One of the best tours I've been - The Sound of Music Tour in Salzburg. Mainly organised because many scenes from The Sound of Music movie were actually shot in Salzburg! The original story was inspired by the von Trapp family singers - and led to a German film in 1956...and the Hollywood version followed after in 1965. The Hollywood version of The Sound of Music is actually pretty different from the initial German version, and although it was extremely popular in USA and other parts of the world, it didn't garner as much popularity in Austria.
Nevertheless, The Sound of Music Tour still does really well - as many tourists from different parts of the world yearn to see the filming locations of the Hollywood version of The Sound of Music! It's a half-day tour which brings us around Salzburg and to the outskirts - where some scenes were filmed.
Our starting point - a small lake in Salzburg. It had snowed heavily the night before (yay I finally touched and saw snow for the very first time!), and so the lake was half frozen! But check out the wonderful view! We were given some time to walk around...
The Mirabellplatz - one of the major palaces in Salzburg. The gardens were used as a filming site for some of the scenes (mainly the Do Re Mi sequence), and the tree-lined roads leading up to the palace were also used (the scene where Captain von Trapp and the Baroness spotted children climbing trees). If I'm not mistaken, the facade of the Mirabellplatz was used as one of the settings for the film too.
Our next stop - a Christmas market. Well kind of! We were given some time to walk around the Christmas market...which was just opening for the day....
And the main reason for coming here? Well - here's the gazebo used for the filming of Sixteen Going on Seventeen! According to our tour guide, the gazebo WAS initially open for people to walk in...but someone tried to imitate the dance in the Sixteen Going on Seventeen song (which involved hopping from bench to bench)...and fell pretty badly! So now the gazebo can only be admired from outside. Also - the gazebo wasn't originally here - it was located somewhere near the city centre, but because of concerns over graffiti and various reasons, it was moved here.
Back on the bus! Now it was time to head up the hills. The tour guide told us that the opening scene for the movie was filmed on the Untersberg - a prominent peak on the border of Germany and Austria. He then went on to make jokes, saying that it was absolutely impossible for the main character to run down the hill at such a rapid speed (as portrayed in the movie)...simply because the Untersberg was high, and steep!
So anyway, while on the bus, the tour guide decided to let us listen to the original movie soundtrack, and while the music was playing, I took pics of the gorgeous scenery outside. It wasn't snowing, but the roads and surroundings were still covered in lots and lots of snow from the night before.
Stopped by at the side of the road...and we were given some time to take pics of this gorgeous place here. Imagine how it's like to live at the foot of the mountains AND at the side of a lake...this is just heavenly.
The snow was even deeper here, and we had to trudge through carefully, as it was a steep descend from the road to the town below.
And yes - since there was plenty of snow, I managed to pick up a decent-sized snowball! It felt soft and fluffy...and I was so tempted to make a snowman...but we had to head off for another location.
So along the way - more pics...particularly of the houses below the mountains...
The next stop - a small town named Mondsee. Mondsee is most famous for its church (Collegiate Church) - which was used as a filming site for the wedding scene in The Sound of Music. "Mondsee" literally means "moon lake". Mondsee rose in popularity because of this. But apart from that, prehistoric stilt-house settlements were discovered here in Mondsee - and these have since been preserved.
Took a brisk walk around Mondsee, before heading to the church. I love the vibrant colours!
The outside of the church, and another Christmas market...which wasn't really open yet.
Managed to get some pics of the inside of the church...before being dragged off to lunch. I definitely wanted to spend more time in the church, but there was a time limit for us - as the tour bus was to leave promptly after lunch.
Went to a small cafe for lunch - and had one of the best hot chocolates I've ever tasted! The place was really cosy and warm...and people were so friendly! And on the way out, I spotted this window...with Christmas decorations, and decided that it would make a good 'postcard' for my mates!
Trudging through the snow...while heading back to the bus. The view from here is spectacular.
And after we got onto the bus, we listened to more music from The Sound of Music, and before the tour ended, the tour guide led us on a rendition of Edelweiss!
We got off at Mirabellplatz - right in the middle of the 'new' part of the city. And since the tour had officially ended then, we walked around the Mirabellplatz ourselves. More to the Mirabellplatz in our next post! Do stay tuned!
To end off this post, here's a pic of the snow just as the skies got brighter...this was taken right outside our hotel. Imagine how delighted I was - to see snow and take pics of it for the very first time. To be honest, it wasn't even THAT cold...I was thinking it would be freezing but I ended up walking outside in only a sweater and a furry scarf. Maybe it's not considered 'deep winter' yet?
