Adventures in Austria

Last week the girls and I left Italy once again for the hills of Austria. We took the train which ended up being incredible. We had to go through Germany to get to Salzburg and went through the Brenner Pass. The Brenner Pass was possibly one of the most gorgeous places I've ever seen. It was twilight so we could still see the mountains. It was snowing those giant flakes that only happen when its above freezing. The not-quite-night light cast the path to Austria in a blue tone and it was absolutely stunning. A slight breeze blew the snow off the pines giving the valley a misty appearance. We arrived in Salzburg Thursday night to forty degrees and rain. Not a great start to a trip, but we didn't let the weather get us down. We woke up bright and early Friday morning, bundled up, and grabbed some breakfast before going on the Sound of Music Tour. The tour ended up being a great way to see Salzburg and the surrounding country-side. It lasted nearly all day. Our first stop was the filming site for the back of the Von Trapp house. The house now belongs to Harvard University and serves as a scientific research institute. The house sits on the banks of a man-made lake and is absolutely gorgeous. The gazebo where "Sixteen going on Seventeen" was filmed used to be located next to the house but per the request of Harvard, was moved when too many movie-aficionados broke into the gardens to re-enact the famous scene. After it was relocated, it was vandalized beyond recognition...so the one we visited, currently located in the Mirabel gardens was a replica. Unfortunately, a 94 year old woman decided it would be a good idea to jump from bench to bench like Leisel does in the movie and she fell and broke her hip. So now the gazebo is closed to the public. But it was still cool to see it. We continued on to see the front of the house (which is actually a completely different building on the other side of town). Next stop was the road where the Von Trapp children hung from the trees. After walking down the road a bit, we piled back into the vans and drove out of Salzburg to Wolfgangsee and St. Gilgen. Both were absolutely charming little lake-side Alpine villages. The views were stunning in every direction. Sharp, jagged cliffs capped in cotton white rose from the banks of the placid lakes. These were the areas that were featured in the overture at the beginning of the movie. From these towns, you could see the famed Untersburg which is the mountain they climbed in "Climb every Mountain" as they escaped Austria into Switzerland. However...Untersburg does not border Switzerland, but rather borders Germany which I found hilarious and incredibly ironic. In reality, the family escaped by train and then moved to America where they currently reside in good ol' VT. I personally think visiting the Von Trapp families ski resort is a much bigger draw to VT than the fact that it is home to the largest ball of yarn and the Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream factory, but ya know...everyone has their cup of tea. We passed the gardens where Maria and the children sang Do-Re-Me-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do and the stairs they jumped up. We also saw the amphitheater where they sang at the summer music festival. Although under construction, the amphitheater is still in working condition and features several music festival's throughout the year. Our last stop was the church were Maria and Captain Von Trapp were married. First of all, in the movie, it looks HUGE! And in real life...its actually a lot smaller. Also, the inside and the outside of the church was actually two different churches. The director decided they should be married in a baroque style church and the church they used was just outside of Salzburg. It was very pretty and very cold. It was actually colder in the church than it was outside. We crossed the street and grabbed some authentic Austrian food for lunch at this little cafe downtown. We had crisp apple strudel and hot chocolate before continuing on our way. The strudel was covered in a creamy vanilla sauce and was unlike anything I had ever tasted. Me, who is used to Drakes apple pies was unprepared for the subtle apple flavor and intense sweetness. The drive throughout the city and the surrounding country side was incredible. I couldn't get enough of the views. That night we watched The Sound of Music at the hostel. It was really cool to see the movie and say "hey! Ive been there!" After the movie we headed to the bar which conveniently was down the hall. We met up with the Australians we had met the night before (both named Matt), another Australian named Harry and two German guys whose names I cant remember. We sat around and had a few too many vodka oranges. It was really cool to get to know some people from other countries and to be able to put our differences behind us and just have a good time together. They knew all the words to the music in the bar, including the soundtrack to Grease which was pretty funny. And yet, they had never heard of the Sound of Music. One of the most awkward conversations ever had: trying to explain the basis of the story to two German guys...."ummm its this musical about this Austrian family that runs away from the Nazis...." None of the Austrians we spoke to had ever heard of it either. Its really bizarre. I guess it was just such an awful period in history that they would rather not be reminded of it (even though the movie provides a huge amount of tourism every year). There is apparently a German version sin R&H that is much closer to the truth and is quite a bit more popular with the locals.

Saturday morning we got up and were out and about by 9. We spent the entire day hiking around the mountains that border Salzburg. The main part of the city is in a valley so you can basically hike the perimeter. We started at an old church in the new side of town and followed the hills through various ruins, past old houses and lookouts to the 900 year old fortress. Along the way we stopped at a water treatment plant (hey, I'll take free water and free bathroom access where ever I can!). Some guy came out of the building, said something in German and beckoned us inside. Trish said ok and followed (even though she doesnt speak a word of German and had no idea what he was saying). It was very darkly lit and slightly scary inside. He gave us a tour of the plant (in German) and then we said our goodbyes, grabbed a glass of water and continued on our way. The fortress was gorgeous and so cool! We took an audio tour that gave us the history of the building and led us through rooms including the torture chamber and "the gold room" which is actually one of the bedrooms. There are gold buttons on the ceiling designed to look like the constellations. There is also a bathroom but no indoor plumbing so all the waste just goes outside. Little did they know at the time that it would be the start of a European tradition! ;) Along those lines, I am happy to report that Munich is investing in a 78,000E program that will take DNA samples of all dogs in the city so that the city council can charge the owners if their dogs feces is found on the street. Good for you Munich for cleaning up your streets!

That night we went to a little Irish pub and had a few drinks with the locals. It was a lot of fun but very crowded. The band played almost entirely American music, so it was nice to be able to sing along to some old favorites.

I think one of the coolest things I noticed about Austria was the amount of yellow they had incorporated into the scenery. Nearly half the buildings were a warm butter color...and I mean, you cant help but smile with all that yellow!

On the train ride back we had a lay-over in Innsbruck. It was beautiful out- sunny, bright blue skies, the whole nine yards. Of course its nice out the day we leave...=) We took pictures outside the train station and Ginny acquired a Burger King Crown before we continued on our way. We met up with some guys from Kentucky University at the train station and talked to them for a while. Of course we stuck out as Americans due to Ginny's crown which she sported all the way home. While we were sitting in our cabin, this little kid walked by, saw Ginny and turned around to come back and stare at her. It was hilarious!

The train ride was beautiful. It was cool to see Northern Italy and Austria during the day when it wasn't snowing. Oh, and for the record, I'm am sad to report that Austrian snowflakes taste the same as American snowflakes.