October 16th, 2016
Most people seem to have some sort of Bucket List. I have never formally written mine out. However, I definitely have ideas that float around in my mind of things I would like to experience and places I would like to see. Hovering near the top of my list for years has been taking a trip to Salzburg, Austria…the original landscape for the Sound of Music.
Over Labor Day weekend, we toured around Salzburg to my heart’s delight! I think I wore a smile on my face almost non-stop for two days. Mein Mann and our boys were quite the good sports for allowing me to relish in the sites of the movie, the beauty of the city and the Sound of Music bus tour complete with a sing-along! Cheesy? Perhaps to some. But, I’m SO good with this kind of cheesiness! Super-fun? Absolutely!!! Here’s a recap…
After leaving Munich on Saturday morning, we drove into Salzburg in time for lunch.
Our hotel had a lovely beer garden in the back with a teeter totter that kept the boys entertained while we waited for our food. If I haven’t mentioned it before, a Beer Garden (“Biergarten” in German) is an outdoor area where beer and local food is served. E still talks about the fun hotdogs he ate there!
After fueling up, we ventured off on foot in the direction of the Old Town. On our way, we walked and played in the Mirabell Gardens where the Do, Re, Mi sequence was filmed in the Sound of Music. The soundtrack was playing in my mind as I tapped into my inner Maria. I may have sang out a tune or two! The surrounding beauty alone inspires one to burst out in song. I can see why the film-makers chose this enchanting garden for the film.
We crossed over a bridge covered in locks, sealing the love and commitment of those who attached them. We have seen this fun display of love in a few place now, including Paris and Koblenz. The boys like finding the really old, classic locks.
As we began to meander through the streets of the Altstadt, I was excited to come across the puppet lady! During my trip-planning, I read about this local woman, Maria, who has been selling her handmade puppets out of a brown basket since 1987. I was so surprised that we actually crossed paths with her! Both boys bought one of her puppets as their souvenir from Salzburg.
My souvenir was a water-color print from a local artist selling his work in one of the piazzas. I have started a travel wall in our kitchen and am slowing collecting prints from artist I meet from the various places we visit. I always ask if I can take their picture after I purchase a print. Its my plan to print the pictures off and add them to the back of the frames.
After an ice-cream stop, we made our way over to the Residenzplatz. The incredible, marble fountain in the middle of the square is considered the largest baroque fountain of Middle Europe. Another SOM sequence was filmed here. For the fans out there…remember when Maria first leaves the convent and splashes her hand in the fountain? Of course, the boys and I had to do the same!
I loved taking in all the beautiful architecture and surrounding artistry. The Salzburg Dom is the first picture.
In the Kapitelplatz, we came across a sculpture of a massive gold ball with a man standing on top of it gazing out. The sculpture is called “Sphaera” by Stephan Balkenhol. From its base, there is a lovely view of the Hohensalzburg Castle…one of the biggest medieval castles in all of Europe.
We rode up to the castle on a funicular (a cable railway) and toured the grounds, including a little marionette museum. It’s like a mini-village up top…some people even live there! The views were amazing!
During my travel prep on Salzburg (did I mention I get to be the family trip planner?), I learned of another exit down from the castle that enables you to walk to the Nonnberg Abbey. Thankfully, we found this exit and slowly made our way over, giving our boys rides as needed.
The real Maria von Trapp was a postulant at Nonnberg Abbey and the outside of the Abbey was used for filming. It is still run as a convent today so tours are not possible. However, you can visit the chapel. When we walked in, the nuns were singing. Beautiful!!!!
Here is a short video of what we heard…
We could only hear their voices which was a bit of a disappointment to our youngest who kept asking, “Where are the nuns?”
Our boys began to lose steam around this time. Can you tell?
We slowly made our way back down to the Kapitelplatz on foot for another refueling. The view along the way definitely helped along with the fountain we found to fill up our water bottles! We love how so many places in Europe have fountains with drinkable water.
The bells were chiming! Imagine walking with us for a moment…
Once the boys were reenergized again, we walked through the Petersfriedhof, the cementary at Saint Peters church, dating back to 1627.
We also peeked into St. Peter’s before making our way back to one of the big squares for a good round of pigeon chasing. This is seriously one of the boys’ absolute, favorite things to do when we travel! You know they are just about to run when you hear them say in a low voice,” p…i…g…e…o…n…s!” Fly birds, fly!!!!!!
I’m seriously thinking of putting together a collage of the boys chasing pigeons in all of the different places we have visited. Poor birds!
I’ll share some more Salzburg stories in the next post. Its Thursday afternoon now as I wrap up this post. I gotta go and pick up the boys from the bus stop! Lots of love and locks from our family to you!
