We actually spent most of the time on our trip in Austria and found it to be a beautiful and interesting country. Our weather turned excellent and the alpine scenery and quaint villages were delightful.
The historic city of Salzburg was a favorite. Our hotel was conveniently located near the center of the city and it was a short walk of a few blocks to gain a view of the Hohensalzburg Castle. The name literally means "High Salzburg Fortress" and the castle is perched on top of Festungsberg mountain overlooking the city.
It was just a short block and a half from our hotel to enter the Mirabell Gardens where several scenes from the famous "Sound of Music" movie was filmed. This fountain...
...and these steps were used as part of the backdrop where Maria and the children learn the Do-Re-Mi song. Connie is standing on the very steps that are used as a musical scale in the film's scene.
The Mirabell Palace and Gardens are beautiful and extend for about four blocks toward the oldest section of Salzburg. This is a favorite site for weddings and there were actually two weddings in progress during the time we walked on our official tour through the gardens.
As we exited the gardens our guide pointed out the large house across the street as the home of the famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Then as we headed into the heart of the old city we saw this house where Mozart was born. Mozart was a child prodigy who began composing at the age of five. In 1781 he left Salzburg for Vienna as a result of a bitter dispute with the Archbishop of Salzburg. Our guide cracked that "Mozart never learned humility", but he sure was a prolific composer.
It was fun to cross the Danube River on the "Mozart foot-bridge" which was also featured prominently in the Sound of Music.
We also stumbled upon another interesting Sound of Music scene location. It was the cemetery that was used for the scene near the end of the picture when the Von Trapp family were hiding for their mythical getaway. In the movie the family walks to freedom by climbing mountains into Switzerland. We learned that was a Hollywood storyline fabrication, because Switzerland is several hundred miles from Salzburg. The real Von Trapp family took a scheduled train ride to "escape" Austria.
At the end of our Salzburg walking tour we found a lovely courtyard cafe and enjoyed a classic Austrian lunch -- including a large pretzel and diet coke. Well, actually, the coke wasn't very Austrian. :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment