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Published: February 14th 2010
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The fortress The hills were definitely alive with the sound of music in Salzburg. I was very excited to go to Salzburg, mostly because I was going to be able to meet up with my friend Jaimie!! Also because the “Sound of Music” was filmed there (even though no one in Austria, or the rest of Europe for that matter has ever heard of the movie.)
We got there pretty early, so we checked into the hostel, and left for our first tour of the day.
** Travel tip: it’s a very interesting experience to visit very touristy places on the off-season. On the majority of the tours we went on there were only about 4-6 people at the max. You also learn more this way, and most things are cheaper.
This was a walking tour of the old town of Salzburg (again all of Salzburg is old, but all the buildings themselves are older than the US). On the tour we learned about some of the destruction that was done during the war, and the history of Salzburg. Salzburg means, “Salt Mountain,” and that is how they made most of their money. On all of the houses and buildings there
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This cathedral was severely damaged during the war. are at least two dates. The first date is the year the building was built, and the second is the date that it was restored. The cathedral that we went in was severely damaged during the war, and is still being renovated. Deanna and I also found ourselves constantly pointing out locations that were in the Sound of Music. This just confused our tour guide, but it was fun to see.
Mozart:
Salzburg is the hometown of Mozart. The house he grew up in was in the center of the old part of town. It was a yellow apartment building, which is now a museum. We didn’t go inside, but it was still nice to see. Everything in the town is devoted to Mozart. Mozart chocolates, Mozart liquor, music stores. You name it, and it’s there.
Next on the itinerary was to find an internet café. This was the only time we had access to the internet, and we needed to find out how to get to Jaimie’s concert. She was on a European tour with the Gustavus band. My vacation time just happened to line up perfectly with when she was going to be in Austria. Unfortunately
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Still being renovated the concert was going to be held a strong hour outside of Salzburg, so we weren’t going to be able to make it (keep in mind that I have been without a phone since I left the States, and Jaimie didn’t have one either). But she did give me the name of the hotel they were staying at. So to kill some time we went to a beer hall. For a Tuesday night, the beer hall was packed! It was also located in the basement of a monastery. It was quiet when we first walked in, but as we walked down the stairs you could hear a dull roar. We were both first timers at this so of course we looked like silly American girls, but I’m getting used to that. On a shelf you could either choose a stein that held a half a pint, or one that held one pint. I went for the half (but we ended up getting refills so as a word to the wise, just go for the pint, it’s cheaper). After picking our stein we paid some money, then walked over to a gentlemen that was standing by a big barrel. He filled
up our steins, and sent us on our merry way.
** Interesting fact about Europe, almost everyone has a dog, and the dogs go everywhere with their masters. Restaurants, clothing stores, etc. So don’t be alarmed if you see a dog sitting outside of a dressing room.
There were people of all ages in the beer hall… and dogs! This was a nice change of pace, because normally when you go to a bar, there is only one age group. So we picked a table, and drank our beer. We were there for a quite a while burning time till Jaimie’s concert was over.
Jaimie!
While we were at the internet café we wrote down directions to her hotel. So we set off on foot to try and find it. Two gas stations later, we still couldn’t find it. So we walked into a very fancy hotel to ask for directions (everyone speaks English in Austria, and are so nice and helpful). The lady called us a cab, and we were finally headed in the right direction. Just as our taxi pulled up, the band was just getting off the bus! Divine miracle? I think so! The next thing
I know there’s my best friend! She was a hard one to track down, but we finally found her. For those of you who know me, well I’m a crier by nature. This was one of those “I promised myself I wouldn’t cry” moments, but that never works. It was pretty late and everyone in the band looked really tired, but Jaimie got checked in and I bought a round of beers to celebrate. Unfortunately we couldn’t stay long, because all of us had to get up early to head to the next destination. So we said our good-byes and parted ways. This was my favorite part of the trip.
Sound of Music tour:
Yes that’s right, the trip to Salzburg wouldn’t have been complete without an official Sound of Music tour. This tour was done via van, because they took us all around Salzburg, and then some. It was just the two of us on the tour too, so it was like a private tour. Our tour guide drove us all around pointing out where the movie was filmed, telling us about the true story, and visiting cathedrals. The weather on this day was pretty unfortunate. The day
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Cemetery started out with beautiful snow globe snow that later turned into rain. Lots of rain that later turned to ice. But I’d say that was the worst thing that happened on our trip.
That wraps up our trip in Austria. Next on the map is Munich, Germany.
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Mom
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Goord morning
What a wonderful travel-log. We are so enjoying your trip, next best thing to being there. Glad you received our Valentines. So glad you were able to connect with Jamie. Dad and I know how important this was for you. We are so looking forward to seeing you in March!! love mom and dad