I walked through the old town and it was beautiful! I was on a mission to get to the side of the hill and find the entrance to the fortress. While my public transportation skills may stink, I am still an amazing navigator. Without a map, I walked through the winding streets and found myself at the entrance to the tram that takes you up the hill. When I reached the top, I fell in love with the view! It was such a beautiful city from up top! And the river in the middle made it even more spectacular!
I eventually walked around the castle for a while and saw some of the museum. It was a very large museum with lots of info- I wouldn't even know where to start on here!! I did make sure to enjoy the view one last time before I left though!!
The wall/ceiling inside one of the rooms at the castle.
When I made my way back through town I couldn't help but notice this grand game of chess! :) Too fun!
I decided to walk through the shop area in town. The street had shops as far as they eye could see!! Lots of tourists too- and sooo many speak English because they are here for Sound of Music- but I'll get there later!
I noticed a large group of people taking pictures of a particular building, so I decided to have a look myself- and glad I did!! This was the house where Mozart was born in 1756- on the third floor to be exact!! His family lived there for 26 years- from 1747 to 1773. Amazing!!!! So hard to take it all in!! You just cannot find this kind of history back home.
I went into my favorite shop, Intimissimi again and made one final purchase! Then it was back to the hotel. I barely had time to rest because the Sound of Music tour was less than an hour away. Fun piece of information- if you come to Austria (besides Salzburg), and ask an Austrian about the Sound of Music, they will have no clue what you are talking about. Most have never seen it. Why? Because it was only originally released in English.
So, the tour van finally picked me up at my hotel. The driver was of course dressed in lederhosen. :) He was running late, and by the time we got to the tour office, the bus for the tour was full and taking off, so myself along with a couple from Australia and a couple from South Carolina stayed in the van and had our own personal tour! It actually worked out better this way because on the bus there are 40 or 50 people, and since there were only 5 of us, I got to ride front seat with our guide and there was a lot more room for questions! He was extremely nice and also gave us many facts about not just the movie, but the city of Salzburg. For example, the city gets its name from the fact that they are famous for their salt mines. Back in the day it was a monopoly and the court got very rich while the people and slaves became more and more poor.
Another fun fact- Albert Einstein developed the theory of relativity in this building.
And this building is a puppet theater, which inspired the puppet scene in the Sound of Music.
Our first real stop was at the house where the balcony scene and lake scene were filmed in the movie. The scenes of the inside and front of the house were filmed elsewhere (the ballroom scene was actually on a set). The lake was big and beautiful (the house was huge), and we even had a swan float by. It was great!!
Our next stop was the famous gazebo!! It had to be moved from its original location because it was somewhat secluded and people were found doing very romantic but... inappropriate things inside. Haha!! It looked just like off the movie, with the benches inside and everything!!
Fun fact- the movie was scheduled to take 6 weeks for shooting, and it ended up being 11 because of rain! Not surprising, it was raining the whole time I was in town!!
We got back on the van and, let me share with you that this ride was complete with some genuine Sound of Music tracks!! Ohhh Julie Andrews!! It was great!! We were on our way out to the fields when our guide pointed out this office- the Red Bull office. It is built on a man-made lake. I wouldn't mind working here every day!!
We pulled off to the side of the road and made a stop at this town-I think it was called Mondsee. It is the town where Mozart's mom was born, but also the location of the church from the wedding scene in the movie. And come on- can you beat the view? Even on a gloomy day!!
We finally reached the church where the wedding was held. It was large and gorgeous! And the inside was even more amazing!! It reminded me of Julie Andrews as she walked down the aisle in the movie! :)
All in all, the trip, the music, and our tour guide were a blast! It was also interesting to learn about the "Hollywood Sensationalized" parts of the real Von Trapp story. For instance, the family did not "escape" over the mountains in the night to Switzerland- they were in no real danger at all. Captain Von Trapp did not agree with the Nazi's and Hitlers army so he willingly left with his family to Italy- no grand escape! And many more differences as you can imagine!!
Our guide dropped us back off at the tour office- I figured they would take us to our hotel since they picked us up there, but apparently not!! I had no clue where I was! Thankfully there was a bus station across the parking lot and it was the first time all day I got on the bus AND went the right direction!!
When I got back to the hotel I grabbed a bite to eat at the hotel restaurant. If you were staying at the hotel you got a free mixed drink at the restaurant, so I ordered a drink with dinner. It came with ONE ice cube- the first one I've seen all trip!! Hahaha.
Oh, another random fact. If you are finished with dinner, the waiter/waitress will NOT bring you your check until you ask for it. I learned this the hard way (when I sat at the table for 45 minutes waiting for a check a few nights ago). They will let you sit there all night! I guess it goes back to the slow-paced life. Its not like back home where you get the check before you've even taken a bite of dinner!
As I was getting ready to pay, the couple two tables down pointed out my WSU jacket and asked if I graduated from there. We struck up a conversation and it turns out they were from Gig Harbor. It was their first time in Europe, and they were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary!!! When I asked what their secret was they said, "Marry your best friend". They were so in love!! :)
Headed back to the room, ready to catch the early train! A busy, but fun day indeed!!
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