Saturday, August 26, 2017

May 28-31 2017

Before my visa expired, I visited a university friend who was studying abroad in Vienna, but not without stopping first in Salzburg, my new favorite European city.

 Outside the Vienna opera house

 Meeting up with Pearl in Vienna

Perfect place for a Kaffee inside
 the Schwetterling Haus

Salzburg also the rainiest city in Europe with plenty of great bike paths and hiking trails, not unlike the Pacific Northwest. Salzburg also is the birthplace of Mozart, has forty-nine churches, and a castle to boot! It is a city I would gladly return to!

My first day, I enjoyed the Sound of Music bike tour http://www.mariasbicycletours.com/ that gave a nice overview of the city along with riding along the canals that reminded me of Valence. The Sound of Music references and sites offered plenty of opportunities of childhood movie nostalgia, while the weather was divine.

 Favorite place to enjoy breakfast and morning 
people watching in the Mirabellgartens! 

 Sound of Music "do-re-mi" fountain


 Most important, found the nuns!

 Site of "do-re-mi "in Sound of Music 
that was used as a horse training site

 Gazebo from "16 going on 17" that was given to Salzburg as a gift. 
Unfortunately couldn't go inside as it is now locked. 

 Mozart's birthplace

Salzburg cathedral

 Inside one of Salzburg's baroque style churches

 "I have Confidence" fountain in Sound of Music


 Site inspired for the cemetery 
production design in the film 

View of Salzburg castle from the 
cemetery and garden

 The abbey in Sound of Music 
still used by the sisters today

 The door the children ring on 
their visit to Maria at the abbey. 
For obvious reasons, the doorbell used in the film
 has long since been removed

 Along the path overlooking where the lake scene 
was shot the backside of the Von Trapp home
 in the film, which is currently a hotel

 The long, great bike path from Heilbrunn castle 
that goes all the way into Salzburg city proper

 Our Sound of Music bike tour guide
with his Maria guitar in front of the
Von Trapp house, the outside part of the house
 used to shoot certain scenes of the house. 


 Tour of the trick fountains at Heilbrunn castle. 
Perfect way to get splashed on a hot summer's day!

Taking a day trip to Mondsee, an easy hour's bus ride outside of Salzburg was another great opportunity to see more of Austria in Mondseeland, which is surrounded by a lake. A 24k bike ride around the lake was the way to go! Mondsee is the site of the church used to film the wedding scene in the Sound of Music. The cinematography in the film gives an impression of its grandness; however, I was still surprised how much smaller it was in person. Mondsee was a pleasant getaway outside of the city. With Lake Mondsee and the Bavarian Mountains, it reminded me a bit of Annecy, France. 

Love Stiegel, the most popular Austrian beer!

 Sites along bike ride around Lake Mondsee



 The Sound of Music wedding church of Mondsee

Inside the church, recently after Pentecost

No comments:

Post a Comment