The Hills Are Alive!

When in Salzburg, one must do two things: make a tribute to Mozart and go on the original Sound of Music tour. I, proudly, have done both. I booked my seat on the Sound of Music tour, despite the warnings that it was going to be very kitchy, and started to get excited. I put my hair in pigtails and sang some of the songs in the shower (to myself of course). Got downstairs and onto the bus, trying to not look too excited in case everyone else was just doing it because they should, but immediately I met the three girls around me (Character: Caroline and Isabelle from Australia and Julia from CA) who were so excited, and Caroline the most so. She had been on the tour and couldn't wait to do it again a few years later! She knew all the words to the soundtrack (yes, they play the soundtrack on the bus while you are driving through the countryside) and knew all the scenes. I'm so glad I met them because we just well full out into the tour and it was so much fun! We were singing, we were taking pictures in poses, and all that jazz. We first stopped at the what was the back of the Von Trapp house in the movie with the lake scenes. So beautiful. The mountains are in the background, and on the other side of the lake were the trees the kids dangle from. (By the way, Harvard owns this building and it's the Salzburg Institute? Anyone heard of it?) Then we drove by another mansion which served as the front of the house in the Confidence song and the attempted escape scene. Then we went to a beautiful palace that had the glass gazebo reconstructed in its park for the public to see. Then, it was on to the hills! Basically, they took us around the Lake District, which is just gorgeous! If I had another day, I would take a tour just of this area. You just don't get views like that anywhere else in the world. Unbelievable. Wow. I can't wait for Switzerland! Then they took us to the church where Maria and the Captain got married in the movie, and they directed us to a cafe for apple strudel. Then back to the Mirabel Gardens where the Do a Dear song was filmed around the fountains. Many more things were pointed out to us, but I was just so entranced by the beauty of the area! Definitely worth it!

C, I, J, and I went to a great place for schnitzel (more Favorite Things of both mine and Maria) and then I headed off for a whirlwind sightseeing journey of Old Town. I definitely suggest going to the Fortress, which has loomed over the city for over 1000 years. Perfectly intact and has some of the best views I've ever seen. Stunning! (I know, lots of things in my blog are stunning, beautiful, gorgeous, etc...but it's all true. I shall try to use more pretentious synonyms in the future.) Came down on the steep, STEEP funicular (something like 45 degrees or more...) and walked into one church for mass, another church for mass, yet another church, a cemetary, probably another church, and heard the bells from the glockenspiel. What a lovely town! And then I went to Mozart's Birthplace, which has an odd museum inside. Instead of trying to recreate rooms or give an extensive biography of Mozart, they gave the rooms to Robert Wilson, a very famous artist who has done very odd installations in Boston...aka Fritz for those who know him from the Ag, to design. He designed installations for each room that play on a trait of Mozart's life and character. Weird, but I enjoyed it more than most. Something different that I didn't expect. Walked around with a giant pretzel seeing all the church goers in their traditional dress. I have never seen so many men so proud of their leiderhosen. (Well, maybe the Scots and their kilts...) Anyway, the whole day can be summed up as beautiful. From the mountains to the buildings to the people to the food...this area is wonderful. I really like Austria and wish I had more time. I will definitely come back, and maybe try to get a car and drive through the countryside. Anyone with me?

Off to Switzerland tomorrow!