Day 12: May 11, 2015 - The Sound of Music

We had our The Sound of Music tour with Bob's Special Tours today. We had breakfast at the hotel (I love being asked if I want coffee or tea by the waitress and getting the weirdest looks when I say no. I don't drink coffee or tea, ok people! Get over it!) which was pretty good then headed down to Bob's Special Tours to meet our tour guide. Dad was very excited. He loves The Sound of Music.

We met up with our tour guide, let's call him George, mostly because his actual name was some weird Austrian name I can't pronounce. We started walking around the city for the walking part of the tour. George was very knowledgable and told us not only history about The Sound of Music but the city of Salzburg as well. He informed us that a lot of the stuff in the movie was actually not how it historically happened. For example, the children's actual names were different and the eldest child was actually a boy. Also, in the movie, the Captain was the strict one but in reality, Maria was the strict one.

He informed me that the creepy statue I hate is actually the virgin Mary. That makes it even more creepy. We walked through a lot of the places we had stumbled on yesterday but we just hadn't realized they were in the movie haha the I Have Confidence horse statue is called Residenz Brunnen on Resident Platz. We all had to flick the water again. Pregnant Jess was too short so Al got down on all-fours and gave her a boost haha

We headed up to the Nonnberg Abbey where Maria spent some time as a nun. On the way up, Al's shoe broke which sucked. She ended up having to buy another pair that cost her $60! We had a great view of the city.

On the way down, we stopped by this little shop and the lady let us try some meat. It was very spicy!

We stopped by this little bread shop where they were making fresh bread. We got some, it was super yummy. We then visited the graveyard we visited yesterday. It is part of St. Peter's church and is called St. Peter's cemetery. We guessed right though, this is where the Von Trapp family hid from the Nazis at the end of the movie. They only filmed a few select scenes there, most of it was filmed in a studio.

George took us by Pferdeschwemme, the horse bath Maria and the kids passed on the way to their picnic. He also took us by the Toscanini Hof and Felsenreitschule, the opera house the Von Trapp Family performs at and escapes from in the movie. It is still used today as part of the school and for performances.

The gardens we had visited several times were call the Mirabell Gardens, just outside the Mirabell Castle. We saw the dwarf they dance around in Zwergerl Garten and we ran through the ivy-covered Laubengang. We walked around the Pegasus Brunnen fountain and ran up the Mirabell Steps.

This is where George left us with our new tour guide, Jonathan. The best way to describe Jonathan is with two words: Austrian Dwight. He was wearing lederhosen that were a little too short... He took us to this restaurant where this guy taught us how to made apple strudel. It was super fun, we did boys against girls. While it was cooking, we had lunch. It was this noodle soup with pieces of hot dogs floating in it. It was not good haha we gave all of our hot dog bits to Cory, our human disposal. They then let us eat our strudel. It was good, we made the crust very thin so it was flaky and yummy. A little too much apple and not enough sugar and cinnamon for my taste though.

We got back in the van and headed to the real house they used for the Von Trapp Family house in the movie. It is called Schloss Leopoldskron. We just saw the backside, which is ok because that's the only part of the house they actually used. Plus, the guy that owned it wanted a lake so he just built it himself. That's reasonable. 

We then headed over to Frohnburg Palace which was the used as the front of the Von Trapp house and Hellbrunner Alley where Maria sings I Have Confidence on the way to the house. The real palace is owned by this super rich guy and I guess he has these trick fountains everywhere that squirt people. This is also where they keep the gazebo from Sixteen Going on Seventeen and Something Good. 

This is a screen shot that we took from the video of Al running singing I Have Confidence. It's just too good not to share. 

We drove a while through the hills and saw the scenic little farmhouses with goats roaming. "The hills are alive... with the sound of music!" Throughout the whole ride, we listened to the soundtrack of the movie. It was amazing. We stopped by this little place to take a toboggan ride! It was like the Alpine Slide in Park City but on a metal slide and in Austria. It was fun. 

On the way back into the city, we stopped by this restaurant for some gelato. It has an amazing view of this lake. 

We finished up the tour with the cathedral where the Captain and Maria got married. The exterior was not the one they used but they used the interior. It was called Basilika Mondsee. We went inside and each did the walk down the aisle like Maria. Leave it to Cory to ruin a beautiful moment for me. 

We headed back in Salzburg. We said thank you and goodbye to Jonathan/Dwight. 

We had a chill night. I got in the bath - the tub in our hotel was super nice and the ceiling had fun lights! Ooh! 

It was a super fun tour! I love Bob's Special Tours because it is personal and you are able to be in small groups and ask the tour guides questions. Traveling in large groups is harder and you don't get to see as much. I loved how much George and Jonathan knew about Salzburg and The Sound of Music. Dad enjoyed his tour and we all had a wonderful time!