A Few of My Favorite Things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings...

If you are singing right now, then this post is for you!

I grew up watching the Sound of Music, and for as long as I can remember, I have wanted to visit Salzburg, Austria. Apparently, I am not the only one, because one of the main reasons people travel to Salzburg is because of the movie. At least, that's what Peter--our guide on The Sound of Music Tour-- said.

  Imagine travelling through the city, visiting the famous sites from The Sound of Music while singing along to your favorite songs from the film. Cheesy? Maybe. Fun? Absolutely!Here is a short version of the tour:

The first stop: Leopoldskron Palace, where the terrace scenes were filmed.  The gazebo used to be there, but it had to be moved to a nearby park to give the many tourists access to the famous site.

Yes, that's me with my hand on the door handle, but I couldn't go in. The door is locked. It used to be open, and apparently everyone who entered wanted to jump from bench to bench like Liesl did, including an 84-year-old woman who fell and went through the glass.  She wasn't seriously injured, but the decision was then made to keep the gazebo locked.

We also visited the church from the wedding scene. The real wedding of Georg and Maria took place at the Nonnberg Abbey, but the movie version was filmed in Mondsee, Austria.

The wedding scene was filmed inside this church in Mondsee



inside the church--it looks much larger in the film



We also went to the famous cemetery that was the inspiration for the cemetery scene...

...and the Mirabell Gardens, where the Von Trapp children sang Do-Re-Mi.

We didn't exactly have a "The Hills Are Alive!" moment here, but we did get a few shots like those at the beginning of the film:

Maria Von Trapp's dirndl, on display at the Panorama Museum

Once we arrived in Salzburg, we found a Sound of Music exhibit at the Panorama Museum. You might think it was aimed at us tourists, but it wasn't...the exhibit coincided with the opening of The Sound of Music at the Landestheater in Salzburg, in the hopes of getting the people of Salzburg interested in the story.  It seems that The Sound of Music--the most watched movie ever--is famous the world over, except in Austria. Seriously. They don't even know the song Edelweiss.

 


 We drove by a little too quickly (or I was too slow) to get pictures of the Nonnberg Abbey and Frohnburg Palace, so I'll just have to get them next time. Yes, I want to go back.  There is so much more to see!

Landeskron Castle; you can see it from all over Salzburg, and in many scenes in the movie