The hills are alive with the sound of music!

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Taking our first international flight 

Spending the day seeing all of the sites 

Delighted excited these feelings they bring 

These are a few of our favorite things

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We just spent a long weekend dancing our way around Salzburg, Austria, while visiting numerous sights from the Sound of Music!

We arrived in Salzburg on Friday morning, excited to escape the heatwave in Düsseldorf. We couldn’t completely escape the heat in Salzburg, but 86-89 degree weather and air conditioning at the hotel definitely beats the 93-95 degree heat and no air conditioning at our flat!

We embarked on our first “covid-flight” and much to our delight, it was better than expected. We took advantage of our lounge access at the airport, staying away from the “muggles,” then snuck to our back-row seat on the plane where no one could breathe on us. It worked perfectly!

We spent Friday afternoon and evening wandering around Salzburg, getting our bearings. We stopped by Mozart’s Geburtshaus (childhood home), listened to some live music in the Mozartplatz (they have a piano sitting out by the Mozart statue that anyone can play), checked out Residenzplatz and the large fountain highlighting Triton blowing his conch-shell horn (much like Bernini’s famous Triton Fountain in Rome), and wandered through the magnificent Mirabell Gardens (this garden and the stairs leading into it were used in the “Do Re Mi” song).

We woke up early on Saturday, ready for the highlight of the trip, the Sound of Music Tour! We booked the early tour, hoping to have a smaller group, and it paid off. There was only one other gentleman in our group, so we practically had a private tour!

We began the tour in the Altstadt, then made our way to lake Leopoldskroner Weiher to take a peek at Leopoldskron Palace, which was used for the lakeside view of the von Trapp’s house in the movie. It’s also the lake where the kids and Maria fell into the water. The palace was originally commissioned by the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg in 1736, and, as we learned during our time in Salzburg, he was a very wealthy man with more money than he knew what to do with.

We continued the tour, stopping at Hellbrunn Palace, first skipping along the dirt path singing “I Have Confidence,” then heading over to the palace grounds. Here we started singing “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” while twirling around in front of the gazebo used in the movie.

Next up, we experienced the hills that were truly alive with the sound of music as we made our way to the Mondsee and the lake district. Our tour guide played the Sound of Music soundtrack as we drove through the stunning hills, passing through little towns and neighborhoods, and making our way along a teeny tiny road, dodging oncoming traffic by skirting into the pullouts that were randomly placed along the road… there wasn’t much room for anyone! 

As we made our way over the top of the mountain, we were welcomed with an incredible view! We couldn’t pass this one up and quickly hopped out to capture a few photos.

We arrived in the little town of Mondsee, where the local farmer’s market was set up. We strolled by the market and over to St. Michael’s Basilica, which was the stage for Maria and Captain von Trapp’s wedding. We quietly walked down the aisle as there were baptisms taking place at the front of the church. One thing we noticed and loved about Austria is that people wear their Lederhosen and Dirndl’s all the time! It’s really not just an Oktoberfest thing! We saw people wearing traditional outfits while wandering the streets, but also for “big” events like the baptisms and church on Sunday. It was so fun seeing people dressed up!

After exploring the beautiful cathedral, we set off down the road to catch a glimpse of Lake Mondsee. We wished we had more time to put our feet in (and our whole bodies), but we only had a short stop scheduled and needed to continue with our tour, heading back to Salzburg and ending at 

Mirabell Gardens.

After cooling off and freshening up at the hotel, we wandered back to Altstadt, checking out the artisan’s market that was set up along the river. Once we arrived in the city center, we started our own walking tour while listening to our trusty guide, Rick Steves.

The tour included a few things we had seen the night before, such as Mozartplatz, Residenzplatz, and the outside of Salzburg Cathedral, but it also led us to some new areas. One of those was St. Peter’s Church and Cemetery, which dates back to 700 A.D. The cemetery itself is unique in that you can look up and see a few buildings and catacombs built directly into the hillside. It is said that medieval hermit monks lived in the hillside back in the day. Besides being unique in character, St. Peter’s Cemetery was also the inspiration for the scene in the Sound of Music where the von Trapp family hid from the Nazis during their escape (that scene was actually filmed on a Hollywood set, but it definitely felt like it was filmed where were standing). 

We also wandered by an old waterwheel that is part of a 13th century canal system that brings water to Salzburg from the alps ten miles away. The waterwheel was used by the monks to grind grain into flour, but the water was also used to flush the streets of Salzburg every Thursday morning, likely relieving the city from ever suffering from a plague… I wonder if that would protect a city from the coronavirus?

Continuing on our tour, we passed by the Felsenreitschule, the concert hall where the von Trapp family performed before their escape. Unfortunately, we were not able to see in the theater, but maybe next time! We also passed by one of the old Medieval horse baths, used to wash the horses after ceremonial parades. This particular bath was decorated with frescoes dating back to the 1700s, depicting horses in various states of activity. Some say the paintings actually represent the Prince Archbishop’s horses at the time, revealing their individual personalities.

We continued on to Getreidegasse, Salzburg’s colorful main drag and the center of trade since Roman times, and snapped a few photos of the wrought-iron signs, unique to each store. It was like an outdoor art museum wandering along the street while looking up! There were so many fun signs to see!

We ended our walking tour appropriately at Café Konditorei Fürst, for a taste of the exclusive “Salzburger Mozartkugel”, a scrumptious little chocolate with a pistachio, nougat marzipan center. Yummy!.

We made our way back to the hotel for a delish dinner (thank you concierge lounge) and a short break, before setting back out to see more sights. We made our way to Augustiner Braustubl but were disappointed to find a packed bier garden and no open seats. Instead of cramming in and sharing a table, we decided to save that excitement for Sunday and instead wandered back to the city.

August is typically the month for Salzburg’s huge music festival, and although the performances were reduced due to covid, there were still a few stages with large screens set up around the city for anyone and everyone to stop and enjoy a performance. So, that’s what we did, we took a break from our wandering and listened to an opera that was performed and recorded during a previous year, feeling a little more cultured as we did so.

We woke early again on Sunday morning, with the plan to beat the heat and the crowd as we made our way to Hohensalzberg Fortress. We caught the elevator up, bringing us to Winkler Terrace (also in the “Do Re Mi” song) and Mönchsberg (Monk’s Hill). We took the nature trail along the edge of the hill and over to the Hohensalzberg Fortress. We had a very steep climb up to the fortress itself followed by more climbing up several staircases to the lookout tour. It was a trek, but it was worth it! The view was incredible! You could see for miles! And as a bonus, we even had the tower to ourselves for a bit!

After enjoying the scene (and starting to sweat, because it was another scorching day), we climbed the stairs back down to the main fortress and took a breather inside where it was a little cooler. We wandered through the castle, which is now a museum, with our favorite part being the Marionette Exhibit. We weren’t able to get tickets to a marionette show while we were in town, so this was the best we could do.

We took the easy way down the mountain via the Festungsbahn and set off for Nonnberg Abbey, the convent where the real Maria lived as a postulant before marrying the real Captain von Trapp. The climb to the abbey was quiet and peaceful. We snapped a few photos of the gate where the children asked for Maria, peeked our heads in the little chapel, and then took a few minutes to enjoy another beautiful view of the Alps.

Once back in the Altstadt, we rewarded our morning trek with the perfect pretzel. It was crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, topped with cheese, and best of all, it was GIANT! Delish!

As we wandered back through the city, we stopped to pop our heads in the cathedral (it was finally open!) and made our way back to Augustiner Braustubl. We arrived shortly before the brewery opened, and our luck held out! We found the perfect shaded table, where we enjoyed a stein of beer while relaxing in the great outdoors, playing cribbage, and of course, people watching.

We spent the remaining part of the day strolling through the city, enjoying another prerecorded outdoor concert (this time of a fantastic children’s symphony), one last stroll through the Mirabell Gardens, and eventually ending the night sitting out on the balcony, sipping champagne, and admiring the massive Hohensalzberg fortress lit up in the darkness.

We had a ball in Salzburg and would love to return one day! If we do, we will definitely spend more time in the mountains and lake district, twirling around in the meadows and singing 

“The Hills Are Alive”.

Now, please excuse us as we go watch the Sound of Music!