The Hills Are Alive...

We started our morning with the Sound of Music Tour! We got picked up at our hotel and taken to the main charter bus where we rode with 50 other fans to some of the film locations. They took us to the places outside of the city, and at the end gave us a map of the places inside the city where we could visit on our own. I liked that, so that it wasn't just a guide pointing out obvious spots (or not so obvious spots) that we could walk to ourselves in a self-guide. It was a lot of fun and Doug was a really really great sport about it.

The backyard of the house (but they didn't use the house at all, they had a hard time getting the rights). So just the backyard, where they had set up the gazebo and did the boat scene and such

The view of the lake and Untersberg (the mountain--where the had filmed the opening and closing shots of the film)

The gazebo! It's not in its orignal place, but this is the original gazebo (the exterior at least, there's a separate interior that was used for filming)

Our bus!

This is the tree lined lane that the children climb trees in. Also this is the lane where Julie Andrews sings "I have confidence." The house were the exteriors for the front and back of the house were used were right next to it too, but we weren't close enough to get a good picture. The one I got is just a blur of yellow.

Oh, and they played parts of the soundtrack on the bus too :]

One of the beautiful lakes in the lake district used for the opening shots. These were soo pretty. They're glacier fed, so they're ice cold. This, I believe, is Lake Fuschl

This was the mountain where Maria taught the children to sing. You can take a train or a cable car (I forget which it is) to the top and there is a hotel up there. Apparently it's pretty cheap, but that's because there's nothing to do up there. Although I'm sure it's got a stellar view. If we lived closer it'd be a nice weekend getaway destination

We went to Mondsee, where the Church where Maria and the Captain were married. Actually, the church used in the film where they were married (they were actually married at the Abbey in Salzburg)

It looked like Disneyworld in this little village!

The church

A drinking fountain that gave ice cold water

We had free time once we got to his village, so we sat down at a cafe and shared a warm apple streudel with hot vanilla sauce. It was delicious!

The lake near Mondsee is just over this grassy area, surrounded by the mountains

After we got off the bus we hit a lot of other sites that they filmed at. Some of them were surprising how they were laid out or how small the space actually was!

The Mirabell Gardens. Lots of "Do Re Mi" in this garden. The steps near the close gate is where they did the ending with them jumping all over the place (and Louisa messing up)

Pegasus fountain where they ran around while singing

Also where they ran through

Beautiful gardens!

Haha I had to!

Higher view of the Pegasus garden

Haha the gnome that they all pat on the head as they pass by singing

The steps that they walk down as they do the interlude to "Do Re Mi". We were surprised about this part. It's only about 50 feet long where there's a stone wall at all, then it's a metal fence

This isn't in the movie. This shot is for Allison, compliments of Doug haha

The fountain once again, and these steeples and dome are everywhere in the movie

They pass by this in the movie, but this is taken at a different angle

Two spots that we didn't get to see was the theatre where they sung at the festival (it's currently being used on a daily basis), and the Mozart bridge that they cross and look into the river-- that's being renovated and is completely covered. Guess we'll just have to come back... :)

After we were done walking around the city and seeing what we wanted to, we went back to our hotel to rest. We watched a couple episodes of "How I Met Your Mother" and then Doug surprised me by taking me out to eat for our anniversary date. He even told me to dress up :)

We walked into old town and found a tavern restaurant that was behind Mozart's birthplace. And actually his sister had lived in the building that was now the restaurant. It was called the Zipfer, and it was really good. We got more traditional cuisine. Doug got fried sausage with cheese wrapped in bacon and came with a side of fries. I got fried sausage with sauerkraut and potatoes. Mmmm.

After that we walked around for a bit. We saw all people dressed in black tie attire as they were headed to to the different events of the Salzburg music festival. Maybe one day we'll come back and go to one ourselves.

We walked to the Stein hotel that has a restaurant on the roof. We had stayed away for dinner because our tour guide had warned that it was a bit pricey, but we decided we would eat dessert there. The view was gorgeous! This was the view from our table!

Doug got chocolate cake and I got a chocolate Sundae. Yummy! (Here it is also customary to serve ice cream with a glass of water)

We watched as the sun set over the hills and then came back to our hotel. Now we're packing up and getting ready to turn in a little early. We have an 8 a.m. train to catch to Zurich, and a lot to see in Zurich since it's our only day there! We can't believe how quickly this trip has gone! We're trying our best to savor our "once in a lifetime trip"!