Monday, April 12, 2010

Salzburg

Salzburg is every bit the clichéd town it is, but it's very pretty. If it's not the Sound of Music, then it's Mozart. Both seem to exist quite happily though, but the locals aren't fans of the movie. Apparently 20th Century Fox took many liberties with it. 

The Sound of Music
I went on The Sound of Music Tour, complete with big red bus and all. It was an English speaking tour, so I understood it, and ended up sitting next to an American who was also living in Heidelberg. Small world. 
 

We went past the houses that were used as the front and back of the house in the movie. It's always quite strange seeing these places in real life. I did almost expect Julie Andrews to pop out from somewhere. 



Apparently the producers built the gazebo and they liked it so much that Salzburg kept it. They moved it several times and it now sits in a little corner of Hellbrunn.

We drove all the way out to Mondsee, which is where the church scene was filmed. It was a nice drive out there, towards the lakes and mountains, just outside of Salzburg. We were lucky that the weather was good and there was just enough sunshine for it to be nice. 




On one side of the Donau, or Danube, is Mirabell Gardens. Very pretty and again, more parts of the Sound of Music were filmed here. It was a little strange to be standing on the same steps as those seen in the movie. 


 
The big white building towards the back of the last photo is the Fortress here in Salzburg. More about that later. But just to the right of that, is the abbey that was used. All of it much smaller than it appears to be. 



I think I'll leave the kitschy stuff there and move on to some more interesting things. Although it was interesting to see all these places in real life. 

Festung Hohensalzburg


The fortress overlooks the city and is a long way up. And up a very steep path. I know that, personally. Being a little overwhelmed by how far up the fortress was, I can't remember much about it, except for the fact that it is quite old and still has old cannons. The next picture was taken from one of the holes in the wall that a cannon was protruding from. Good view of Salzburg. I decided to take the funicular railway down, which was much faster and easier than walking down.  

 
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
The people that know me and my tastes in music know that I don't like Mozart. Still, I decided to take a few photos.



So that was Salzburg. Very much a tourist destination, but worth a visit. 

8 comments:

Hilary said...

Great photos, Althea. What a beautiful area. I suspect that those hills are indeed alive with the sound of music.

Frank Baron said...

I was in Salzburg, very briefly, way back when. Not exaggerating the "briefly" part. I think we were there for about 2-3 hours. Long enough to get something to eat.

I recall the stunning countryside around it though, and one of your pics captures it perfectly.

Thanks for the memories, kiddo. :)

Daryl said...

Fabulous post, thanks for sharing and Congrats on the POTW mention from Hilary

Suldog said...

A Sound Of Music tour? That's so unbelievably cool! Thanks for sharing it with us.

steviewren said...

Your photos took me straight back to a vacation six years ago. I saw many of the same sights you did. We walked through the cemetery where the Von Trapp family hid when they were making their getaway. My only regret is that there was not more time to take it all in.

ps I'm over from Hilary's blog.

Kelly H-Y said...

Thank you for the stroll down memory lane ... I was there years ago, and wrote about it recently in a post detailing our hilarious search for the SoM gazebo! Congrats on the POTW mention from Hilary ... well-deserved!

Merisi said...

Congratulations on the POTD honour!

I spent my childhood summers with my grandparents in and around Salzburg. It may be a tourist locations, just like London or New York City, albeit on a much smaller scale, but just like in those tourist destinations, real people live and work there.



Btw, Salzburg is not on the Danube, but the Salzach river.

Viera said...

Correct Merisi...it was the river Salzach...