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.