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Published: October 10th 2009
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Day 5 (Wednesday, September 23, 2009)- when the fun starts!
We woke up bright and early to catch breakfast before heading to the Magistrat’s office. The hotel staff was surprised that we wanted to sit outside because it was a little chilly out. We didn’t mind. They were very kind and accommodating and they set our places outside. Since my dad would go down extra early to grab some coffee, they even started to insist that they bring it to our room. We headed to the Magistrat’s office, which wasn’t too far from the hotel. Once again, we needed that darn letter from the school. My application for my residence permit could not be submitted without it but they were willing to hold onto the rest of my file until I got it. We were finally done with that, or as done as we could be for the time, and we could start having some fun!
We had tickets for the Sound of Music Tour a little later that day (this was a must for my mom and me) so we decided to try to get my phone situation worked out in the mean time. We went to a
couple of places and found that Telering had the best rates. Being a student in Salzburg is really great. They have incredible discounts for everything. I couldn’t get a contract since they are for 2 yrs. The best thing to do was going to be to unlock my phone and get a local SIM card. The lady told me how to unlock my phone and listed the documents we needed to show her. We came back with my phone unlocked and the documents and then, of course, she failed to mention that I needed the acceptance later from the school. Ugh! What a pain! Well, we were done with that then. We had just a little bit of time before we would get picked up from the hotel for the tour so we picked up food from our favorite kebap place around the corner and sat outside the hotel to eat.
The tour was a lot of fun! It was a part walking part riding tour. We got to see a lot of the sights where the movie was filmed. I haven’t watched the film in a while but it was really neat to see everything, especially since my
brother, sister and I watched this film a lot when we were kids. The first stop was little out of the city at Schloss Leopoldskron. It is now the Salzburg Global Seminar, an American company. The house and lake were used for the rear scenes for the Trapp family villa and the boat scene. They actually used two houses to film the villa and neither of them were the real house (The real Trapp house is actually in Stowe, Vermont and is now a lodge that you can stay at). The gazebo also used to be located here but it was later moved to our next stop. When we were leaving Leopoldskron we passed a tiny house that was all by itself in a field. The tour guide said that it was the executioner’s house and nobody wanted to be his neighbor. I don’t know how true that is but it was funny anyway. Haha!
Next stop was Schloss Hellbrunn to see the gazebo. On the way to Hellbrunn we passed Frohnburg Palace. It is a Baroque palace, built in the 17th century for the Prince Archbishops. This was the other house used for the Trapp family villa. The
courtyard and front gate were used. The palace is now owned by the Mozarteum and used as housing for their students. It is a very beautiful area. Unfortunately, I could not live there since there was no space left, but I later learned that I was just down the street from it! Hellbrunn doesn’t actually have anything to do with the film but the gazebo was moved there so it could be more accessible for visitors. We learned about the trick fountains that are throughout the palace and we learned that during Christmas time they turn the palace into an advent calendar and open a window each day. They also have reindeer sleigh rides! I think I will have to come back in December! We walked to the gazebo and stood around it while the tour guide reminded us of the scenes. You used to be able to go inside it but apparently someone decided they wanted to recreate a scene by leaping around the benches and she ended up injuring herself. It is now locked ☹. We all got to take pictures in front of the gazebo and then we were off to our next destination.
Next stop
was Wolfgang Lake from the opening scenes. There was a gorgeous view and we could see paragliders in the sky. On the mountain to the left we could just barely see a building at the very top. This was Hotel Schafbergspitze. It stands at 1780m above sea level and it is the oldest mountain hotel. The lake was another beautiful photo opportunity so everyone had a moment to grab some photos and then we were off.
Our last stop was to the town of Mondsee. It was a beautiful scenic drive through the lake-district and everyone was singing along to songs from the movie (cheesy but fun!). Mondsee’s large cathedral is where the wedding was filmed. Mondsee is also where the scene was shot of the children climbing in the trees. We had some free time while we were here so we enjoyed some yummy apfelstrudel with warm vanilla sauce before heading to the church. After the church we walked around the town and did a little bit of souvenir shopping before hurrying back to the bus. We headed back to Salzburg while the movie soundtrack played in the background. On our way back, once we were back in
Salzburg, we passed by Nonnberg Abbey. Several scenes were shot here but this is also where the real Trapps got married in 1927. The tour came to and end at Mirabelle Gardens. We had already been through there and taken many pictures so we parted from the group. The tour was a lot of fun and it was funny to hear about all of the geographical errors in the movie. That’s Hollywood for ya! We also learned that most Austrians are not familiar with the film. They have their own film about the Trapp family, in German of course. The movie also has traditional Austrian folk music and is much more accurate. In the Sound of Music, even the gender of the oldest child was changed!
We had been sitting for so long that we decided to stretch our legs before dinner. We went for a hike up towards the Modern Art Museum. We passed a cyclist and I think I was walking faster than he was riding. It was very steep and he was panting and dripping with sweat. It looked very painful. I like cycling but no thank you! It didn’t take too long to get to
the top and the view was beautiful. On our way down dad decided we needed to find a biergarten (I tried to convince him to go to Oktoberfest but he didn’t go for it ☹). We had an idea of where it was but we were having a hard time finding it. We were about to give up when we saw a group a middle-aged guys walking our way, one of them wearing a beer shirt. We figured they had to be looking for the same place. Haha. Sure enough they were and we were actually right next to it! Oops! We went to the Mullner Brau. It was once part of the Augustine monastery and church. There are several beer halls, stands with traditional food (different kinds of sausage, fish, pretzels, knudel, etc.), and of course the biergarten. We were a little confused and disappointed at first because all we saw was a beer hall. We then found out you had to go to the back and down some stairs to get to the biergarten. It was a big open area covered by chestnut trees. In order to get beer you have to wait in line to pay and
get a token. Then you choose your stein. It’s already washed but you can still rinse it off at one of the wells. Then you go to another line for the guy to fill your stein. Then you drink! Dad was very happy! ☺
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Lynne
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Sound of Music
I love that movie! Glad you were able to find a place so your dad could get a drink!