It was set to be a sunny, jolly and altogether gay day. Enter Peter, our tour guide and king, or should I say queen of kitch. He had obviously memorised the whole film and was able to recall and, indeed, re-enact many of the scenes playing all the roles himself. He made a particularly convincing Maria, and was hilarious.
Peter leading the coach in ”Do-Re-Mi”
The von Trapp family came from Salzburg and Maria was a postulant in Nonnberg Abbey in Salzburg, so some of the outside scenes were shot here at the original locations and we toured around these. According to our guide, the movie was not popular with the people of Salzburg as there had previously been a German made documentary film about the von Trapp family and they were unhappy with fictitious additions in The Sound of Music version. Hence, despite world wide fame and translations into many different languages, the film was only released in German 16 years ago. I hope that now they are making so much money out of Sound of Music tourism they like it a little better.
Our first stop, Leoplodskron Palace, the von Trapp’s back yard in the film but never their home in reality
Gazebo from the scene “Sixteen going on seventeen” now in the garden of Schloss Hellbrunn, Salzburg
All taken at the gardens of the Mirabell Palace, Salzburg and all featured in “Do-Re-Mi” scene
The steps the children hopped up and down to learn the musical scales in “Do-Re-Mi”
We went back to the coach and headed out of the city to the Lake District of Salzburg. On the way, Peter pointed out a swimming pool that hires out bathing suits if you don’t have one, adding “If you’re lucky you’ll get the one I had on last week”. Urgh!
The Salzburg Lake District, specifically the area around Lake Fuscl and Lake Wolfgang, were featured at the beginning of the movie in the panoramic shots. The coach climbed up the beautiful mountains and, just as it reached the top, “The hills are alive with the sound of music” burst forth from the coach hi-fi. I found it quite moving – cheesy, but moving, and the scenery was just breath-taking.
There are over 70 lakes in the Salzburg lake District and they are beautifully clear and contain drinking quality water. Apparently, they are also very cold, even on the hottest day and we were advised that a man could go in the water a prince and come out a princess. To preserve the quality of the water, and the peace of the lakes, many insist on only sail or battery boats on the water. This was the case at Lake Mondee and it made for a beautiful and peaceful spot to eat our lunch.
Lake Mondsee
Mondsee
Mondsee Cathedral, used as the location of the wedding scene in the film
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