Germany/Austria ~ Salzburg Part 2

Today, was the part of the trip I was most looking forward to.  It was finally time for The Sound of Music tour!!  I've loved this movie all my life, and my kids love it too, so it was the perfect tour for us...for Chris, well, he such a good sport.  And, he had his turn at the Hofbrauhaus. We watched the movie again as soon as we returned home, and Chris and the kids shouted at the TV every time they saw something from our tour. 

We learned so much about the real Von Trapp family on our tour, as well as the liberties Hollywood took with their story and the sites around Salzburg.  Our guide on the tour was hilarious and talked about Maria running from the hills to the Abbey because she was worried she would be in trouble for being out and returning late.  That is actually like 10 miles away and not just a sprint down a hill.  The family also did not hike over the hills to Switzerland.  That would be about 500 miles away (poor little Gretel), and in the movie they were actually going the wrong way!  The real family did escape looking as though they were hiking, but they hopped on a train.  Sorry to ruin for you. :)  So above, this is not the house used in the movie, but it is the yard they used for the back of the house and the lake where Maria and the kids fell out of the boat.  The little girl who played Gretel almost drowned, and they had to film it more than once to get it right.  Yikes! 

Here is the gazebo from the scene where Rolf, the Nazi postman, and Liesl sang "I am Sixteen Going on Seventeen..."  The gazebo was originally left at the house above, but tourists were going in it all hours of the night and singing obnoxiously, so it had to be removed from the private property.

Oops!  Out of order.  Here we are in front of the lake and completely blocking the house...duh!

I wonder if anyone saw us coming in this thing?

The road where the children hung from the trees in their curtain clothing.

This is the home that was used as the Von Trapp house.  Maria is seen at the front gate when she arrives, and the back of the house is used in the scenes in the yard.  Hollywood had to be very careful with outside shots to be sure the correct house was in the background.  Inside shots were filmed on a set in Hollywood.  But I believe the ballroom scene may have been filmed in the white house, or at least it was recreated from a room in that house. Our tour was not allowed to go up to this house, so I snapped this as we flew by.

The trip took us outside of Salzburg to some shots from the opening scenes of the movie.  This was just beautiful, and I can't image how stunning it would be without the cloud cover.

We were taken to a small town at least 20 minutes from Salzburg where they filmed Maria and the Captain's wedding.  The wedding in the movie took place at the Abbey, but it was the inside of this church that was used.

Look familiar?  It was beautiful with all of the black accents.

At the end of the tour, there were other sites you could explore on your own.  This is Mirabell Gardens and the site of the "Do-Re-Mi" song.  These are the steps the children hop up behind Maria at the end of the song.  Allison was all giggles when she hopped on the steps singing her heart out.  Truth be told, I got very teary eyed.

And a walk around Pegasus just like the children did.  I should have stood to the left and not facing the horse's you know what....

A view of the gardens.  The flowers in the movie were planted very much the same way.

Continuing to act like tourists.  Go ahead and turn on the movie...I know you want to. :)

Another fountain featured in the film.

This dwarf is located in Dwarf Park, which is just up the steps from the gardens.  The children dance around this particular guy and pat him on the head.  Allison tried to tell me she could see their hand prints.  Hahahaha!

The kids had their arms up and marched past each other.  Someone wouldn't play along in this picture.

Now on to the rest of Salzburg.  This lovely cemetery is located next to St. Peter's Church.  After leaving, I read that Mozart's sister was buried here.  She was quite the musician herself, but when your brother is a musical genius, you kind of get overlooked.  Every ten years, a charge is sent out to the families of the deceased in this cemetery.  If they do not pay the fee for the plot, you are removed! On a side note, you know that creepy dark cemetery the Von Trapp's hide in when Rolf discovers them?  This cemetery was the inspiration for the cemetery in that scene.

Our ascent up to the fortress.  Such a lovely view.

See that little area that sticks out of the fortress?  That's the bathroom....I wonder what that side of the castle looked like back in the good old days!  LOL!

A view from the fortress.  At about "2 o'clock" in the distance, you can see the white house from The Sound of Music with the pond in the back.

And, the view of Salzburg.

Marionettes are still a big part of the culture, as was seen in the movie.  There was a small marionette museum inside the fortress, and shows are still performed.

Trying his hand at the marionette.

These marionettes are from "The Magic Flute", which was Mozart's last opera and most frequently performed.  It made its debut in Salzburg on September 30, 1791.

A sweet American took this picture for us.

I just happened to stick my camera behind my head and snap a picture of the kids descending the fortress.  It makes me laugh.  I love that face.

The remains of the wall around the city.

See the fortress waaaay of there?  We had just walked from there.  There was just a wee bit of complaining from someone who wore her Converse shoes that are too small.  That, my friends, was a long walk...and I don't just mean distance wise.

On the busiest shopping street in old town.  It was closing time, so it doesn't look too busy in this picture.  It is a requirement to have a wrought iron sign over your shop.  McDonalds even had one...but of course...it was the biggest.

The abbey is easy to spot with the red dome.

A Mozart ball up close.

And finally, the footbridge where Maria and the children crossed the river.  And of course, we had to act it out.  I have no idea where they get the drama. ;)

Sorry for the very long post.  There was just so much to see that day.  Tomorrow, we are off to Rothenburg, Germany!

Until next time,

Wendy