SALZBURG: The Sound of Music Tour
DISCOVERING SALZBURG THROUGH THE
SOUND OF MUSIC TOUR
Salzburg is small cosmopolitan and a very
picturesque city with fascinating architecture, and rich cultural
heritage. As the birthplace of
Mozart, Salzburg prides itself on being a destination for music. Every
year the Salzburg Festival draws Mozart fans and music lovers in droves.
‘The Sound of Music” also put Salzburg on the map.
At first, I was skeptical about taking the
Sound of Music Tour because I thought it was cheesy. This tour turned out to be an excellent way
for exploring the region. The first part of our tour was a drive to Untersberg
where the first scenes of the film took place. The palaces and charming little village homes
set against the looming Austrian Alps provided a very picturesque setting
throughout this whole drive. The hills were alive indeed! Our coach drove
past Leopoldskron Palace (which was the first view we have of the Von
Trapp family in the film). We did not stop at Leopoldskron Palace as it’s
now a private residence, not open to the public. We just saw the façade.
The Iconic Gazebo |
Then our coach drove to the direction of Anif for
us to see the second house of the Von Trapps – Hellbrunn Palace. We stopped at Hellbrunn Alley
first. Then we walked to the Hellbrunn
Palace ground where we found the iconic gazebo or glass pavilion. According to
our tour guide, the gazebo, which was moved from Leopoldskron Palace to
Hellbrunn Palace, was reconstructed for tourists.
We were treated to the breathtaking views of the
countryside, the lakes and the Austrian Alps on our way to the church at Mondsee where the movie wedding of
Maria and the Baron was filmed.
NonnbergAbbey |
We continued the Sound of Music Tour on foot and
hiked uphill to the Fortress and the Nonnberg Abbey where the real Maria
was a novice. The Nonnberg Abbey was
supposed to be the oldest convent in Austria, if not in the German-speaking
part of Europe. The scene when Maria coming late to mass was filmed there. The views from the abbey were spectacular that
I stopped paying attention to the Sound of Music narrative. I thought it was
the best place to look over the roof of Salzburg where I was be able to
see the church domes and spires with some architectural details.
While the
fortress was visible from all over the city, the view from the top was breathtaking – the Austrian Alps, the hills, the surrounding green landscape
which rolled and dipped in lush waves, and the city with the church domes and
spires. Salzburg loomed like a fairytale
illustration from the hill vantage point.
From the Nonnberg Abbey, we walked downhill past the
Augustiner Bräu Monastery. It was funny how some of our
tour mates left the tour for the brewery. The old town was so compact
and manageable that you would not be afraid to venture on your own or leave
your tour group. Needless to say, the tour participants dwindled by the
time we got to the next few highlights – St. Peter cemetery, the gardens and
the Festival Hall (used in the film as the entrance to the auditorium).
So our tour guide gave us extra narrative about the movie and the story of the
real music coach while waiting for those who veered off the tour path.
The tour concluded at the Old Town Mozart Square, a few steps away from the
most famous landmark - #9 Getreidegasse (Mozart's birthplace). Getreidegasse Street (with many
shops and coffee houses), the Cathedral and many buildings that surrounded it,
the museum, the festival theater, the Hohensalzburg fortress, Nonnberg
Abbey, the Mirabel Palace across the river, and other monuments were within
a mile or less around Mozart Square.
After the exhilarating hike, I thought I would
reward myself with apple strudel and coffee, but decided against it and had
some 'serious' lunch instead. Our local
tour-guide recommended the 'Getreidegasse Restaurant' for its atmosphere and
price, but we explored and found a tiny restaurant inside a very quaint plaza
(more like the pathway from Getreidegasse St to the open market plaza). I
ordered Wienerschnitzel and salad. I
thought it was rather interesting to see the waiter slipped through the open
market and came back with a bag of greens. Yes, my salad was that fresh. Salzburg or the whole country of Austria was
environmentally friendly. I noticed this from small things such as the
absence of choice for printing ATM receipts.
Of course I could not leave Salzburg without
sampling the apple strudel and coffee at the Café Tomaselli, the oldest coffee
house in Austria (founded in 1703). It
was said that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and other famous artists frequented this
coffee shop. I felt transported to a
different time and place as I sipped my coffee and ate my apple strudel. As I stepped out of the Café to the Old Town
Mozart Square, it was hard not to notice the
turreted fortress up above set against the looming Alps. Salzburg is a World Heritage site and
deservedly so.
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