Salzburg and Vienna

I truly loved Salzburg, in great part because it was the home of the Sound of Music, no matter how cheezy that sounds, but that movie seems to be so magical to me, that being there among the story - both true and Hollywood, was pretty fascinating!

We enjoyed our last night in Salzburg watching Russia beat the Netherlands in the second overtime in the main square. We have had so much fun watching the Euro Cup, partly because it is just what you should do here and what everyone else is doing here. It is a way to participate, to be European. And we all love soccer and don't get to watch much of it in the states. It is fun to watch a crowd get into a game, no matter what country they are from, but just cheering on their favorite.

Sunday morning I woke up and hiked up to Nonnberg Abbey. It is here that the real Maria once lived, where she taught and where she was married. Some of the outside was shot in the film, but the interior of the abbey was in Hollywood. The scene where the children went to inquire after Maria and then the scene where the soldiers try to chase the family off, only to find their cars are not working, were shot here. I only ventured around a little. It was really quite open, but it was Sunday morning and I did not want to disturb.

Since I was already half way up the hill that also holds the fortress, I thought, why not, let's just go all the way. I only encountered a few people on my journey, mainly locals out for a walk or a jog, sometimes with their dogs. There were signs on the pathways, so I never really felt lost, even though I didn't really know where I was going! It was quite the walk upwards, but it was also enjoyable.

Once at the top, most of the pathway was shaded with old, beautiful trees and I was blessed with incredible views of the city. I wondered until I found the spot where Maria first taught the children to sing. Do you remember the scene? They had just learned the notes, out on the hillsides, then they went into town. Then, while sitting on a bench in front of a stone wall overlooking the city, she says "Now, once you know the notes, you can sing a million different tunes just by mixing them up." Herman and I both had our pictures taken here. Even if you don't have the love for the film that I do, you would have appreciated these views.

I set out on my walk about 7:30 probably, and starting at 8:15, the bells of the churches in town began ringing. I was incredibly blessed to have this serenation on my hillside journey until 9. It was just heavenly! The bells, these famous old city bells rang and led me on my way.

I had a little trouble getting back down. One sign pointed towards stairs, so I went about half way down the hill on these stairs, only to discover that the stairs ended with a pathway to go back up - makes sense right?!? :) No matter what though, I made it up and then I enjoyed a glorious morning on the hillside of Salzburg, and I did make it back down as well!

We went to Mozart's birthplace before we left. Although I do not have near the amount of appreciation for Mozart's music that I should, being in his birthplace was thrilling. I was in the actual room where he was born; the actual room where this musical genius was brought into the world. The room had objects that had once belonged to him. I saw some of his hair and a little stuffed rabbit.

The museum, his former house, is a very interesting museum, and we heard many say that it was much better than his residence that is also a museum. It was sort of modern, but I don't want that to scare anyone away. I fully recommend it! The room where he was born is a small room, wood floor, that is painted blue and it is well lit. On the ceiling are geese hanging, all headed in the same direction, towards the window. I know that this symbolized something, but sadly now, I cannot remember. In the walls surrounding the room, there are these items of his past.

Next, our train ride adventure from Salzburg to Vienna. We got on the train, to find that it was quite full, and the open seats were taken over by people who were not too keen on sharing. Some friendly Italian soccer fans squeezed in together though and opened some seats for us. We joined a man from San Fransisco, a more free-spirit DJ who generously shared his space. The train was a little miserable, only because there was no air, the windows did not open and it was 90 degrees outside. We enjoyed visiting, reading, napping and watching the scenery go by.

The car we were on was full of Italian fans; Italy was playing in Vienna that night! In fact, above our heads was an Italian flag drapped over the seats. They were loud, roudy and so much fun! It is so much fun watching people so into a sport and with such love for their team, similar to the way we all feel about Auburn.

Three hours later, we did arrive in Vienna and took a taxi to our hotel. Our hotel room was very nice and absolutely perfect for us. It was really a suite: three beds, two couches, two chairs, a table, a desk and a nice bathroom. We were able to spread out a bit and enjoy some space for a while after being cramped on a hot train.

We found our way to the Fanzone, the giant TV set up in the center of town to watch the Italians verse the Spanish. There were a ton of people there! It was quite the set up with multiple TV's, and since the game was actually in Vienna, the crowd there was pretty excited. We found one of the giant screens though were people were sitting (not standing) and decided that would be a good option!

The game went 0-0 the whole time, through two overtimes and into a shoot-out. Spain one the quarter-final game in the last shot of the the shoot-out. It is pretty impressive to me that three out of four of the quarter final games went into double overtimes, two of them even went into shoot-outs after the two overtimes. So Wednesday and Thursday night are the semi-final games between Russia, Turkey, Spain and Germany. Sunday night will be the final game. We will be in Florence then and happy to watch the exciting conclusion!

Monday morning, Mary left us early. We will miss having her with us! We only had the one day in Vienna and didn't really know what to do. Fortunately, I had a friend from high school who has been living in Vienna for a while who showed us around and gave us an amazing tour of Vienna! Chris has been living here for a while, teaching English to children and to business men. He seems to have enjoyed the city even though he will be heading back to the states soon. He was a GREAT tour guide and we cannot thank him enough for taking the time to show us around!

We walked all over the old part of the city, looking at churches, palaces, museums and parks along the way. Vienna is a beautiful city. The central part of Vienna is really very small, so it was easy for us to make our way around just by walking. Chris was able to give us some of the history of many of the places as well as some fun and interesting facts that only a true local can say. We saw places where Hitler had given speeches or where he had had coffee.

For lunch, Chris took us to a little place we would not have found on our own, a perfect place for us to enjoy our last Austrian meal! We had some delicious schnitzel in a huge portion and enjoyed almost every bite of our leisurely meal.

After lunch, since it is Vienna, and what most people do here is enjoy coffee at little cafes, we walked for a bit and then sat back down to enjoy some afternoon treats! It was a perfect day and a great way to see the city since we only had the one short day! Thank you so much Chris!!

We gathered our belongings and went to the train station where we would board our overnight train. We saw one of our first Auburn hats and were thrilled to yell, and receive a "War Eagle!"