Blessed are the pop artists

It sure seems to be the summer of construction in Europe.

No matter where I go here I am greeted by construction. In Budapest everything was under construction.

Salzburg, Austria was no different although the construction was easier to look at.

The Salzburg Cathedral was, like everything else, under construction. Crews were working on the front facade during my visit there last week. And like most of the construction I had seen up to that point, the construction scafling was covered with an advertisement.

But this scafling was different; it was covered by a swimsuit advertisement.

Yes, a swimsuit advertisement on a cathedral.

In Budapest I had seen an advertisement for Spiderman 3 on the side of an old apartment building, but I did not see any advertisements on churches under construction there.

Salzburg Cathedral
Salzburg Cathedral

But why a swimsuit advertisement? I mean come on. Of all things to advertise on the side of a cathedral why a swimsuit? Wouldn’t an advertisement for a charity be a better fit if you had to put one there? Even a T-Mobile advertisement wouldn’t be as bad.

The best part by far, though, was that the swimsuit model was Kylie Minogue. So not only do you have a half-naked girl on the side of a cathedral, but also a half-naked pop artist.

I do not consider myself to be a very religious person, but I though that this was very hilarious and sad at the same time. How hard up for money does the Church have to be to put H&M advertisements on the side of an ancient cathedral?

While we were in Salzburg, we did not know the name of the church so it automatically got nicknamed “Saint Kylie’s Church.”

I’ve heard that the pope wears prada, but I did not know that he shops at H&M.

I just wonder how many guys went to confessional, came out of the church, looked at Kylie and went back to confessional again.

In review: Salzburg

Salzburg, Austria

Wow, what a trip.

Salzburg, Austria is such a beautiful city with so much to see that it is impossible to see everything in only three days. Unfortunately three days was all I got since I was with the class group.

We got there Wednesday afternoon and walked around for a while. That evening we went to a Mozart performance that was held in the fortress overlooking the city. The musicians were amazing.

I did not realize that it would be a dress-up event so I was grossly under dressed the entire time with an “Indiana Basketball” t-shirt and jeans. (Remember: Mozart equals dress up.)

Thursday we had an entire day to explore the city. We started at Schloss Hellbrunn on the outskirts of the city. Hellbrunn was simply amazing. Besides a castle, there is also a beautiful garden and even a zoo. After lingering in the garden for about an hour, we went to the zoo.

I am not a fan of zoos, but this zoo was amazing since the entire time we had great views of the Alps on the horizon.

Friday was our last day in the city and I spent much of the day with the two associate instructors walking around the city. The coolest thing that I saw was the Schloss Mirabell gardens.

In 1965 a few scenes from “The Sound of Music” were filmed in the Mirabell gardens. “The Sound of Music” continues to be a big tourist draw for the city. While in Salzburg, I saw several “Sound of Music Tours.” These tours visited several places in the city that appeared in the 1965 musical.

Salzburg’s other claim to fame is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart was born in the heart of Salzburg in January 27, 1756. The house where he was born is now a museum.

For the most part, Salzburg was a good trip. The city is beautiful and the people are nice.

The only downside to the Salzburg trip was the youth hostel where we stayed. It sucked. Quiet hours are supposed to start at 10 p.m., but it was not enforced because screaming girls could be heard throughout the night. It seemed more like a playground than a hostel.