardens (yep, the official name is plural) — a famous spot I know thanks to The Sound of Music. That’s it.

As to how SDB and I arrived here, we followed wherever the train lines pointed, walked where the map led us, and landed in one of the most beautiful valleys I think I’ve ever been to. I’ve written about that feeling of observing this garden we were about to enter from Rose Hill here. No wonder so many admirers are vocal about how much they love Salzburg. I came to that understanding by the end of this day.

The stairs we walked down from Rose Hill are flanked by a pair of unicorn statues. At the base of the terrace stood another mythical figure, the Pegasus, rising from the center of a shallow pool. It is quietly majestic, like a mythical guardian. Although slightly weathered, these statues’ dignified forms added a whimsical touch to the descent, something like a…