Sound of Music Tour

And now, the real reason I wanted to go to Salzburg is because... 🎶 the hills are alive with the sound of muuuuusssiiic 🎶.

The Sound of Music (the 1965 musical starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer) was filmed in and around Salzburg in 1964 (at least most of the outdoor scenes!) and remains a huge draw for international tourists. Our guide said there are over 350,000 visitors to Salzburg specifically for this reason, although few of them are German or Austrian, as the movie never gained popularity here. When it was released in West Germany, for example, they actually stopped the film at the wedding, cutting out the entire final act involving the Nazis, the Anschluss of Austria, and the family's eventual escape. I guess in 1965, only 20 years after the end of WWII, it hit a little too close to home.

The movie is based on the true story of the Von Trapps, their family singing group, and their escape from Austria. BUT the movie is not a documentary... it's a Hollywood movie with jazz hands. For example, they changed the children's names, ages, and even genders (Liesl wasn't the oldest, it was actually a boy, and they had 10 kids, not just 7). They also didn't dramatically climb over a mountain to escape the Nazis; they took a train to Italy and eventually moved to the States.

But the bare bones of the film remain true: Maria was a novice at Nonnberg Abbey who went to work for Captain von Trapp, they fell in love and got married, the family sang together, and they eventually left Austria because of their opposition to the Nazi regime.

Marionette Theatre

We started our Sound of Music extravaganza with a show at the Salzburg Marionette Theatre. It was so good. Marionettes aren't specifically Austrian, but Austria has a long tradition of puppetry, and this theatre has been putting on  operas and performances since 1913. They create and craft the figures and stage sets in the theatre's own workshops too.

The puppeteers were so talented, and my mind was blown at how they didn't get the strings tangled up! The show was based on the musical stage production rather than the film (the addition of one song, for example) but kept a similar structure. They did a great job of using real-life actors and gloved hands to give dimension, and the performance was sung and spoken in English. If you ever go to Salzburg, 100% splurge on this ticket (they do other shows, not just The Sound of Music).

Sound of Music Bus Tour

The next day, we headed out on Panorama Tours' Original Sound of Music Bus Tour. I'm so glad Tarun voted for the air-conditioned bus rather than the bicycle tour, as we've entered another European heatwave. Biking in 35-degree weather did not appeal to this shade-worshipper. Also, bless this boy for indulging me in this. I made him watch the film right before we left, but unlike me, who had watched it about a dozen times in my childhood (memories of rainy days at the cottage!), he had seen it just that once.

And now he was about to spend 5 hours learning more about it. 😅

We drove around Salzburg and the Lake District to visit filming sites. Our first big stop was the Gazebo, which was restored in 1991 after vandalism. This one was used for the outside shots, but the inside shots were filmed in a separate one that opened up like a Barbie Dreamhouse.

We drove by Schloss Frohnburg, the house used for filming, but couldn't stop because it's now private property (a music school). We were, however, able to stop and take pictures at the lake used in the movie. In the film, it looks like the house has this beautiful lake in its backyard, when in fact that's just movie magic! They used Schloss Frohnburg for the house and then would cut to the grounds beside Schloss Leopoldskron for the lake. For example, in scenes where Maria and the Captain are talking, with one standing in front of the house and the other in front of the lake, they weren't even actually talking to each other. They filmed their parts at two different locations and edited them together.

We then drove past the real Nonnberg Abbey (from a distance) and stopped for about an hour in the town of Mondsee to see the church where Maria and the Captain were married.

 I also bought an apple strudel (with vanilla custard) from a home bakery, which was pretty fitting (🎶 Cream-coloured ponies and crisp apple strudels...).

We circled around the Lake District in the bus and learned more about how they used the town of St. Gilgen and Lake Wolfgang for some of the establishing shots in the opening of the movie. We also drove by the headquarters of Red Bull (in a tiny Austrian town). Absolutely nothing to do with The Sound of Music, but a cool fact!

Our final stop returned us to Mirabell Gardens, where Maria and the children dance through a montage to "Do-Re-Mi." I tried to recreate some of the more iconic parts!

Oh, and did I mention that our enthusiastic guide (shout out to Kylie!) had us singing along on the bus? It was fantastic, and I sang "Yodel-la-hee-hoo" loud enough for both of us.

...And got the rest of "The Lonely Goatherd" stuck in our heads for the rest of the day.