A jam-packed day where we ran the cultural gambit from Sound of Music to Mozart in the beautiful city of Salzburg. I’m sure more people would do Sound of Music related activities than actively go out of their way to enjoy Mozart. Sad (?) but true.
The streets are alive with the sound of music
This morning we walked to Mirabellgarten to join Fräulein Maria’s Sound of Music Bicycle Tour. Ravinder did it yesterday and recommended it to us so Glen booked us a couple of places for today’s tour. I’m glad he booked because when we got there, people who hadn’t booked had to hang around and see if there were spaces available.
There were 12 in our group, plus the guide, Kata. We were each given our bikes, being fitted with the type that they use in the Sound of Music with big, wide handlebars. They weren’t exactly easy to steer. There was a basket at the front of each bike where we could put our things, and there was a little flip book with pictures from the movie on one side and the lyrics to the songs on the other.
We departed at about 9:30am, cycling through Kurgarten and onto a bridge, where we had our first stop. At each stop, Kata would tell us about the significance of the stop to the movie. Unlike my mother, I haven’t seen the movie 400 times but I remembered enough to make it worthwhile, plus the prompt photos on the basket helped a great deal.
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The cycling tour was a great way to explore the old city and was a much better way of doing the tour than sitting on a tour bus and having to get on and off all the time. These are a few of my favourite things:
- cycling through to Resideznplatz and being told about the optical illusion on the front of the Salzburg Cathedral. The statue of Mary in the courtyard is crowned by the angels on the front of the cathedral behind if you walk in the right spot. I love these hidden tricks. From here we went into the other courtyard where the horse fountain was. Maria splashes the horse during the “I Have Confidence” song.
- being told that when filming was taking place in Residenzplatz that the locals had no idea it was taking place and suddenly looked out their windows to see giant Nazi flags adorning the buildings. This was only 20 years after the war and did not go down well with the locals. We were also told that when the film was (eventually) released in Austria, it stopped at the end of the wedding scene.
- stopping next to a monastery where parts of the film were shot. It stood in for the entrance to Maria’s convent when the children came and rang on the doorbell. Other scenes were shot there too. From the monastery you can see the big mountain in the distance, the same mountain Maria was twirling around on singing “The Hills Are Alive” and then apparently ran back to the convent from. She must have run very, very fast indeed.
- confirmation of a story I’d been told years ago that the mountain they crossed in the film would have taken them into Germany. In real life, they took a train to Italy, which sounds a lot less dramatic. Still, the Austrian borders closed the day after they got through so they were very lucky.
- seeing the gazebo where Leisl and Rolf dance. It’s really small and only the exterior was used for filming. The gazebo was also built for the movie and left behind. It was eventually moved to Schlöss Hellbrunn for the public. It’s closed because too many people injured themselves jumping from bench to bench, re-enacting the movie. Which is actually a true reenactment as the actress slipped and hurt herself during the filming of the scene and had to wear a bandage on her ankle (which was edited out in the remastered version).
- jumping in a field next to the yellow wall that’s in the shot when Maria arrives and gets off the bus (the front of the building is also used I think). Glen was a bit vigorous in his jumping and made a small tear in his brand new lederhosen bathers (much to the amusement of the guide and others on the tour).
It was a really enjoyable three-and-a-half hours and I’m very glad we made the effort to do it. Mum would have absolutely loved it and been singing along at the top of her voice, no doubt. I really wish she’d been there.
There was only one downside and that was on the cycle ride back, my basket fell off and took my camera with it. The UV filter/protector on the front of the lens smashed. The lens hasn’t shattered but it’s now having trouble extending and the sensor isn’t always working for auto-focus when extended. I’m going to see what I can claim on insurance. Hopefully replacement of the protector and repair of the lens.
Marching on the Fortress
After returning to Mirabellgarten, we said our goodbyes and went in search of food. Glen found us a cafe called Daily Joy nearby so we went there for a bite to eat. Both of us were a bit worn out (Glen hadn’t slept well) so it was nice to sit for a while. I had a salad, Glen had a beef sandwich, we had some drinks, then Glen wanted to order a coffee and confused the waiter when he came over by asking if they were still open. In Glen’s defence, the place did sound like it was shutting down but without that perspective you’d think Glen had gone a bit mad. We eventually sorted it out.
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From there we retraced part of the tour and went to catch the funicular up to Fortress Hohensalzburg. We jammed into the funicular with a bunch of other tourists and zoomed up to the top. It really cracks a pace and you have to hold on or else you’ll fall when it starts.
Up the top, we walked around the fortress’s insides, checked out a few of the rooms (including the Archbishops Gold Chambers, which are impressively decorated), saw some more old buildings, went to the very top and then caught the funicular down again. I don’t think we were there very long as we were a bit “done” with the sightseeing.
Heading back towards the cathedral we bumped into Ravinder. This was the second time we’d seen her as she was also at Hellbrunn the same time as us. It’s bizarre that out of a city this size, you’d bump into someone you know, not once, but twice. When we were in Munich waiting for the train, I said to Glen how funny it would be if you saw people you knew from back home quite by chance. Freaky.
Dinner and a show
In the evening we’d reserved seats at St Peter Stiftskeller restaurant where they have a set dinner and mini-Mozart concert. We went with Ravinder and Long, another Perth radiologist who’d arrived earlier in the day. St Peter is the oldest restaurant in Europe, first mentioned in 803 AD, so going there was a tourist event in itself.
Unfortunately we didn’t get to check out much of the restaurant as we were just shown into the concert room, which was decorated more in the style you’d expect. Chandeliers, elaborate decorations on the wall, and a space for a string quintet and two singers.
The evening was broken into sections so we ordered drinks first, then was the first music selection (Don Giovanni), then soup, more music (Marriage of Figaro), then mains, the last bit of music (The Magic Flute) and finally dessert. Not knowing enough Mozart, I was a little worried I’d be lose interest quickly, but the music only lasted 20–25 minutes at each part so it was easily digestible.
It wrapped up about 10:30 and we had a lovely walk through the old town back to our hotel. Salzburg (at least this part of it) seems to shut down after 10:30. We arrived back at 11, absolutely ready for bed.
…and to round off, some embarrassing gifs of us jumping
Travels with Dan 
What do you say, eh?