October 21st, 2016
“Let’s start at the very beginning. A very good place to start…”
On the morning of September 4th, we boarded a bus parked near the Mirabell Gardens to head out for the four-hour, Original Sound of Music Tour. There are actually several SOM tour options in Salzburg, including a bicycle tour. We choose Panorama Tours from the recommendation of my travel buddy, Rick Steves. We also got the Rick Steve’s discount. Score!
Our first stop was the Leopoldskron Palace where the famous boat scene was filmed. Remember watching Julie Andrews and the children fall out of the boat? That’s the place! We were only able to see it from the other side of the lake. Only the backyard, gardens and lake were used from this location. The Von Trapp home in the movie was actually a different building. Those techy movie folks did some pretty fancy film editing in 1964!
Remember the gazebo where the dancing scene from “16 going on 17” was filmed? It was originally on the grounds of the Leopoldskron Palace. But, due to the significant foot traffic it brought from fans of the movie, it was eventually moved to the Hellbrunn Palace where we saw it. Unfortunately, Mein Mann did not get to swing me around while I sang at the top of my lungs. Our tour guide, Peter, told us the gazebo was locked after an 80-year-old, American woman danced on the benches, fell off and broke her hip. A kindred spirit.
After driving through Salzburg, we ventured out to the Salzburg Lake District Area where panorama shots and scenes of the picnic were filmed. We stopped at St. Gilgen and Lake Wolfgang. What breath-taking scenery!
Once we boarded the bus again, we settled in for the drive out to Mondsee where the wedding of Maria and Baron von Trapp was filmed in the movie. Peter cued the music and led us in a massive sing- along. I’ve heard the tour guide can make or break the experience you signed up for. Peter was FANTASTIC!
I introduced the boys to the Sound of Music a couple of years ago. Before our Salzburg trip, I pulled out the movie again and showed them the first half. We also watched a few of the song sequences on Youtube. “Play it again Mom!” S surprised me with how quickly he learned a couple of the songs! During the sing-along, he melted a few hearts of the folks sitting around us.
Here’s a little video…
Before we knew it, we were pulling into the quaint town of Mondsee. A street train took us to St. Michael’s Basilica. Here are a few of our fellow SOM groupies from our tour bus. They were from Ohio.
St. Michael’s
After visiting the church, we sat down at a little café for a quick bite to eat that we ended up taking with us so we wouldn’t miss our bus.
Our sing-along continued on the ride back to Salzburg. We finished the ride singing Edelweiss. It was grand! What a GREAT tour!!! The boys did well and even Mein Mann enjoyed it. After we disembarked, Peter took us back to the Mirabell Gardens and told us where we could find the little gnome from the movie! He also encouraged us to go to the Augustiner Bräustübl, a well-known biergärten.
As is our norm, we balanced out the day shifting gears in the boys direction and spending the afternoon playing at a couple of parks. The first one was in the Mirabell Gardens.
We came across the second one completely by surprise as we were walking to the biergärten Peter recommended. The boys are at the perfect age to enjoy all of these amazing parks Europeans have built. Cheers for childhood!
We took a couple of more detours on our way to the Augustiner Bräustübl, including a short rest in the Parish Church of Mülln. The boys were fans of the door knockers!
We eventually made it to the Augustiner Bräustübl for an early dinner. The famous beer, Augustiner, is a local and national favorite. The recipe has been kept secret and guarded for nearly 400 years. Since 1621, the Mülln Monastery has been brewing beer for the city and all of Austria.
Don’t worry…the children drank water! Prost (cheers)!!!
Afterwards, they played in the kid’s area. Of course!
On our way back to our hotel, we threw in one more SOM reenactment for good measure! Crazy Mama! =)
The Sound of Music drew us to Salzburg and I’m so glad it did! Next time we watch the movie, we’ll say, “Hey, we were there!” I never imagined when I was a little girl, I would get to play in Salzburg with my own family. What a treat! I’ll remember the beauty for years to come!
Doe, a deer, a female deer
Ray, a drop of golden sun
Me, a name, I call myself
Far, a long, long way to run
Sew, a needle pulling thread
La, a note to follow So
Tea, a drink with jam and bread
That will lead us back to Do, oh, oh, oh…
