Day 37: Frauline Maria's Sound of Music Bicycle Tour

What an amazing tour.  We were so lucky that our guide was a trained opera / operetta singer; she had the loveliest voice and was full of energy, singing the songs at every location we visited.  She also had heaps of information about the history and places in Salzburg, as well as the Sound of Music Movie.  This is a very highly recommended way to see Salzburg, as well as to do visit and get the most out of the obligatory Sound of Music sites.

First stop was Mirabell Platz gardens, were we relived the Do – Re – Me song on the steps down to the gardens and around the horse fountain.  Our guide had us all up and marching around the fountain, what a laugh.  Good thing it was early and not too many tourists were around, though she assured us the photos would all go up on Facebook.

From here we crossed the river into the old town of Salzburg.  I’m pretty sure our guide said this was the Mozart Bridge, and even talked about Maria and the kids riding their bikes across it.  But it’s not the Mozart Bridge.  If there is something i have learnt on this holiday, it is never trust anything you are told by a tour guide ;-)
I think Salzburg is desperately trying to distance itself from The Sound of Music, and focus more on the “finer” arts.  Part of this push was a commissioning of various street art installations with a Mozart theme.  One piece, which I don’t think was too popular given its slightly out of the way location was this statue of Mozart, named the feminine side of Mozart…

The horse wash was being renovated, so we couldn’t see the wonderful façade behind the scaffolding as we continued on past the Museum der Moderne, where an elevator will take you to the views over Salzburg which were used when Frauline Maria stood outside the Nonnsberg Abbey.  The real views from the abbey are over the newer suburbs; nice, but not nearly as nice as the views over the old town.

One of our group picked up a flat tyre outside the theatre which used to be the horse training school.  So we entertained ourselves for a while whilst “Maria” rode off for help.

On our way again, we passed The Residence, the palace for the cardinals.  No vows of poverty for these guys.  They even had a special arch to return to their palace from the cathedral without having to walk through the streets with the people.
When they got bored with their extravagant residences,  they had a special day time palace constructed where they could enjoy their priestly comforts.  This huge palace, pictures to follow later, doesn’t even have any bedrooms; it was purely just a daytime palace.
We explored around the square, saw another of those fine Mozart related street arts: Man on a Mozart Ball, grabbed a pretzel from the oldest serving pretzel stand in Salzburg, paying a small premium for the privilege and walked through the cemetery that provided the inspiration for the set back in Hollywood where the Von Trapp’s hid on their escape from Salzburg.

Our lovely guide sang “I have confidence…” as we swished the water in the Residence Fountain, then explained a little why the people of Salzburg hadn’t quite warmed to the whole Sound of Music experience.
You see, the movie was filmed back in 1965, not that long after World War 2, and certainly still firmly in the memory of the people of Austria.  Austria didn’t really have such a great experience with that war, not that anybody does with any war.  Then out of the blue, their Papal Residence was draped in Swastikas and the squares were full of men dressed in 3^rd Reich uniforms were all marching about.  Way to go Hollywood!

From the Residence Platz we rode up to Nonnsberg Abbey. All the way up we had spectacular views across Salzburg; it is truly a beautiful city.  We passed a highly recommended beer garden, apparently frequented by Christopher Plumber for its beer and Weiner schnitzel to the point he had to have his costumes adjusted twice during filming. Inside the abbey was delightfully cool, so we spent a few minutes here escaping the heat before returning back down the mountain and to a nearby token field for our Hills are Alive twirling.

Next stop was the lake where we could see the Schloss Leopoldskron, used as the rear of the Von Trapp’s house in the movie. 

Back on the bikes we continued to the now Mozarteum Music Academy for the continuation of the “I have confidence” skip along the yellow wall, and to see the front façade of the Von Trappe’s House.

A field of red poppies spread out towards the distant Untersberg.  No idea how Maria managed to get from the calling Untersberg to the Abbey as quickly as she did in the movie.  It looked much further than walking distance, let alone running distance!

Next stop was the “I am 16, going on 17…” gazebo, which is now at the park of the cardinal’s day time palace, as previously discussed.  It was originally located at the Schloss Leopoldskron, but crazy fanatics kept visiting and annoying the owners.  It was then moved around various locations until arriving at its current shady little spot where all can enjoy it without annoying anybody.  Well, not fully enjoy it, as the public is no longer allowed to go inside after some stupid American woman of a non spritely age decided to leap across the benches inside; she quite didn’t make the distance and broke her hip.  She then sued the City of Salzburg. WTF???

We stopped here for 1^st lunch, our earlier purchased pretzel and some weisswurtz mit semmel.  I’m going to be eating that wiesswurtz every day I possibly can.

That then pretty much wrapped up our bike tour.  I totally loved it and highly recommend it for any one that enjoyed the movie, and wants to see Salzburg.

After riding back into town and dropping off the bikes, we walked along the river in search of a beer garden to grab a cold beer and relax for a bit. We came across the Augustiner Bräustübl Tavern; brewing beer since 1621.  And oh what a find. We had to wait about 20 minutes till it opened, and the queues were lining up outside.  When we entered, at the bottom of the stairs there were halls lined with various little shops selling all types of food.  We grabbed some roasted marinated ham and various salads, and a serve of weisswurtz again.  Can never have enough of those delish white sausages! Then you wander on and find yourself out on a terrace under a forest of huge plane trees, nice and cool and shady.

I managed to work out the beer ordering system and got myself a 1 litre tankard of beer.  This has to be the best place to eat in Salzburg. Michelle then made her way back to the apartment, and I decided to continue on walking around exploring through the old town again.

I retraced some portions of the morning’s bike tour, wanting to visit the theatre.  I went up the steps, but I couldn’t find any way in, and ended up on top of the Monchberg following the shady path through the hill tops with views across Salzburg, past old fortress walls and the Museum der Moderne, then back along the river home.

More pictures of Salzburg for your viewing pleasure or otherwise, here.

Here are the pictures from Fraulein Maria's Bicycle Tour.