Day 5: Salzburg

This was the day AB most looked forward to since she is a huge Sound of Music fan. We tried to stop at many of the famous movie scene locations in and around Salzburg (meaning: salt fortress). First stop was Mirabell Palace which was built in the 1600s, and so were the gardens. While they weren't made available to the public until the 1800s, the palace and gardens remain the most popular tourist attraction in Salzburg. We had fun touring the area, but it rained (more like poured) pretty much every hour we were there.

Gardens with a view of Hohensalzburg Castle in the background

Mirabell Palace

Normally it isn't that hard to see the castle in the distance, but the fog was pretty bad today

The famous Do-Re-Mi fountain

Next stop was where the famous boat scene took place: Schloss Leopoldskron (Leopoldskron Palace). This building was used for all of the scenes that took place behind the VonTrapp house. Their real home wasn't actually on the water, but they wanted it to be in the movie, so they used this place. If you look closely you can see the gold statues along the water that are famous from the movie (normally it is clearer to see but the fog was really bad). The building is now a hotel, so unless you are staying there, you can't actually go inside. 

Now onto Schloss Hellbrunn. This is a museum where the famous gazebo is now kept. It didn't originate here, but after being moved several times, it finally ended up at this museum in their beautiful gardens. About 400 years ago "trick" fountains were added to the gardens to entertain people. They are still there today, but we decided not to venture all the way back to that area of the gardens as it was raining cats and dogs when we got there.

 We were onto our next spot which was the town of Mondsee, but in order to get there you go by the lovely town of Sankt Gilgen (Saint Gilgen). Small little place, pop 3,700 that sits along Lake Wolfgangsee. This place is everything you would imagine a little Austrian village would be. Mountains all around you, some with snow, and quaint chalet homes. We only stopped for a few minutes since we had to keep going, but well worth the stop.

Now to the town of Mondsee which is about a 25 minute drive outside of Salzburg. The town is filled with charm, cute shops & restaurants, and the famous St. Michael Basilica. This was the wedding scene in the movie. I don't really remember much of it from the movie, but it was a beautiful church nonetheless. And for those still wondering....yes, it's still raining.

There was a market set up outside the church that day

Overall, our trip to Salzburg and surrounding areas was great, but we do wish it would have been sunny for at least part of the day for us to enjoy the area more. Maybe next time. Tomorrow it's off to Melk and Durnstein!