Wednesday 8 August 2012

Salzburg is alive with The Sound of Music (Tour)….

One of the cheesiest, yet most unforgettable things I did while in Europe was to take The Sound of Music Tour in Salzburg.

This is probably something that only big fans of the film will enjoy, so perhaps leave your boyfriend at the pub for the day, while you hop on any number of big tacky tour buses with other SOM fans to enjoy the sights of Salzburg as seen in the film, while singing along to the classic soundtrack.

There are various travel companies that run the programme; I chose the Panorama tours, lured by their inclusion of tobogganing through the Austrian mountains. I had read many online forums which said these tours were a tourist trap, and had planned to see the sights on my own, but managing it in one day would have been a struggle, and I’d rather pay for someone who knows Salzburg to take me there on a coach than stress myself out trying to get around to all the sites by map and local bus. We were also told some of the sites are not accessible to the general public, whether this is true, I’m unable to say.

The first site is the stunning Mirabell Gardens, where the children are seen running around in the “doe, a deer” scenes. The gardens are an amazing display of colour, and you can take a picture with the famous fountain the children run around.

Leopoldskron Palace is the beautiful mansion which is the façade of the Von Trapp family home, and the stunning lake the children fall into. The house is surrounded by some of the most amazing scenery in Salzburg. Hellbrun Palace’s Gardens contain the famous glass pavilion Liesl and Rolf danced around singing “I am 16, going on 17,” however you unfortunately cannot go inside.

One of the real highlights was Mondsee, the small town containing the stunning church where Maria and Captain Von Trapp married in the film. It is evident this town largely exists nowadays for SOM fans, and there is ample opportunity to purchase memorabilia and other paraphernalia such as edelweiss jewelry and SOM postcards.

En route to these sights are other landmarks such as Nonnberg Abbey where Maria was a nunn, the street where the children were hanging from the trees in their curtain clothes, and the train station where the real Captain and Maria von Trapp escaped Austria.

It was a surprise to me that the story is based on a true one, and if you have a good guide, he/she will show you the sights from the film, and from the Von Trapp family’s real life.

While I hate to admit it, I had a brilliant time with the other (mostly) women and children singing along to “These are a few of my favourite things…” and gushing at the fact that I was standing alongside the fountain Maria had danced around, case in hand, declaring she had confidence in sunshine.

1 comment: