Knowing that the Sound of Music was my mom's favorite movie made me tolerate the tourist trap nature of Salzburg. While nothing was too overt about the fact that the city was famous (or infamous) for being the home to Hollywood's retelling of the von Trapp story, the connections to the film were very clear if you looked in the right places.
Our first night in Salzburg was cold and rainy. Luckily, we made our way to the highly recommended Augustiner Brewer- in an old monastery. The aura of the beer hall was intoxicating and the food was delicious! Thanks to Molly, I found some cheese filled sausages, of which I ate two to go along with our beer. After eating and chatting, we decided it was time to finish our preliminary sightseeing in the city.
As we were leaving the hall, we saw groups of men in matching lederhosen. I joked around calling them "drinking gangs" like in the movie Gangs of New York. After asking around, we found out that I was not far from the truth. The groups were called the "shooters" and were part of some club that gathered once a year in the brewery to celebrate and drink together. Letting the image of these silly-dressed men slip into the past, we found our way outside. As we began walking down the hill, some movement caught my eye.
We looked to the top of the hill where twenty of "the shooters" were gathered with some antique shotguns. Waiting for a signal from inside the hall, they all shot their guns in succession to signify the event. Excitedly, we snapped photos and made videos of the event feeling proud to have stumbled upon something so rare.
After the shock wore off, Hillary, Molly, and I walked through some of the city seeing some of the famous buildings from the movie. Feeling tired, we headed back to the hostel for some shut eye before the tour the next morning.
Bright and early, we suffered through the hostel's breakfast before being carted off to the Sound of Music Tour. Led by a clearly washed up actor who never knows when to stop, our tour led us through the city and out to some of the lesser seen sets of the film. From the front of the von Trapp mansion to the back (two different homes), the gazebo (location of all the love scenes, relocated since the film), and out to the church where they are married. It was really enlightening to see how Holly wood embellished the story to make it more profitable, but after about two hours of music and annoying tour leader's voice, I was ready to be done. The highlight of the tour was our hour long lunch break when the three of us got a chance to try apple strudel with warm vanilla sauce. SO GOOD!
We got back to the city around one and meandered for a bit before high tailing it to the hostel in order to catch the train to Vienna.
Salzburg was a nice city, not at all what I had expected, but a good transition from the small Swiss cities to the big city that was to come.
On a side note: we tried the "Mozart balls"- apparently a delicacy- pistachio flavor centered chocolate balls that taste like cigarette smoke. To me- just another reason not to trust everything you read.
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