Salzburg is renowned as the city of Mozart's birth and is also host to a
famous five week music and drama summer festival. If you're a fan of The Sound
of Music, you will also recognize beautiful scenery that was used to film the
movie. Our November 2012 weekend to Austria included a one day trip
from Vienna to Salzburg. We left Vienna by train early on Monday
morning and two and a half hours later we were in Salzburg. We
had decided to take a bus tour of the city which included an audio tour
of the history of Salzburg as well as sights (and a sing a long!) that
were used in The Sound of Music movie. The great thing about the bus
tour was that you could tune your earphones to either the history of Salzburg
or the Sound of Music sights. I decided to listen to the history of
Salzburg tour since I certainly had the Sound of Music songs memorized years
ago. I was happy with my choice until we arrived at the first place
where the Sound of Music movie was filmed.
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Schloss Leopoldskron~ the Sound of Music rowboat scene
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This was the house and lake that was used for the rowboat scene where all of
the children fell into the water. I quickly switched to the Sound
of Music audio tour and sang along for the rest of the tour. So
much for my history tour of Salzburg.
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Do a deer, a female deer... Steps where Maria taught
the children Do, Re, Mi.
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The gazebo from the Sound of Music
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Between our Sound of Music/History of Salzburg bus tour, Christmas
markets, Hohensalzburg Castle, Mozart's birthplace, beautiful cathedrals and
walking around the city, the day went quickly.
Salzburg's Advent markets were just as spectacular as the Vienna
markets.
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Pretzel from the Advent Market in Salzburg
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I remember when the Angel Choir sang "Kling Glockchen" for our Christmas
Concert. It was one of our favorites!
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Nutcrackers of all shapes and sizes
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| Mirabell Gardens |
I'm sure when the summer flowers are in bloom, Mirabell Gardens are
beautiful. You can see Hohensalzburg Castle in the distance. Hohensalzburg
Castle is one of the largest medieval castles in Europe. Construction
began in 1077 and it was enlarged and renovated up until the 17th century.
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Riding the funicular to the top of Hohensalzburg Castle
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The view from the top of Hohensalzburg Castle
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After we toured the castle area, we went back down to the city center to the
Salzburg Cathedral.
Salzburg Cathedral is a 17th century Baroque cathedral and it still has
the font where Mozart was baptized.
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Main organ in the Cathedral
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I loved the horses and carriages!
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Statue of Mozart in the city center
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Mozart was born in the old town of Salzburg and you can tour the house and see
portraits of the family and instruments that were played by Mozart.
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| Old town Salzburg |
Our day ended with a long walking tour around the old town and then a walk back
to the train station to catch our train to Vienna.
A pretzel is a great treat for a 3 hour train ride. Especially the
pretzels from the Christmas markets in Salzburg.
Our quick, one day trip was a whirlwind tour of Salzburg and we didn't begin
to see it all, but it was a glimpse into Salzburg's rich musical heritage and
history.
