Are we proud of it?

Confession. We went on a sound of music tour through Salzburg, Austria. Are we proud of it? No. Did we do it? Yes.

Okay so there’s all this talk about the infamous Sound of Music tour. Clearly an event created solely for tourists considering most locals haven’t even seen the Sound of Music…yes we checked. So initially we just made fun of it leading up into our arrival in Austria. I mean, why would 3 totally immersed travelers ever want to go on this tourist scam? We’re so beyond that. We like to experience the culture from a local perspective. Or, do we? Shortly after arriving in Salzburg one of us bravely admitted that we actually did want to go on the tour and the other two quickly confessed as well. Next thing you know we’re on a yellow van with a Bob’s Tours logo on the outside bouncing around through Austria. Actually, we never bounced…this van was very high tech. It even included a microphone.

Our freakin rad tour guide, let’s call her “Maria” was an ideal fit. She had somewhat of a side mullet, spiky combover, in which she topped off with a headband. It was sweet. (definitely not the first we’ve seen in Europe.) She also had a somewhat of a Nazi approach to this tour. (side note: NOTE TO SELF: Americans have a bad bad habit of using the word Nazi in a light manner. DON’T DO THIS IN A PREDOMINANTLY GERMAN COUNTRY…NOT FUNNY.) Anyway, she was pretty strict. She told Kathleen to be quiet at least 3 times. People, this is Kathleen were talking about so you can only imagine the intensity of Maria. As we cruised from site to site, the three of us and two sisters we met and dragged along sung along with the CD to every hit song from the movie. We covered them all.

Another example of Maria’s intense attitude. We pulled over to get the best apple strudel in the area and as Maria was pointing out the different types, the new waiter kindly came up to offer his assistance. We all awkwardly stood there as Maria curtly snapped back that she knew the flavors and didn’t need any help.

Maria took us to several sites. I need to clarify, however, most of the movie was filmed on a set and these sites only inspired the film. But, we did get to see a lot of the authentic ones as well. The “sixteen going on seventeen gazebo,” the church where the marriage is held, etc. etc. If you aren’t a Sound of Music fan, I’ve already lost you.

Special bonus: we got to stop and go on a luge ride down a massive mountain. Luging is freakin awesome. We were determined to go 9 miles outside of Salzburg where the largest luge ride (over 7000 ft. long) is located but it rained today so it wasn’t in operation. Boo.

Final observation. It was cheesy but fun. There’s really no other way to be able to travel around Salzburg and the surrounding areas with a rad chick from Austria while singing the Sound of Music…a movie set in Salzburg.

Enough of the tour. Lets talk about Salzburg. It’s so wonderful. Did I tell you it’s where the Sound of Music took place? Just kidding. But seriously, this is a picturesque town. The hills are truly alive (with the sound of music.) Okay okay I’m done. It was just so tempting. Salzburg is about the size of Columbia or a little bigger and maintains that small town love found throughout Europe. Most of the old city sits on a side of the river beneath a huge castle like fortress on the mountainside. It’s very clean, colorful, and sociable. There are also tons of great gardens and parks. Unfortunately, it rained later in the day but we did get to cruise most of the morning. We are currently couch surfing with a great girl, Virginia, but we hardly see her because she has to work. Therefore, it’s like having the apartment to ourselves and we came back here in the afternoon to take a nap. Of course, we brought three massive pretzels on the way home. One chocolate, one sugar, one strudel.

Tonight we plan on exploring more of the town or just watching a movie and resting before our departure early in the morning. Tomorrow were heading to Innsbruck, an even smaller town in Austria where there is nothing to do but hike around…our favorite types of towns!

We’ll be in touch. Until then, auf wiedersehen!!!!

Did I mention this town is so great we think someone should produce a movie here? Just a thought.

Are we proud of it....?


Did we do it...?