The Hills are most certainly alive

The von Trapp house
see all photos »

Salzburg was not what we expected, it was so much more.  This is possibly the most beautiful city either of us have ever seen.  So picturesque and clean...amazingly clean.  It was so nice to be breathing the fresh mountain air!

We arrived quite late on Saturday night, but didn't let that stop us.  We checked into our Pension and then headed in search of a nightlife, and to be honest, Salzburg doesn't have much of one.  It was slightly livelier than normal because of the Euro, and it was amazing to hear all the people who were at the big public screens cheering.  At one point it actually echoed through the town...very cool, but not really our scene so we turned in.

Yes that's right, a trick fountain

Beautiful region of the world
see all photos »

The next morning we woke up bright and early,fully prepared for the Sound of Music tour.  Our vocal cords were adequately lubricated and we were both looking forward to it.  And it didn't disappoint.  You see almost everything from the movie, and those things that the coach can't get you to, they point out and give some history.  We saw the von Trapp house from the movie - the front and the back, because they are different.  We saw the convent - and actually that was the highlight of the trip, but more on that a little later.  We saw the church that the real von Trapps were married in.  The Hills which are alive, the gazebo from I am 16.  I can confidently say, as a true lover of the film, it is a tour well worth doing.

The newest addition to the von Trapp family singers
see all photos »

After the tour we explored Salzburg, starting at Schloss Mirabell where the Sound of Music tour ends, and home of the Do Re Mi scene in the movie.  It is now City Hall, with its spectacular garden and amazing views of the Salzburg (Salt Castle) on the top of the hill.

Our walk through the old town was beautiful, but as I already mentioned the highlight was when we went to Nonnberg Convent...Maria von Trapp's convent.  The tour guide had mentioned that the nuns can be heard singing at various times, but its sort of hit and miss.  Well, when we went they were singing, we could hear them clear as a bell, and the organ that was accompanying them.  It was amazing.  We both just sat down in one of the pews and listened.  To be honest it was so beautiful we could have stayed for hours, but alas, we had dinner plans.

The church the von Trapp's were married in
see all photos »

Dinner that night was carefully choreographed by myself and because Patrick needed a nap didn't quite happen as planned.  First of all we headed to the oldest beer cellar in the world for a drink, but being a Sunday it was closed.  So we walked up to an outdoor beer garden instead and had a drink while watching the sun set over the city.  After our drink we went to a restaurant called Carpe Diem.  All food at this place is served in a cone - it was so interesting to see the combinations they were coming up with and trying the different flavours of cones.  There we also had a wonderful bottle of Gruner Veltliner wine...a must for any wine lover in Austria, it is the best!  Obviously we were way to slow enjoying our dinner because we actually missed desert...by the time we got to the restaurant it was completely dark.  Oh well, all in all a fun evening and probably best since we had another early start the next day.

Scloss Mirabell
see all photos »

For our last day in Salzburg we had an action packed agenda.  We decided to take the gondola up to 'The Hills are Alive' mountain and go for a bit of a hike (all in all it took three hours).  We've both been quite missing the mountains and it was definitely the right thing to do, although slightly more expensive than we expected.  The views of the Austrian and German Alps were breathtaking.  We even got to see and play with some snow!

Following our short mountain adventure we went to Schloss Hellbrunn, which is where the Gazebo from The Sound of Music has been moved.  But more importantly there is a trick fountain there.  Yes that's right, a trick fountain.  The crappy part about this is that you have to do a guided tour and there are lots of kids.  Still, it's not bad enough to take it off my list of fun things to do.  The garden was built by possibly the only Bishop ever with a great sense of humour.  He has all these crazy beautiful gardens and little alcoves where he would bring his guests and then turn the taps on them...so funny, and definitely the best thing to do with kids!

Salzburg
see all photos »

After our full day of activities we headed back into Salzburg and finally had a drink at the oldest beer cellar, and had a strudel at the place we were supposed to have had desert the night before and then off to the airport.

It's an amazing city, and great for a weekend getaway.  Next time, we will visit the surrounding area, get a bit more of that fresh mountain air!