The Sound of Music Tour

We spent our first morning in Salzburg doing one of The Sound of Music Tours. Before Micaela and James left for camp, I forced them to sit and watch highlights of the DVD so that the tour would be more meaningful to them as t had been a few years since they had last viewed it. After I fastforwarded a few times, the kids told me to stop so they could see all of it. When it was finished, I told them, "And then they moved to the U.S. When Micaela and James were little, we visited the Vermont town where the Trapp family lived, and the family actually sang at your grandmother Mimi's high school when she was a teenager." James did a double take and said, "Wait! You mean this was a true story?" Sigh.

Our guidebook talked about two tours...

....the bigger Panorama tour on a full-sized bus (bigger crowd, more time spent getting on and off the bus, plus the potential embarrassment of riding on that bus)....

.....and Bob's Tour (private tour for the same price, more convenient). We followed the guidebook's recommendation and went with the Bob's private tour. Peter, our guide, picked us up at our hotel and right away gave his credentials: he's related to the von Trapps, as he called them "the Trapps." The Hungarian side of his family is connected to the Hungarian side of Captain von Trapp's mother's family. We were impressed.

He also immediately dispelled any hopes we had of being able to visit the top of the mountain where Maria sings The Sound of Music. He explained that that spot is unaccessible by car and that Julie Andrews was plunked down on that mountain side from a helicopter.

Our first stop would be the Mirabell Gardens where much of the Do-Re-Mi scenes were filmed. I posed the kids on the steps of the garden, each on a different step or "note" just like in the movie. Can you tell how game they were for all of this? I realized I had to lower my expectations of their enthusiasm or the tour would be ruined for me.

Just for comparison

Peter told us much about the filming of the movie and about the real story of the Trapp family. The movie was as accurate as it was inaccurate. Real Maria would take the children to classical concerts at the Mirabell Palace, and let them blow off steam in the gardens during intermissions.

By the way, Austrians prefer the German-language movie versions of the Trapp story. Two movies were made in the 1950s: The Trapp Family and The Trapp Family in America. Austrians hold the musical version in disdain and don't understand all the hullabaloo over it. In addition, I had mentioned this movie to a German neighbor before our trip and even hummed a few bars of Do-Re-Mi to her, and she was mystified. Never heard of it. I was equally mystified. Surely Do-Re-Mi is known around the world! Wouldn't every language have its own version? I guess not.

Our guide said something along the lines of, "You would think Austrians would have more appreciation for this movie. The country gets 80% of its income from tourism and The Sound of Music has to be the most successful advertising campaign for a city in history."

There must be copyright or trademark issues at play here, too, because we didn't see a single The Sound of Music souvenir anywhere -- no tacky plastic Maria in the alps snowglobes, no "I married my Captain von Trapp" t-shirts, no tote bags bearing the quote "I've been roaming about Salzburg, dressed up in nothing but some old drapes, and having a marvelous time!" Shame, really.

Running through the arbor

The film children marched around this pegasus statue. I could only persuade Emilie and Rebecca to do it. On video, Rebecca almost fell into the water. There were many groups of school children in the gardens and I think Micaela and James did not want to embarrass themselves.

View of Mirabell Gardens and Palace

In the Dwarf Park. The dozen statues in this park were modeled after real dwarfs who served the prince-archbishop who lived in the Palace.

View of Hohensalzburg Castle from the gardens. Construction of the fortress began in 1077.

The next stop was Hellbrunn Castle. This is the lane where film-Maria sings the last part of I Have Confidence as she makes her way to the Trapp House.

The Sixteen going on Seventeen gazebo is kept locked as Sound of Music fans kept leaping from bench to bench, resulting in many injuries. Shoot. I was planning on at least one of us leaping around in there. The gazebo was recently moved from it original home next to the palace that was used as the back of the Trapp house in the film. That building is now used primarily for lectures. Tourists visiting the gazebo were too disruptive, so the gazebo was relocated to the grounds of Hellbrunn Castle.

Peter, our tour guide, seemed a bit disappointed that the whole family didn't sing along with the soundtrack to the movie he played in the van. Emilie finally joined Peter and me in singing a bit, but in the end, I think people were tired. In retrospect, that big painted tour bus probably had a party atmosphere inside, with everyone happily singing along to the songs.

Peter also gave us information on other Austrian traditions, including the food and clothes. He told me that Austrians are proud of their lederhosen and dirndls and would be happy to pose for pictures. He also said that lederhosen are often worn to formal business meetings, as well as to church and at festivals. I couldn't help but ask a questions that was bugging me, "But, how do you wash them?" He answered that you take them to the cleaners, but the traditional way to wash them is to let them sit in a creek for a week and the flowing water and sand scrub the lederhosen clean.

As we continued our tour, it started to rain. And not a nice light rain. It poured.

Schloss Frohnburg, now the Mozart Music Academy, was used as the facade of the Trapp estate. We caught just a glimpse of the real Trapp estate, which the family left to an order of monks, during our tour. Recent plans to have their real home turned into a hotel fell through this past year.

I want to personally thank the genius who placed the red and blue "No stopping or standing on the roadway" sign dead-center in front of the house.

Leopoldskron Palace, owned by the real Uncle Max who established the Salzburg Festival. This back of this building was used as the back of the Trapp house. This is the lake where the film-children fell out of boat. According to our guide, the real-Trapps were attending a high society party at this house when the children got bored, climbed into a boat, capsized and returned to the party wet and muddy (the man-made lake is only 1 meter deep). I have to admit I have been unable to confirm this story anywhere else. But, it's a good story.

The studio copied the ballroom in this house as the the Trapp ballroom and the patio on the lake was used for the folk dance Maria and the Captain perform where sparks fly. Our guide said the marionette theater used in the movie was also in the house and this is the place the glass gazebo was moved from.

The 8th century Nonnberg Abbey where both real-Maria and film-Maria were novices, studying to become nuns.

Zooming down the lane where the film-children went tree climbing

Mondsee Cathedral where the wedding scene was filmed. If you watch this scene closely, you'll notice many women in the pews wearing traditional dirdls.

According to our guide, the real wedding was held at Nonnberg Abbey. Because Maria was still a novice, this was a delicate matter. The bishop gave her special permission to marry and hold the ceremony at the abbey (the only wedding held there in its 1,200-year history). Before the ceremony, Maria appeared in front the captain and bishop in her wedding gown, but wearing her novice's head-dress. The bishop removed the head-dress and the captain placed a wedding veil on her head.

Becca playing "got your nose!" with her daddy inside the church. I spent my time better, filming with the video camera as I marched down the center aisle.

We earned cups of coffee and hot chocolate on this chilly, rainy morning.

Our guide took us to a bakery-café reknowned for its Apfelstrudel. Real-Maria wrote in her journal of her love of the abbey's apfelstrudel which was served on meat-less Fridays, inspiring the line "crisp apple strudel" in the song My Favorite Things. In fact, the film crew was not familiar with authentic apple strudel, so real-Maria, who was working as a consultant on the film and does appear briefly in it, had this bakery send apfelstrudel to the set.

There was a 25-year age difference between real Maria and Georg von Trapp, who had three children together.

And so, our 4-hour tour came to an end. Oh, you can't talk about The Sound of Music and not talk about the ending. No, the family did not escape the Nazis by climbing over the Alps. But, it is true that the Captain (who really did call the children with a whistle) was expected to join the German navy and the family left with what they could carry in their backpacks, pretending to be going on one of their mountain hikes. They left Austria by train, first traveling to Italy and eventually making their way to the United States and musical history.

Back down in St. Gilgen and Tobogganing

Time for lunch. Bex had a apple soda that featured Austrians in traditional garb on the can.

Musicians passing by in costume

The "No Kangaroo" theme was found on postcards, t-shirts, handbags, etc. I can only imagine what ignorant questions inspired it all. But Emilie herself asked me this morning, "So where are we again, Mom? In Africa or Australia?"

Enjoying an ice cream is often a daily activity when we're traveling. Micaela chose Red Bull ice cream.

We had passed the striking Red Bull headquarters right outside the village on our way to St. Gilgen yesterday.

The driver of a horsedrawn carriage

Em liked this sweet fountain

The parish church is dedicated to Saint Aegidius (Latin), in English Saint Giles, which is reflected in the name of the town, Sankt Gilgen.

Before we left St. Gilgen for Salzburg, David wanted to take the kids summer tobogganing. Clouds were starting to move in and we remembered the words of the hotel manager, "Beware the storms of 4:00!" Time was of the essence.

Being pulled backwards up the hill

David and Rebecca

James and Emilie on the last run of the afternoon, as it had started to rain at 4:00 on the dot. And just a few minutes later, it was pouring. Everyone got to go down 4 times, which just happened to be how many tickets David had bought.

Lederhosen in the parking lot!

St. Gilgen and a Cable Car Ride

During breakfast, the manager of our hotel told us how the Salzburg area was experiencing bizarre weather this summer: super high humidity resulting in heavy showers every afternoon (usually around 4:00pm). Salzburg has received 7 times more rain than they received at this point last year. We would need to plan around the rain to the best of our abilities.

David picked the kids up from the youth hostel and they seemed much happier to see us this morning. We heard about their week: kayaking, tubing, banana boating, exploring the largest ice caves in the world, karaoke, cliff jumping, hiking in the mountains, swimming, visiting the village, sailing, windsurfing, etc. Not a bad week.

We spent the day exploring St. Gilgen and just as we exited our hotel, the church bells were calling people to Mass. Almost everyone who passed us on their way to church was wearing traditional Austrian clothing: dirndl on the women and lederhosen on the men. I wanted so badly to take a picture of the churchgoers, but didn't want to be disrespectful. It was my mission during the day to convertly take pictures of people dressed in dirndl and lederhosen.

Lederhosen means leather trousers and were traditionally worn by Germanic men of the Alpine and surrounding regions, including Austria, the mountains of Southern Germany, the German-speaking part of Italy's province of Bolzano-Bozen, but not Switzerland.

Lederhosen have remained regionally popular and are commonly associated with virility and brawn. Some men enjoy wearing them when hiking, working outdoors, on a stag night, or attending folk festivals and beer gardens; they are rarely seen elsewhere. Lederhosen have remained a symbol of regional pride. Their role in Bavaria, Germany is comparable to that of the kilt in Scotland or the cowboy hat in the United States.

A dirndl is a type of traditional dress worn in southern Germany, Liechtenstein and Austria, based on the historical costume of Alpine peasants. The dirndl consists of a bodice, blouse, full skirt and apron. Shoes should only be worn in cold weather, but I did not see anyone barefoot today.

The placement of the knot on the apron is sometimes an indicator of the woman's marital status. A knot tied on the woman's left side indicates she is single, a knot tied on the right means she is married, engaged or otherwise "taken", and a knot tied in back means the woman is widowed. Originally, each village had its own dirndl style and crest. The Austrian upper classes adopted the dirndl as high fashion in the 1870 and today, they vary from simple styles to exquisitely crafted, very expensive models.

The dirndl is mostly worn in Bavaria and Austria. Although not an everyday dress, many women may wear it at formal occasions (much like a Scotsman wearing a kilt) and during certain traditional events. It is hugely popular also among young women at the time of the Oktoberfest in Munich and similar festivals in southern Germany and Austria.

Popular designs are often much brightly colored, with more ornamentation and decorative trim, and much more revealing and provocative. The true dirndl will be softer in color (as traditional vegetable dyes were not able to make bright colors), less revealing, and less gaudy in style.

A billboard sign featuring a garden gnome, a common backyard decoration in Germany and Austria. I will admit to having spied 5 different gnomes in our backyard.

Micaela and Rebecca in our cable car taking a ride up Zwölferhorn Mountain.

David, James and Emilie's cable car

Plenty of people were hiking up the mountain

Emilie and Rebecca and I enjoyed the view for well over an hour and got too much sun. David, Micaela and James hiked a few kilometers down the mountain in search of a geocache. Micael and James were in good spirits descending the mountain, all the while doing imitations of Bear Grylls from the TV show Man vs. Wild. James strikes what he says is a Bear pose in this photo.

View of St. Gilgen village with a paraglider in the distance

Finding the cache. Geocaching is a type of treasure hunt using modern technology. You look up locations of caches on the internet (there are over 800,000 all over the world maintained by private people who love geocaching), where coordinates of the cache and clues to its exact location are given to you. Using a GPS and sharp eyes, you find the hidden cache which is usually some kind of box, log in your name and the date you found it in a notebook and then back home, log in your info on the internet.

Back in Georgia, we often went geocaching near where we lived as well as when we went camping. David even found a geocache (a Sucrets tin) in a stairwell light fixture of an office building across the street from where he worked. Caches will often contain trinkets for children, but if you take something from the cache, you should leave something behind as well.

James and cows with traditional cow bells around their necks

The kids' mood changed when they realized they now had to make the several kilometer hike back up the mountain.

In this great photo, James was actually completely miserable and furious with his father. Micaela took no break hiking back up, not wanting to prolong her agony. She arrived at the top of the mountain red-faced and teary from the effort.

Mostly recovered now and ready to ride the cable car back down the mountain.

Driving to Wolfgangsee

Every year, the international school hosts a camp week at Wolfgangsee, a lake resort near Salzburg, Austria. It seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime week for Micaela and James, so just two days after school ended for them, we sent them off to overnight camp. David suggested we pick them up on the last morning and do some touring around the Salzburg area.

A few weeks before camp, James came to me with a piece of paper. "Mom," he asked, "Could you please sign this paper giving me permission to visit St. Gilgen Village while we're at Wolfgangsee?" "James, you sounded just like Harry Potter asking for permission to go to Hogsmeade Village!" was my response.

Our first view of the foothills of the Alps

Pretty view from the highway

We arrived at St. Gilgen, the village on Lake Wolfgang, and strolled around a bit. Emilie was sad when David informed her of these fishes fate.

Watching the ducks on the lake

During our stroll around town, we ran into a group from the school. A teacher told us we were welcome to pay the kids a visit at the youth hostel, though we weren't due to pick them up until the following morning.

Following the path to the hostel

Becca always adjusts her pants to sit low on her hips and as a result, her bum is always on display.

The symbol of the hostel

The view the kids had from camp headquarters

A rather aloof Micaela chatting with David and James nowhere to be found

Another camper told us that James was one of the kids out on a kayak on his way back from cliff jumping. And just a minute later we heard it: the sound of James belting out his favorite songs, totally unaware how voices carry over water, even from clear across the other side of the lake. For 30 minutes, we listened as James, occasionally accompanied by his fellow kayaker, ran through his repertoire: We Will Rock You, When September Ends, Gives You Hell, as well as a medley from Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog. And I caught it all on video.

When the kayak was close enough for James to realize who those grown-ups were on the dock, he went strangely silent. He paddled ashore and gave me a half-hearted hug. We chatted briefly about camp and then took our leave.

David and I have never seen children less happy about seeing their parents after having been away from home for a week. We realized they must have thought when they saw us that we would make them leave at that moment and they would have to miss their last night of camp. They were very relieved to see us go.