The hills are Alive with the Sound of Pg+Nicky!

Me by the salzach river-Salzburg
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After a 3hr train journey from east to west of Austria we arrived in the beautiful city of Salzburg. However we arrived in the middle or a thunder storm so by the time we found our hotel we were like 2 drownt rats(drookit!) The hotel receptionist assured us that it would pass,and by the time we had dried off it had.  We walked into the centre of Salzburg which only took us 15mins. It was scorchin hot by then and we enjoyed wandering around the city.

We took in the following sights that afternoon.

Do-Ray-Mi

Me in the Mirabel gardens
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Schloß Mirabell - Schwarzstraße - Marionettentheater - Landestheater - Staatsbrücke - Mozart's Birthplace - Gstättentor - Horse's Pond - University - Festival Halls - St. Peter - Dom - Mozartsteg - Alpenstraße - Schloß Hellbrunn - Morzg - Schloß Frohnburg - Nonntal  - Theatergasse - Mozart's Residence

We rounded up the day by having a few drinks in the local SEGAbar and danced the night away.

oh i must also thank Nicky a billion for letting me watch the Canadian GP live! She really is a doll. She knows how much i love my F1 and iam so glad i didnt miss the race, it was action packed from start to finish. i even had her glued to the tv hehe-cheer doll xx

My by Leopoldskron(lake from the sound fo music)
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Monday 1th June

Up bright and early for out 1st tour of the day and no better way to start off than the "Sound of Music "tour,cheesy i know but it had to be done and it was a GREAT way of seeing the outskirts of Salzburg too.  We went to the following places on our tour:

Mirabell Gardens - laid out in the 18th Century, where Maria and the children were seen dancing around the statue of Pegasus, the winged horse, and throughout the gardens singing "Do-Re-Mi".

Nicky and i sliding down the salt mine shafts- weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
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Leopoldskron Palace - used as the von Trapp family home, the children were boating on the Leopoldskron Lake and fell into the water. The Venetian room was copied from the castle and used as the ballroom.

Hellbrun Castle - built in the early 17th century by Prince-Archbishop Markus Sittikus. The glass pavilion was reconstructed for the pleasure of those fans still returning after 30 years.

Nonnberg Abbey - the oldest convent in the German speaking part of Europe. Maria was a novice there. The baron and Maria were married here in 1927.

Me by lake Mondsee
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St. Gilgen and Lake Wolfgang - the beginning of the movie was filmed at Lake Fuschl on the way to St Gilgen. Like the Mozart family, visitors from all over the world appreciate the beautiful village in the Salzkammergut-Stunnning!

Wedding Church Mondsee - here, the film-wedding between Julie Andrews as Maria and Christopher Plummer as the Baron took place,we also had yummy apple strudel here yummmyyyyyyyyy ;o)

A great tour, highly recommend it even if you havnt seen the film!

Mozarts birthplace
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After that tour ended we had 30mins to relax in the Mirabell gardens before we hopped on our next tour.This time to see the saltmines in Bavaria-Saltzwelten

En route we passed the hunting castle Hellbrunn ,then crossed the Austrian-Bavarian border. Along the Königseeache valley, through the Bavarian mountains, past romantic farmhouses and the ruins of Obersalzberg - Hitler's former mountain retreat(its way up high perched on a cliff!)unbelievable really considering Hilter was scared of heights!!!! -We then arrived at the highlight of the journey, the 500-year-old Saltmines.

Me by lake Fuscl
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We were given the traditional miners' clothing(looked like firemen!) then we entered the mines by a wee wooden waggon.We heard the historical and the legendary tales of the fascinating underground world.We also had a big lecture in chemistry and how salt is formed!Reminded me of my science days at school! We then used the same slides as hundreds of miners have,and slid down 2 100-foot-long slides into the grottos!Now that was fun!The magical world beneath the surface of the earth awaited us. Was something else. ive been in many caves around the world but the saltmines are so unique. We all then hopped on a raft and floated across the salt lake ,now thats somethign you dotn do everyday, It was fab and a light show just finished off a superb tour and fascinating insight into how salt is formed. I tell you this i wont be wastigna drop of salt again, all the hard work that goes into producing it!!

Mondsee Cathedral(church from Sound of Music)
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Afterwards we stopped off in Berchtesgaden. From here we could just see Hitler's 'Eagle's Nest'(residence)perched high upon one of the mountains! We go magnificent views across the snowcapped peaks of the Bavarian mountains. Bavaria really is stunning too,so green and clean!

A fantastic day out. We finished it off by having an Austrian meal. I had tafelsptiz(austrian goulash) then we went for a few Aufweidersehn  drinks in the sega bar.

Tschuss Austria, i will be back ;o)