The Hills Are Alive!

Salzburg is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.  I wish the weather had been a little nicer to us though, because it was really cloudy and cold.

The first day we were there, we checked into our hostel, the YOHO, and then I went for a walk around the city while Ginny and Aubrey Anne napped (their train had arrives at 4:00 am!)  I went inside the Salburger Dom, the cathedral, which was really beautiful and had so many lovely paintings.  I also wandered through their "Golden Alley" which is one of the busiest streets.  All the shop signs were iron and gold, insanely beautiful!  I also went up to the Salzburg Fortress on the top of the hill.  To get there, you rode a very steep rail car up the side of the hill.  It was a lot bigger than I had thought; it was like a city up there!  You were able to tour the state rooms which were covered in wooden paneling and had some really beautiful ceramic stoves.

The next morning, we went on the famous "Sound of Music" tour.  It was AMAZING!

Here are the sights that we saw:

Schloss Leopoldskron - this is where all the outside scenes were shot as well as the lake shown in the film.  They also told us that Gretel almost drowned during the filming of the movie because they had not bothered to realize she couldn't swim yet.

 We got to see the house from the other side of the lake.

This was also the location where the children were climbing trees.

We couldn't climb, so we just went and hid, lol.

The Glass Gazebo - famous for the "16 going on 17" song and also for the love scene between Maria and Baron von Trapp.  It was originally constructed in the gardens of the Leopoldskron castle, but then was moved to the gardens of the Hellbrunn palace for a safer and more permanent location.

Unfortunately, you can't go inside.

The Residence Square Fountain - It was here that Maria sings part of the song "Confidence"

We reenacted the "Auf Wiedersehen" song instead.

Nonnberg Abbey - the courtyard and the gate were the only parts of this working abbey that were used in filming.  The nuns didn't want everyone traipsing around their home with film equipment.

The only parts open to the public are the grounds and the chapel.

St. Peter's Abbey - The cemetery located here was the inspiration for the Von Trapp's hiding place at the end of the film.

Mirabell Gardens - where the "Do - Re - Mi" song was filmed.  We also felt the need to reenact many of the famous scenes, simply because it was fun.

The Wedding Church at Mondsee - While the real Maria and Georg got married in a church near the Nonnberg Abbey, the filmmakers found a more picturesque location for the wedding in a town outside of Salzburg called Mondsee.

Here's the outside of the church; you can only see part of it in the film.

 And the inside.

There were, of course, many more pictures taken of all the wonderful sights in Salzburg.  Check them out  here.