Guess what we are doing today? We are going to follow the footsteps of the Von Trap family and the filming of The Sound of Music.
If you want to listen to some music from the movie while reading this, I'm including this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyS_C4PeBrw
Here we go, aren't you excited? You got a great night sleep finally and it is about 7am, time to get up, grab some breakfast (steal some lunch) and catch the shuttle to the tour bus. The Sound of Music tour, how freaking cool is this?! My whole life I have loved musicals, but this one stands out in my memory not only because my Mother is obsessed with it, but it really was a fantastic movie. Getting to go and retrace the filming is such an honor, I cannot believe the opportunities that have been provided for me.
The first stop is to the setting for the backyard of the movie. You know the scene where Maria and the kids come back in the boats and the Father is furious? Well, this is where that scene happened. For some reason, they used two different homes for the movie. This one they used only for the yard. The next stop is the gazebo where two amazing scenes were shot. As you can see, Mark and I are acting out the seen for "I am 16 going on 17." This was also where Maria and the Father (I can't spell his name) start falling for each other and sing "I must have done something good."
The above home is the actual Von Trap family home. It gave me chills to get to see it! As with the back of the other home, we could not actually enter because it is a private residence now. Can you imagine getting to LIVE there??!
These are just of the Alpine countryside and glacial lakes
This is the church that Maria gets married in <3
This is the area's famous apple strudel with vanilla sauce
Now, we move away from the Alpine villages and back to Salzburg where we are left to wander and find the rest of the movie's sets on our own...we gladly accepted the challenge and had a magical day doing so. The next series of pictures are all from the "Doe a dear" song scene, as you can imagine, I had so much fun acting out each little scene.
I'm trying to act out this scene haha ;)
Hehe I got your tongue little troll! (this guy is from the movie, too of course!)
There is a castle on a cloud, I like to go there in my dreams. Therefore, this must be a dream because that castle in the distance way up on the cliffs, skimming the clouds is where we are heading at this moment! Take a little note how much walking we are doing today. Of course, you will barely notice because everything is so amazing, but wearing boots on cobble stones for a good 10 miles will ensure a good night's sleep tonight. Also, note the difference in elevation as we continue to explore the city. Right now we are in the valley along the quiet river, in a few minutes we will hike up abandoned steep, narrow stone stairs and be looking down over the city and river. Ready? Let's go!
Wew that was a steep hike! I almost blew off from the wind. But look at where we are now! We have stumbled upon this adorable little church on the cliff and can see all of the city down below. The air is brisk and fresh, Mmm take a deep breath of that clean Alpine breeze. There is a dampness that is refreshing at times, but also a little chilly and keeps you moving to stay warm. As you walk along this narrow little pathway, snaking atop the cliffs you have a great sense of adventure and a feeling of "this is what life is about." This place feels like something out of a storybook, everywhere you look there are ancient stone ruins disappearing with time into the mountainside. They are mighty and give you a glimmer of the past. Imagine what once happened here that they needed such fortresses of thick, black stone built among the cliffs. As you walk along these decaying pathways, the presence of these stone structures demand your awareness and respect as they tower above you and protrude in the distance. With no real knowledge or connection to what once was here, your mind imagines King Arthur and a medieval time long ago. To walk among these ruins now, you feel humbled and as though you are tip-toeing as to not disturb their slumber.
Where'd Kaisha go, oh there she is. Found a way up on the ruins, no surprise.
"Oh heyy" hahaha
And yet again, we stumbled upon MORE fortress ruins. Yup, I'm in heaven, by that I mean: Oh look, it's my summer castle! Come on in, I'll show you around. First, we walk through the gate (with the theme song of Belle form Beauty and the Beast playing) and stroll down the pathway and ivy and then creak open the 10ft tall thick oak door to the entry way. The damp, earthy smell of stone and soil hit your nostrils in a pleasant way, like a forest after it rains...
Walking for MILESS and miles with our little rationed food (remember we are poor and having been living off of hotel food) and the ever heavy weather, you can imagine you might get a little cranky occasionally. The way I signaled this, was like this: first, my playful side melted away, my feet drag, I mumble complaints to myself "my feet hurt" "I'm hungry" and then occasionally just plop down where ever and refuse to go on. Most of the time I merrily keep the energy going, but I can only take so much, it is then that whoever is with me has to take on the role of cheerleader. What better way to get a Kaisha re-motivated than to make it a game and playful one? This picture captures Mark's role as that in this moment. He took my scarf and pretended to be a prince from a Disney movie and we danced in the street and pretended to be royalty. Re-enthused and a stolen croissant in your belly, let's move onto what we've been waiting for.
Finally, we are at the base of the castle. So close, yet so far. That was the theme of this day. Granted, I think we fit in way more than everyone else and it was worth it, but I created this blog to remember the reality of my experiences..including the hard stuff. Anyway, so we finally were getting close, but had to figure out how to actually get to the darn thing (silly me, I forgot the way to my own castle!) AND getting up to it was CRAZYY steep. Like nothing I have ever gone up before, the dirt "road" up to it was so worn away and was practically vertical and wicked slippery, people were slipping as we passed them and it was seriously intimidating. I thought after all it took to get there, I might die and never get to the top. Of course, remember we are starving and travel-tired so we may have been a little dramatic.
That quaint, little house down there was the executioners house. Prior to my rule, the kings of old had a high demand for beheading people that offended them or they perceived as a threat. Too bad Snow White's house actually belonged to the local executioner. Below: look how thick and just massive these walls are!! Insane, imagine building this wayy up on the steep top of a mountainous cliff! Geez!
Fun fact, today the palace is reserved for local artists only. Only artists can live in the palace apartments with their families. How freaking cool?! Why doesn't the US have awesome rules like this? In the US this place would be for only the wealthy elite and cut off from everyone else. Nope, here in Austria, the palace is reserved to inspire creativity. The way life should be. And let me tell you, Maria had it right, these hills ARE alive! ;)
Can you see the outlines of the Alps in the distance? Everywhere you look, your eyes are mesmerized and amazed, not believing what they are seeing. Is this reality? Am I really in a place that is this beautiful? It is tranquil, powerful, magnificent, inspiring, refreshing, humble, exotic, ancient, and wonderful all at the same time. How awesome is it that we live in a world where such beauty exists! And even crazier is that I have had the opportunity to be in such a wonderful place. Life is an adventure, that is something I have learned without a doubt from this trip. I never thought this was possible, for me to get to travel like this, but I believed it would happen, worked my ass off, and life met me halfway. It gives me hope and faith and feel so lucky to be blessed with life so that I can explore and discover all that this world has to offer. (This is what fresh, chemical-free mountain air will do for your spirit. It awakens your soul and makes you feel like singing and dancing and crying and laughing all at once from the joy of living and experiencing such an amazing place).
It took so much self control not to play with this door! Just look at it! Gaaaah! Giant, thick iron/bronze with all sorts of ancient locks. How I wanted to shut it and lock it, etc, but Mark walked me away before I got kicked off for being an entitled American lol.
Look at these guys behind Mark!! Something I was surprised to see throughout this part of Europe was that older people often dressed in traditional attire. Like this character. I was dying for him to start yodeling! (Mark is pretending to have his pic taken, so I could sneak a pic of the yodeler-looking man).
See! Everywhere you look, there is some ruins, whether they are thick stone walls scattered among the cliffs or a fortress in the woods, covered in moss and ivy.. still powerful as ever. I couldn't get enough of them. I wanted to know what they were built for, or during what time? I want to know the stories of the rulers at the time and of the slaves or peasants who had to build these great structures. Can you imagine living at a time when thick walls like these were your source of protection from enemies?
Here, I have marked in red where we were before. From the water below the red circle, we hiked up the cliff to that red-roofed church, remember? From there we walked along a decaying path that snaked along the cliffs and at times I feared for my life that I might get blown right off. Now, after the castle here we went past it (opposite of the pic, cannot see it in this image) and THEN we walked along the river way PAST the red circle and then back to the river and then to our hotel. See, LOTS of walking...and this is on top of the Sound of Music tour we did this morning!
Entering the castle courtyard.
"Ahhh" you pretend to be scared as your friend jumps out from a tunnel at you.
Look what we found! This is the Abbey that Maria belonged to! Remember these gates are especially emphasized in the scenes were the kids come to find Maria and then towards the end when the Von Trap family comes here to hide and the Nazis come to look for them.
After this, I stopped taking pics mostly. I was so hungry and although I was enjoying my surroundings, it got cold and drizzly again. Imagine everyday you are living off rationed, stolen food, endlessly in the drizzly and windy cold, and on the move nonstop from the time you get up until you finally get to crawl into your bed. See, that would be exhausting and at this point we had been living that life style for several weeks. Of course, we kept going regardless, it just made it that by 8-11 miles and being slightly lost always (since all the signs and maps were in Dutch) and hungry, I admit I complained a little. In Salzburg however, I was at a breaking point. After the whole day of wandering, there was a point I could walk no more, so laid down on a sidewalk alley and waited for Mark to go ahead and come get me if he found a cheap place to eat. He didn't so carried me for a while. Regardless of this factor, clearly Salzburg was one of my top 5 cities. Simply Majestic.
