As
readers of this blog, be happy that you are not able to hear our Sound of Music tour group singing along to the soundtrack in the confined space of our eight-passenger van. However I hope you enjoy reading about my stories from Austria.
Our first day in Salzburg was spent exploring the city's never-been-penetrated fortress, where Sara and I probably spent more time taking silly pictures than taking in the building interiors and WWI artifacts. We also stopped by Mozartplatz, the cathedral where Mozart served as organist (and got a look at its 4,000 pipe organ), and Mozart's house with a few of his pianos and letters to his sister.
We spent the next morning at Hellbrunn Castle and more importantly its Wasserspeile, which translates to trick fountains.
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| Water shooting out of the center of each "guest" chair! |
The story goes that the owner of the castle was a jokester and had fountains designed to get his guests wet. The most entertaining was a stone table that had water spouts in the guest's chairs that would soak their bottoms when they had had too much to drink. Sara and I did great job staying dry for the duration of the tour, until I got too confident that I could avoid the tour guide's efforts, and got hit on the last fountain while taking a picture! Even a bit wet, we really enjoyed the tour. Not having reached my Mozart limit the day before, I went to a concert that night in this very Baroque, very cool room where I heard a bunch of his works, some of which I knew well, some of which were obviously Mozart but things I didn't really recognize.
Salzburg's other claim to fame is of course the Sound of Music, and so we decided to see what kind of fun the tours offered. Sara had seen the movie for the first time only the night before, and I was happy to have a refresher since it had been a while since I last watched it (and if I'm being really honest, since I had last sung along). The sights were what we had seen in the movie: the backyard of the Von Trapp family's house, the gazebo, the church where Maria and the captain were married, the gardens through which Maria and the kids are running while singing "Doe, a Deer," and more. They were all fun to see in real life. However the real fun was totally unrelated to the movie.
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| About to head up to the top of the track! |
We made a very good decision when we chose the mini-bus tour. A smaller van meant we were able to go places that a tour bus wouldn't have been able to reach, which, as we found out, meant we got to go... luging! (Yes, I do mean the verb 'to luge': to ride on a racing sled down a track (that's my version of the definition.)) It was an amazing experience, being in control of this wheeled sled, rushing down a metal track, trying to push the speed and not use the break, all the while praying not to lose control and wipe out! That ride definitely made my day and topped the list of my favorite activities from our time in Austria.
