Austria
these are a few of my favourite things…
“When the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I’m feeling sad. I simply remember my favourite things and then I don’t feel so bad” – The Sound of Music (1965)
Watching the Sound of Music when it was on TV or putting it into the VCR and then singing the song religiously – that was one of our favourite things to do as children. So visiting Salzburg during our 4 days in Austria was a must. Another reason was to see, of course, Mozart’s birthplace.
We began the day with eating a hot dog (“wiener”) each and warming up our vocal chords! The bus tour that took us around had the soundtrack blaring and we had to participate. It wasn’t a sit-and-listen tour, it was a sing-a-long tour. And sing we did!
So, what did we get to visit?
- The row of trees where Captain von Trapp saw his children hanging in their curtain clothes
- The white gazebo where Liesl and Rolf sing “I am 16, going on 17”
- The back of the house where Captain von Trapp and Baroness Shraeder see the children fall in the water
- The church in which the wedding scene was based on
Throughout the tour, we also learnt a bit about the real story of the von Trapp family so it wasn’t all song and dance. The ending of the tour was as sweet as the ending to the movie: we got to try the most delicious apple strudel ever.
wise monkeys abroad 