By Jenn Wetli
When my mom and aunt decided to visit us in the greater Frankfurt area for the first time, we wanted them to see more than just Germany on their trip to Europe. We settled on Salzburg, Austria, because we had never been to Austria, and it seemed like a manageable drive. We only booked a three-day weekend, but we ultimately felt that we saw what we wanted to see in Salzburg.
Sound of Music Tour
Salzburg is a beautiful city on the edge of the Alps with a mountain fortress overlooking the city. It is the birthplace of Mozart and home of the Sound of Music Tour, among many other things. My mom had visions of standing on the mountains and dancing like Julie Andrews as Maria, so we booked the Official Sound of Music Tour. My family is definitely more sporty that artsy, so we glossed over the Mozart history (read: We drove past Mozart’s birthplace on the tour).
In preparation for the trip, we re-watched the Sound of Music. My kids knew some of the songs but didn’t have any real memory of seeing the movie. Even though, I have seen the movie many times, it did help build my excitement to see the sights in real life. My husband was a good sport about watching the movie and going on the tour.
On Friday, we arrived in Salzburg around 4 p.m., to a beautiful apartment we booked through HomeAway, within walking distance to the Mirabell Platz (the site of many scenes from the Sound of Music) and many of the tourist attractions.
Rain was predicted for the entire weekend, so we were prepared with umbrellas and rain coats. When you plan the trip months in advance, you just have to go anyway. So, our pictures didn’t turn out as pretty as we had hoped, but we definitely bonded over sharing umbrellas and having wet feet!
St. Peter’s Abbey
My older daughter had done some online research before we left and suggested St. Peter’s Abbey, so we set off on foot. In the late afternoon, the Abbey was almost deserted. The main church, currently under renovation, is not open to visitors, but we were able to wander around to the chapels and the beautiful cemetery. This was the highlight of the Abbey since it was featured in the movie when the von Trapp family fled from Austria. Additionally, there are catacombs to visit for a small fee (€2/adult), but we ended up skipping these because our teens were not interested.
When we exited the Abbey, we found ourselves beside the FestungsBahn Cable Railway to Fortress Hohensalzburg. Again, with very few other people around, we decided to take the funicular to the Fortress and explore the beautiful views of the city and the Alps. The museum was closed, but we were still able to walk around the fortress and enjoy the views.
When You’re 16 Going on 17
Ready for our Sound of Music tour on Saturday morning, we met our group at the hard-to-miss- bus fully covered with Maria dancing across it. Our guide was both informative and spoke excellent English. We saw two buildings and the lake used for outside shots of the von Trapp family’s home; the gazebo where Liesl and Ralf sang “I Am 16, Going On 17”; and then we settled in for about a 40-minute drive to the village of Mondsee where they filmed the wedding of Maria and Captain von Trapp. [Special note: Our middle daughter was actually 16 and soon-to-be 17 during the trip which made the gazebo stop her must-see stop.].
When we returned to Salzburg, the guide led us into the Mirabell Gardens and pointed out exactly where scenes from the movie took place. The fountain where Maria and the children danced around the ledge, the ivy covered walkway and the gnome-line path which are all featured in “Do-Re-Mi” are all within a 5-minute walk of each other. The garden itself is open to the public and is free to wander as long as you like. The distinctively shaped flower beds were in full bloom, and they were gorgeous despite the rain.
While the tour was informative and interesting, it took away some of the illusions created in the movie. Many of the buildings featured in the movie are not open to the public, and the gazebo has been moved since the filming. Too many Sound of Music fans were jumping over the walls of the garden of Schloss Leopoldskron where the gazebo was originally located, so the gazebo has been relocated to a public park on the grounds of Hellbrunn Palace. Spoiler Alert! I didn’t know that the front of one building and the back of another were used, so you can’t actually see the entire von Trapp family home as it is portrayed in the movie.
Visiting the Old Town
After the tour, we spent the afternoon walking around the city center, touring some of the Salzburg Cathedral, admiring the Baroque architecture of the surrounding buildings and doing a little souvenir shopping. There were definitely other sights to see, if we had more time. Hellbrunn Palace, where the gazebo has been relocated and home of the trick fountains looked like a beautiful place to explore, but it is quite a way from the main city and would have required public transportation or a vehicle to get back to it.
Since Austria is known for apple strudel, of course we sampled it a couple of times during our stay. It is traditionally served with a warm vanilla sauce, and both times, it was delicious!
Our teens would say that it was a good trip, but by the end of the trip, they had seen all they wanted to see.
Contributor: Jenn Wetli and her husband have 3 teenage daughters (ages 19, 17, and 13). The oldest daughter goes to college in the US, and the rest of the family lives in Germany on a three-year ex-pat assignment. While in Europe, they hope to see as much of the world as they can and go from novice to world travelers.
Main photo by Evan Qu on Unsplash
All other photos ©Jenn Wetli, TravelTeening
