The Hills are Alive

I don't even know where to start when describing the beautiful quaint city of Salzburg. It was definitely a highlight of my trip. It was such a beautiful city nestled right in the mountains. My parent had found on previous trips to Salzburg the most darling little B&B run by a little austrian lady who lives on a little farm. It was so darling and she greeted us each morning with a "Guten Tag" and a wonderful spread for breakfast. She was truly part of the whole experience.

The breakfast room!

Her teapot collection...so darling.

The first night we got there we headed straight to the Als Stadt of course... They had an awesome parking garage right inside the mountain and we were able to walk through tunnels out to the Als Stadt. It was beautiful cobblestones and narrow winding roads with bright colored buildings. Shops as far as the eye could see and street performers everywhere. We were there the weekend before Easter and they had the most amazing Easter markets in Salzburg. LOVED them!

Heading to the Als Stadt in the mountain from the parking garage

Some of the unique brightly colored buildings we saw everywhere. 

Some of the street performers. These guys always make me smile. 

The Hohensalzburg Fortress overlooks the city and can be seen almost everywhere. It was built in 1077 and really puts into perspective what old means. We hiked to the top at night and had the most gorgeous view.

One morning, we went on a Sound of Music Tour. Now it's funny to realize that not many Austrians have even heard of the Sound of Music. It's really just an American thing. But nonetheless, they do the tour of all the famous sights in the movie for the American tourists. It was an awesome way to see the entire city and some of the beautiful countryside and quaint little Austrian villages outside of the city.

I have always loved the Sound of Music growing up and LOVED LOVED LOVED seeing the sights. Some of the highlights of the tour...

 Outside the amphitheater the Van Trapps performed at. These were the stairs they made their famous escape down to the car.

 Upclose view of the Leopoldskron Palace. This is the house that portrayed the back of the Van Trapps' home in the movie. 

 This is the famous lake outside the palace that the children fell into when they first met the Baroness. 

"I am sixteen going on seventeen" 

And yes...they now keep the gazebo locked because some 80 year old women tried to dance across the benches and reenact the scene and broke her ankle.  

 Mirabell Gardens and Palace...So beautiful even when it's 30 degrees outside. 

They had everything immaculately taken care of and flowers planted. The "Do Re Me" song was filmed throughout this garden. 

Here are the famous steps in the song where the children and Maria jump up and down them as they conclude the song. 

This is outside the wedding chapel that Maria got married at. 

And this is inside....certainly not as big as the movie made it look. 

This is the cemetery the Van Trapps came to hide in. Random fact. They didn't actually film in the cemetery because of the sacred nature and built a replica set exactly like it....but the Real Van Trapps came to this exact cemetery. 

Most of the graves had been decorated and flowers planted for the Easter holiday. 

Cheesy picture by the cheesy tour bus. 

One historic facts about Salzburg is that the famous composer Mozart was born in this small town. We saw the actual place of his birth and then one night we went to a Mozart Dinner Concert. This was incredible! They had a quartet of string players and a few vocalist performing Mozart's masterpieces. With recipes and costumes from the time period and it was held in a beautiful candlelit baroque hall...it truly felt like you stepped back in time to the late 1700's. I felt very cultured listening to Mozart in Salzburg! Thanks Mom & Dad!

Mozart "Geburtshust" (place of birth)

We also spent a few hours one afternoon in an incredible salt mine which was discovered in the early 600's by some priest. It was incredible and so fascinating.

Part of the mine crosses into Germany. Here's my dad and I on the border line. 

 After riding a train into the mine and hiking a bit, we went down a few slides to get down into the heart of the mine. They were awesome! I'll be honest I was a little scared at first. It was very dark and you basically straddle two logs. They are long and steep. But after the first thrill and rush, it became much less scary.

 Tasting the salt drips! 

They had their own "Salt Lake" we rode across in a boat. The colored lights made it beautiful. Our tour guide thought it was hilarious when we told him that my family was from "Salt Lake City".

 The view from outside the mine

The name Salzburg in German mean "Salt City". Salzburg sits right outside of two major salt mines which are a huge industry for the city and country of Austria....just a random fact I learned while visiting this beautiful place!