European Tour: Day Five

June 20:

Once again we were changing hotels. This morning we had to have our luggage outside our door at 7:15 a.m. We ate a buffet breakfast at the hotel and were on the bus ready to go by 8:00 a.m. We picked up the same local guide as yesterday and she took us on a "Sound of Music" tour in Salzburg! Very cool!! They even played the soundtrack on the bus as we went along. Fun! Of course, it was, once again, raining lightly throughout the tour.

Our first stop: filming of the terrace where the family had lemonade, filming of Maria and the kids in the canoe where they fall in, the terrace where the Captain and Maria argued, was filmed at Schloss Leopoldskron, a rococo castle on Leopoldskroner Teich, a small artificial lake on the southwest of the town. The façade facing the lake served as one of the views on the house of the Trapp family. In one picture you can see the fortress in the background.

Next is the area Maria walked along as she was heading to the Von Trapp home for the first time. Sorry, my pictures are not good as they were taken from a moving bus through the rain.

The Von Trapp gazebo, used for Sixteen Going On Seventeen, once stood in the grounds of Leopoldskron, but constant trespassing resulted in it being moved and reconstructed in the ornamental gardens of Schloss Hellbrunn. Also, the Captain meets Maria in this gazebo and they declare their love for each other (“Something Good”).

Nonnberg Abbey- the Benedictine abbey Maria was from. It also where the nuns sang "Maria"

Residenz Square and Residenz Fountain – Maria crosses Residenz Square in a bus on her way from Nonnberg Convent to the Trapp Villa singing ‘I have confidence in me’. Maria splashes in the Residenzbrunner (fountain).

The guide said this was where the Nazi flag was unfurled. I haven't seen the movie in a while and could find nothing to substantiate this...Mirabell Gardens and Mirabell Palace: Maria and the children sing 'Do-Re-Mi'. They come down the steps and are dancing around the fountain in their "drapery" clothes Maria sewed.

The Von Trapp Family performs at the music festival: Felsenreitschule

The cemetery in which the von Trapps hide from the Nazis is a Hollywood studio set, though its design is clearly based on St Peter’s Graveyard

We did not get to go the area where Maria sings "The Sound of Music" - our guide said it was too rainy and overcast to be able to see anything... bummer!! It was still a cool tour to see all the places the movie was filmed. I am going to have to watch this movie very soon so I can say "I have been there!"

Our next stop was the birthplace of Mozart. We were unable to take pictures inside. We started to see it one day but it closed early for a special event so we stopped the next day. However, in all the confusion, I did not get a picture of the building itself... ugh!

It was then time to head for Innsbruck. Due to road construction or something (wasn't quite clear on that), we had to take what our guide called the "land road" which would take longer but was much more scenic - yahoo! As you can see, though, the low clouds really hindered our view!!Innsbruck hosted the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics and the1984 and1988 Winter Paralympics.
A clockmaker still in business since 1599! The Wilten Basilica is one of the most splendid houses of worship in Tirol. As legend has it, even Roman Legionnaires were attracted to it by the fame of a Madonna Painting. The first church on the site was erected around 1259. When the original church was in a dilapidated state it was removed and rebuilt between 1751 and 1756 in a rich rococo style with twin towers.


After checking into our hotel, we walked to the old area of Innsbruck. There were some very cool buildings in there.





Too bad we couldn't see the mountains around Innsbruck. From pictures I have seen online - it is absolutely gorgeous! I hated that we came all the way over here and couldn't see a thing!! What a bummer!

Catheral of St. James, Innsbruck: The Domkirche of Innsbruck was rebuilt in 1717-24 by Baroque architect Johann Jakob Herkommer. The church suffered heavy damage in World War II, but has since been restored. The main attraction of the interior is the altarpiece of Maria Hilf (Mary of Succor) by Lucas Cranach the Elder. In addition, the north aisle is home to a monument (1620) honoring Archduke Maximilian III (d.1618). Our hotel in Innsbruck:
We then, as a group, headed to the Swarovski Store. Swarovski is the brand name for a range of precisely-cut crystal glass and related luxury products produced by Swarovski AG of Wattens, Austria near Innsbruck. In 1895, Swarovski financier Armand Kosman and Franz Weis founded the Swarovski company.

After that we had time for individual shopping until dinner at 6:45 p.m. After dinner we went to a folk show. We were seated in the first few center rows. They did singing, dancing, yodeling, and playing of various instruments. I have some videos but cannot get them to work on here... sorry! It was a lot of fun!

We then headed back to the hotel and retired to our rooms around 10:30 p.m..