Yes, J and I went on The Sound of Music tour while we were in Salzburg and yes, we non-ironically enjoyed every minute of it. Don't judge.
The Sound of Music is one of my favorite movies of all time (J's too--the tour was his idea). For those of you who only have been privy to my hard-nosed, cynical side, this may come as a surprise. I suppose it provides a contrast to my other favorite movies like Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter. I joke that my love of J's blue eyes stems from my childhood crush on Rolf, the blue-eyed Nazi messenger boy who wooed Liesel by throwing stones at her window and singing "Sixteen Going on Seventeen." That's probably not too far from the truth--growing up, I totally wanted to be Liesel. Anyway, I can sing along to pretty much all of the Sound of Music songs, with the exception of "Climb Every Mountain," and really, does anyone actually know the words to that one? But I digress.
The tour, led by a fabulously snarky man of Austrian and Floridian descent, took us around much of Salzburg and then up through the mountains to the tiny town of Mondsee, home of the cathedral where Maria and Captain Von Trapp were married (the movie church, not the actual abbey). I usually hate guided tours and especially bus tours because they don't give you much freedom to wander, but given the bitterly cold and rainy weather, I didn't mind being driven around. Plus, the bus tour allowed us to catch some scenic mountain vistas that we otherwise wouldn't have been able to see, given our lack of a car.
After the tour ended, J and I walked through Mirabell Gardens, where we checked out a few more Sound of Music sights not on the bus tour route before heading to Fort Hohensalzburg and the Augustiner beer hall. It might sound cheesy, but there was something magical about seeing one's favorite childhood movie, and the associated memories, come to life. And hearing my husband sing "Edelweiss" in that amazing baritone voice of his? Totally made my day.
On our way...
Back of the mansion used as the Von Trapp residence and scene
where Maria and the children fall into the water
Schloss Hellbrunn
The famed gazebo where Liesel and Rolf danced
in the rain and sang "Sixteen Going on Seventeen"
Our tour bus -- what an eyesore
A scenic stop
The quaint town of Mondsee
Mondsee Cathedral, where Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer
were married (the real abbey is in Salzburg proper)
Interior of the cathedral
Fountain in Mirabell Gardens, from the "Do-Re-Mi" song
More dancing around during the "Do-Re-Mi" song
An entrance to Mirabell Gardens and the ending to the "Do-Re-Mi" song
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