March 29, 2018   Saltzburg and the Sound of Music Tour!!

Definitely one of the favorite outings of the family.  We hopped on a tour bus in downtown Saltzburg and spent the next 4 hours seeing the places where the Sound of Music was filmed.  We watched movie clips and behind-the-scene footage on the bus and then got off for picture opportunities.  Before the 4 hours were up, we were having a full bus sing along!  Loved it!!

The Sound of Music was filmed from March 26 to September 1, 1964. 

Mozart foot bridge.  The children and Maria came across this during Do-Re-Mi.

Palace Leopold was used for the exterior shots of the VonTrapp house that required the lake. This lake was used when Maria and the children fall in the water from the boat.  If you look closely, you can see two statues of horses right at the water's edge on the right corner of the house.  Imaging yourself standing with your back to the house and the lake in front of you.

This is the road used when the bus took Maria from the Abbey to the VonTrapp home for the first time.  She sang "I Have Confidence".

Clare clicking her heels like Maria does in the movie.

One of three gazebos used to film "Sixteen Going on Seventeen".  This one is the smallest and the only one still intact.  Then there was a larger one and one that was half a gazebo.  

Clare and Grace getting theatrical.

"Maria" and "the Captain" reenacting "Something Good" at the gazebo. 

Frohnburg Palace was used as the exterior of the VonTrapp home when the lake was not involved.  Maria sings "I Have Confidence" along this wall.  

Nonnberg Abbey where the real Maria was a postulant before becoming acquainted with the VonTrapps.

One of the lakes shot in the movie.

High on a hill was a lonely goatherd......

Odl lay ee!

The church in which Maria and the Captain were married, located in Mondsee 16 miles east of Salzburg. 

Inside St. Michael's.  Mass was going on because of Holy Thursday.  We couldn't explore very much.

Fun fact:  When filming, they forgot to get an actor for the bishop so the real bishop of Mondsee was in the movie!

The beautiful organ in the film.

Cheesy group picture.

Mirabell Gardens was where a lot of Do-Re-Mi was filmed.

See the arbor tunnel?  The kids race through it in the film. 

Here's a reenactment:  https://youtu.be/DOmDPtQ0_mw

Pegasus Fountain

Another reenactment:  https://youtu.be/sbLe_Unc5wE

"Maria" singing the last high note of Do-Re-Mi.

This ballroom was inspiration for the Hollywood set that was built as the VonTrapp ballroom.

Concerts are hosted here.

Another view of the ballroom that inspired the movie ballroom.  Notice the piano.  It's a Bosendorfer!  Grace's dream piano!

It's time for another viewing of the Sound of Music!  Who's bringing the popcorn?

March 26-30, 2018   Schwaz Silvermine, Franciscan Monastery, Innsbruck

We have really been enjoying the landscape and beautiful views of Austria.  It is very stereotypical: huge mountains, gorgeous valleys, and alpine architecture.  If you are a skier, this is the place to be.  The pictures don’t do the views justice, they seem higher than the Rocky mountains, almost unnatural or “green-screened”.  For you CC folks, find the “Inn” river, you can follow it until it reaches the Danube….that’s right, we could put a boat where we are staying and take it down-river to the Black Sea!!!  We have seen an old Silver-mine, which started in the late middle ages that provided many riches to the region, a Franciscan Monastery, old Gothic church (built from all the copper and silver riches), hikes/walks around our house/town.  We also spent half a day in Innsbruck and had the best sauerkraut ever from a street vendor.  Thursday we went on a classic Sound of Music Tour in Salzburg….it was a lot of fun, and we saw more gorgeous views of beautiful lakes and mountains.  See it's own, separate post.    Rod

Two pics from our balcony

These are from our visit to the Silver mine.  We had to wear hardhats and protective suits, it was dripping water everywhere.

Taking the mine railway into the mountain.

Eager miners.

Done with the railway and walking further in on foot.

Five hundred years ago, the mine employed 10,000 miners that extracted 85% of the world's silver.

The ride out of the mine:  https://youtu.be/Mg6dAc3XLIA


Here are a few pics of the Franciscan Monastery.

Our Lady Catholic Church was expanded to it's current size around 1490 when the town population was increasing due to the silver mine.  When you mine for silver, you find even more copper because the two are deposited at the same time by the same mechanism.  The church roof is covered with 15,000 copper tiles.  Because of the expansion, the church has four aisles with two main aisles (left for citizens, right for miners). 

Here are some pictures of the only 4 aisle Catholic Church in Europe.  It was very much in the Gothic style.

Some citizens on the left side.  An unsavory group, if you ask me.

There are many large silver candle sticks in the church.  Here are four.

The church was set up for Stations of the Cross.

The Baptismal font.

The main altar.

The front of the right main altar.  These are painted wooden scenes set up for Easter. 

mountain view

 Here are some pics to "old-town" Innsbruck.  We enjoyed our stroll around town.  The food was fantastic!  Easter is a big "egg-decorating" tradition in our area.  There were huge, decorated eggs around the town.

Beautiful Innsbruck

Innsbruck

Beautiful old building.

There were large painted eggs through the main part of town.

The awesome food!  Rick Steves said street vendors can have the most delicious food, and he was right!

The New Court with the Golden Roof.  See description below.

Love the color of the buildings.

The Ottoburg.  A late Gothic tower house documented since 1476.

This was an interesting street vendor (notice the word street)......can you figure out what he is selling?  The kid's eyes went immediately to the suckers...Katie was about to buy three, until the owner said "Hemp" with a strong German accent!  Very, very, easy to get the items!

Pics from the sound of music tour in Salzburg will receive it's very own post!  Keep reading!

More scenes from a hike above our house

That is the full moon ....view from our deck!