Tuesday 3 March 2015

The Hillls Are Alive With The Sound of Music

The 2nd of March marked the 50th anniversary of one of the most iconic films ever made. I doubt that there are very few people in this world, if any, who would not be able to sing along to My Favorite Things or Do Re Mi. 

Mountain Maria sing The Sound of Music on

To mark the anniversary of The Sound of Music, I've decided to review one of the most memorable trips I have done so far. A couple of years ago, a friend and I stopped over in Salzburg, Austria during our Inter-railing Europe trip. We knew that without any doubt we would not leave Salzburg without doing The Sound of Music tour. 

The Von Trapp House

After some research we finally settled on Panorama Tours due to the many positive reviews on various touristy websites. For 40 euros you are taken on an approximately four hour coach journey around the places where the cast filmed on location. If you are as big as fans of the film as we are, then expect to geek out to overboard levels. 

Sixteen going on Seventeen
Annoyingly, we didn't get our coach driver's name but what I do remember is how charismatic he was and how he kept the whole coach in hysterics from start to end. As well as providing us with exciting facts about the film and the locations they used, there was a bit of a coach sing-a-long with the soundtrack playing in the background. 
You see the kids playing in these trees

 The tour takes you past the nun's Abbey and the iconic mountain from the start of the film. You'll go through Leopoldskron Palace, the famous garden where the children fall out of the boat and to Hellbrunn Palace where the Gazebo from Sixteen going on Seventeen is located. 


Where Maria and Captain Von Trapp get married

 On the way to Mondsee, where the wedding scene was filmed, you will pass through St Gilgen - Salzburg's Lake District. I purposefully didn't put an photos up of it as none justify just how incredibly stunning it was. Indeed, take as many photos as you can at this photo stop but be prepared to struggle through persuading your friends that your beautiful photos do not even begin to touch on what it is like to see it with your own eyes. 
Maria and the kids dance through during Do Re Mi
 After entering the Chapel, we explored the little town on our own. This is the perfect opportunity to pick up all your film souvenirs as they are in every gift shop there. When the tour was over, we went back to Mirabell Gardens - where Do Re Mi was filmed and wandered around pointing at features we vaguely remembered from the film.

SO DO!

Salzburg is like the open set for the film and although you can see some of these places without the tour, I would completely recommend getting the full Panorama Tours experience.