I grew up on The Sound of Music, sitting in front of my TV and singing along with Julie Andrews while I wondered what it would be like to live the life of a nun, to be sixteen-going-on-seventeen, and to flee over the mountains from the Nazis. Anyone else? My husband also watched this classic film as a child, so it was a no-brainer to add Panorama Tours' Original Sound of Music Tour in Salzburg, Austria, to our Europe itinerary.
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Our half-day tour began in central Salzburg. Our guide was very informative and entertaining (and actually looked a good deal like Maria! Coincidence?), and this was a singalong tour! We listened to the Rodgers and Hammerstein soundtrack and sang while we drove.
One of the first sites we drove by was Nonnberg Abbey, a working convent where the historical Maria was a nun and also married Captain von Trapp. We also drove by Frohnburg Palace, the yellow villa which served as the front of the Von Trapp family's home in the movie.
Leopoldskron Palace was the filming location for the back of the Von Trapp residence. The boating scene and garden scenes took place here. Lovely view!
Nearby at Hellbrunn Palace was the famous gazebo which was the rendezvous point for Leisl and Rolfe's night-time romantic meeting and the spot where Maria and Captain von Trapp shared their first kiss.
We headed out of the city and towards the Lake District. At one point our bus driver continued to circle a roundabout until everyone on the bus was loudly yodeling! Here is the town of St. Gilgen and Lake Wolfgang, which can be seen in the opening shots of The Sound of Music.
We spent some time in the quaint town of Mondsee...
...where the wedding of Maria and Captain von Trapp was filmed at the Mondsee Abbey Church. It's grand exterior--with chevron detail added before chevron was chevron!--was not seen in the movie, but its ornate sanctuary provided the perfect backdrop for Maria's slow and reverent trip down the aisle in her long dress to the sound of organ music and nun's voices.
We spent a little time sitting by Lake Mondsee eating a scrumptious apple struedel.
Then we headed back into Austria to the stately Mirabell Gardens. Pictured here are the famous "Do-Re-Mi" steps.
We reenacted scenes from the movie to the best of our memory as we explored the gardens, and this concluded the official portion of our excellent guided tour.
But we continued to explore on our own and identified another bridge on which the Von Trapp children frolicked in the film, and we also found the Residenz Square Horse Fountain, where Maria sang "I Have Confidence In Me."
Feeling as though we'd stepped right into one of our favorite movies was simply the best, but we enjoyed some of Salzburg's other sites as well. We hiked up to Hohensalzburg Castle...
...and enjoyed the view of the city below.
We'd chosen to stay in the town of Grodig, nearby Salzburg, at the cutie Hotel Sallerhof. Aside from an unfortunate do-we-leave-the-windows-open-and-get-eaten-alive-by-mosquitoes-or-keep-them-closed-and-burn-up dilemma our first night there, we were happy with these lodgings and especially with breakfast! And providentially our second night at the Sallerhof, it rained!--no mosquitoes.
What a lovely little town! Isn't my husband the cutest sitting on that heart-shaped bench? (I'm not sure "cute" is what he's going for, but nonetheless...)
I've got two words for you: wiener schnitzel. This is a thin, breaded, pan-fried veal cutlet served with lemon and parsley, famous in Austrian cuisine. As in the case of my delicious dinner pictured here, pork is often substituted for veal. (Whew! Not so hot on the whole veal thing.)
Our final day in Austria we decided to hike a section of the Untersberg, which separates Austria from Germany and served as the filming location for Maria to sing "The Hills Are Alive" and for the Von Trapp family to escape over the mountains "into Switzerland" in The Sound of Music. Little did we know as we set out that we'd see more of these "staircases" than we ever cared to on our three-hour journey to the top. The climb was taxing, and we saw few other people, lending an air of mystique to our adventure.
The view from the top was amazing! We were on a bit of a schedule, so we happily took the cable car back down to Grodig, where we grabbed our luggage, ran to catch a bus, hurried to find the next bus... But that's a story for another day!
