A few of our favourite things

 After a quiet breakfast we caught a bus toward the old town to find the offices of Bob's Special Tours. When I visited Salzburg with my family back in 2008 we'd enjoyed their Sound of Music tour, so I had signed my mom and I up for an extended version that included the town of Hallstatt.

Starting with film locations in the heart of Salzburg, we walked by the horse fountain and the arches next to the cathedral that Maria visits during Confidence in Me, working our way to St. Peter's Cemetery which inspired the studio set of the graveyard where the Von Trapps hid from the Nazis.

Climbing into the van we drove to the palace that served as the back exterior of Captain Von Trapp's villa in the film, set on the lake where the children and Maria fell into the lake in their excitement welcoming the Captain home from his travels. Having been here before, I admit to being distracted by some adorable graylag goslings.



Next, we visited the gazebo that was used for exterior shots of Liesl and Rolph in 16 Going on 17 - the dance sequence was filmed in a Hollywood studio. 

After a quick walk to the nearby palace, we climbed into the van to hit the highway for Hallstatt.

Throughout the journey our guide shared interesting facts about the filming, the real Von Trapps and the history if the region - when we weren't listening to the film soundtrack.

Salt has been mined in this region for thousands of years. The early Celtic settlers mastered the use of salt to preserve meat and had trading patterns that stretched into Africa. After the mines and settlement were wiped out in a massive landslide, the survivors resettled in Salzburg and the area was dormant until those original mines were rediscovered by the Hapsburgs and used to fund their empire.

Arriving in Hallstatt, we were given almost three hours to explore the historic lakeside town.




Rejoining our guide and tour companions after a cozy lunch and browsing in the shops we travelled on to Mondsee where the church was used for the indoor scenes of Maria and Georg's wedding.



Our day was coming to an end. We drove back to Salzburg to enjoy a quiet dinner at the apartment, browsing our tour books to firm up our itinerary for Vienna over the next few days. Tomorrow is a travel day, followed by three days exploring the capital with visits to the Hofburg, Kunthistoriches museum and the Lippizanner show. 

Lass uns gehen! (Let's go!) 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

On the road again

Image
I no longer have access to my family's original travel blog so The World As I See It will pick up where I left off. I am jostling my way along the track toward Montreal where my mom - who is 80 this year! - and we will board a flight to Frankfurt for a 25 day adventure through Germany, Austria and Poland. Stay tuned!
Read more

Sleepwalking through Frankfurt

Image
Our flight was smooth but not sleep-inducing. We arrived in Frankfurt just before 7 a.m. exhausted and hoping our hotel had a room available for early check in.  After clearing customs and snagging our luggage, we made our way to the airport's train station and grabbed the RE 2 train into the city core. Discovering that there was no room at the inn we checked our luggage, secured an offer to ask again about our room at noon, and wandered down Kaiserstrasse to find a restoring breakfast. Fortified by an Americano and rhubarb coffee cake, Mom had enough energy to stroll to the Romerberg - Frankfurt's historic marketsquare. We discovered later that the heritage buildings were 1983-rebuilds following the destruction of World War 2, but it still has a classical ambience. And it's a great place to people watch, especially to spot newly married couples exiting city hall to cheering well wishers. Increasingly tired but with a couple hours yet to spend we climbed aboard the Gray Lin...
Read more

First impressions

Image
 Dakar is a city of stark contrasts.  It is the dusty season, so the air is gritty and redolent with exhaust from passing cars. Yet walking by the busy port you get a fresh breeze.  The sky is blue over the city. Birds sing cheerfully while stray dogs and cats roam and look for food or affection. Crumbling buildings and vacant lots are intermingled with more well-kept structures. The Presidential Palace glistens a luxurious white at the end of the street, while down the block in the other direction street-side vendors sell their wares out of ramshackle sheds built from corrugated metal.   The roads are pocked with holes and there are few sidewalks, yet when you leave the street to enter a cafe or shop they appear newly renovated. In one case, the shelves one one side of the epicerie were literally receiving a coat of varnish as we browsed produce across the floor.  The ocean is a deep blue and where there are trees they are lush. Flowers pour over walls that nee...
Read more