If we’ve figured this correctly, we were 17 going on 18 when we saw the Sound of Music together. It was Cincinnati, both sets of parents and our brothers were with us, probably Judy’s Nana too. It was at one of those widescreen movie theaters. CinemaScope, maybe?
Yeah, I know, it’s a corny movie and we should have spent our time learning about the Archbishop Dukes of the Hapsburg’s Austro-Hungarian empire or something. But our four-hour bus ride did, as we’d hope, give us a good view of the city and surrounding areas. It gave us a good idea of what we wanted to do in the afternoon.
Our guide on the bus, Bridgette, read the original autobiography written by Maria Von Trapp and so spent much of the tour separating fact from fiction. Most of the interior scenes were shot on a sound stage in Hollywood. The gazebo scene, for example. They built a larger, semicircular version in Hollywood, so the dancing could take place and the lighting and camera equipment could be accommodated. The external shots of the gazebo were shot here in Salzburg. We saw the real thing, moved twice to a new location to handle tourist crowds.
We visited the church where the wedding scene was shot and, on our own, the abbey where Maria was before becoming the governess. We drove through the hills and yes, they were beautiful and alive, but the actual scene was shot just over the border in Germany.
A couple of other trivia tidbits.
Julie Andrews could sing and could play the guitar but couldn’t do both at the same time. The director solved the problem. He had Julie drink a shot of schnapps and voila, she could sing and play simultaneously.
And remember when the kids, dressed in play cloths made from their bedroom curtains, and Maria fell out of the boat? Julie’s job was to grab the five-year-old actress playing Gretl and hold her above water. Gretl couldn’t swim and was terrified. The second shot, which made it into the movie, saw Maria falling out on one side and Gretl on the other. Gretl went under, swallowing water, but was rescued by a SCUBA diver stationed under water for just such a possibility.
That same young girl hated Austrian food but loved the bread. Over the course of the shooting, she gained considerable weight. Christopher Plumer, who was to carry her on his shoulders as they escaped across the Alps to Switzerland, refused to lug the little fatso. A stunt double carried Gretl; you only see Captain Von Trapp from the rear in that scene.
And the Alps they were climbing would have taken them to Germany. Switzerland is 400 km or so from Salzburg. The real family dressed as if to go hiking but instead took a train to Italy.
Enough, already. After our tour, which ended in the magnificent palace gardens where some of the do-re-mi scenes were shot. We’d stumbled across it yesterday on our way to the Mozart residence.
We crossed the river and had schnitzel and brat sandwiches for lunch at a stand along the river. Then back to our apartment where Judy started a third load of laundry.
Next, a ten-minute walk to the funicular that climbs the mountain to the Fortress Hohensalzsburg, a fortress and palace overlooking, and in its time, protecting Salzburg. Like many structures in Salzburg, it was built and modified by a succession of archbishops, starting in 1077 and achieving its final form in 1519. The claim is that it’s never been defeated, although it was attacked only once, in 1525, when a disgruntled bunch of miners, farmers and townspeople tried to unseat the current archbishop. It was surrendered without a fight to Napoleon’s forces in 1800.
By the way, it seems that while the other parts of Austria were under strict Austro-Hungarian dynasty rule, Salzburg was for many years ruled by a series of Prince Archbishops. These wealthy individuals combined political and religious positions within the region of Salzburg.
After a funicular ride to the fortress, we made a quick climb to the top turret for the panorama view of Salzburg. Then back down. Rather than taking the funicular down we opted for yet one more side trip, this time to the real Maria Von Trapp’s abbey, a fifteen minute walk from the fortress. The abbey is closed to outsiders since there are still twenty-some nuns living there. The chapel was open, however.
Another walk-through Old Town and a myriad of streets and high-end shops brought us home about four thirty. I ran a load of recently washed clothes to our car in the parking garage so as to lighten our load tomorrow. Judy showered and by the time I got back it was time for a quick dinner before the marionette show at 7:30 PM. Charlotte would never have scheduled us so tight on a Tauck tour, that’s for sure!
Dinner was a small issue: most of the outdoor restaurants were full, mostly with folks enjoying an afternoon glass of beer. We finally found a place indoors. There Judy had a minced veal dish with various root vegetables and I had boiled beef with two horseradish sauces and potatoes. Good, fast grub, just what we needed. A quick stop to unload the laundry machine and we were off to the theater.
Despite a wrong turn or two (you’d think that by now we’d know Old Town like the back of our hands) we made it to the theater with 15 minutes to spare.
The marionette show was amazing. The music was recorded so no big deal there, but the puppeteering was amazing. There were often as many as 10 puppets on stage at one time doing intricate maneuvers involving foot, arms and head movements. After the show they raised the curtains and there, in an incredibly small space, we could see the nine puppeteers doing their thing. They would pass marionettes to each other as the character moved across the stage.
Now we’re back home, tired after a 20,000-step day. Tomorrow, we have no schedule but do have five hours of driving (350 km or 220 miles) to reach our farm Airbnb in Vaduz, Lichtenstein. And because the hour is late and the bones are tired, I’m putting off the photo show until tomorrow when we’ll be down on the farm with lots of free time, I hope.