The hills are alive...

We've been busy planning a trip to Prague and figured out that the most cost effective way for us to get there was to fly into Munich and drive from there...sooo, that got us thinking about what other places we might want to see with 5 free days and a set of wheels. We had not made it to Salzburg during our trip in December and since it's just an hour south of Munich we decided to stop in for an overnight visit. We prepped the kids with a very jolly viewing (in 3 parts) of The Sound of Music (they've been singing "How do you solve a problem like Maria?" ever since!) and headed to Austria right from the airport. Thankfully, Josh had the foresight to book a Sound of Music tour ahead of time so all we had to do was wake up...find some pastries and coffee...and make our way to the tour van! The kids were really sweet and excited to see things they remembered from the movie and it was a great way to get our bearings in the city since our visit was so short. We returned from the tour around one and had the afternoon to explore the historic part of the city and find a few more VonTrapp related sites before we began our road trip to Prague.

Remember when Maria and the children all tipped out of the canoe?  That happened here - once a private residence, it's now owned by a group of American Universities and runs as a scientific "think tank" of sorts. 

Oh, isn't he just adorable?  This is just a replica of "the gazebo" and it's no longer in it's original location due to troubles with vandalism, but our kids still loved skipping around it and singing!  We're still hearing a lot of "I am 16 going on 17..." around our house.

Picture these trees with leaves on them and you may remember the children climbing in them while their Father and Baroness Shrader drove by.

The front gate and courtyard where Maria came when she first arrived from the convent.

Enjoying the countryside and alpine lakes outside the city.

A stop at the "wedding church" from the final scene of the movie.  The highlight of the day for Elise!  We also enjoyed sandwiches and a slice of apple strudel at a cafe down the street.

Always fascinated by Europe's lock sightings...

The kids did NOT like this part in the movie - it was way too intense - still this cemetery looked a LOT like the Hollywood set so it was worth taking a look around.

Salzburg Skyline.

Views from atop the Hohensalzburg Castle.  So long, farewell,auf weidersehen, Salzburg!