I did not have the slightest idea that it was Salzburg and not Vienna the movie 'Sound of Music' took place in the 60's. All thanks to TV1 or TV2 in those days. Yes, two channels only and cartoon from 4.30pm to 5.30pm on weekdays and we were already ecstatic! Children nowadays needs dedicated cartoon channels and still they complained not enough...
It was my mum and dad that got us interest in it (I mean the movie). The songs and I believe Capt. Von Trapp is just plain stern....not psychotic enough like my dad and now .....me. Anyway, how can we forget the 'Do Re Mi' song...and the eldest girl singing 'Sixteen going on Seventeen' with her boyfriend...and Julie Andrews after 'Mary Poppins' go on the become Maria in 'Sound of Music'. So this is quite a big deal for me....finally got to see the place, Salzburg.
We parked our vehicles at Lindhofstraße (sounds: Lindhofstrasse) and walked towards the Old Salzburg Town.
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| Salzach River |
The first thing we did when we arrived was.....to have lunch. It was already quite late, but I can tell you when the weather is cold...your appetite is good. Hot? You need lots of water.
There's a kebab outlet and we promised Saiful to meet up there. It was Sabah's Kebap...that's what I wrote on my notebook. It feels cosy inside and all of us cramped inside while a few of the single girls like Munirah, Sabariah, Coke and Arifah were outside, eating and getting all the attention from men.
Saiful reminded us, Salzburg is the the last stop in the itinerary. Next day most of us will be going home, Malaysia and a few would be continuing their journey to Eastern Europe. To celebrate the end of our journey, we will dine together at an Indian Muslim restaurant located at Franz-Josef Kai - The Indian Palace.
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| Saiful Nang |
I took the liberty to walk around on my own, have my own sweet time and not be restricted by others. From the cafe, it was a short walk to Getreidegasse (Grain Lane). A commercial centre of the Old Town it has quite a character. The shop signs here are gilded wrought iron which originated from the Middle Ages, time of illiteracy.
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| the "Golden Arches" restaurant..... |
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| the Getreidegasse |
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| designer label store |
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| the church, Sankt Blasiuskriche |
But to me, the most sought after location of place to visit is the Mozart's birthplace, house no. 9. Painted in a lively yellow colour (my eyes see yellow...)
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| Mozart's Birthplace |
There on the 3rd floor, Maria (sister) and Mozart was born. I can recall Mozart's birthdate which is on the January 27th, 1756 because I took up classical piano under the ABRSM (The Associated Board of the Royal School of Music). It was in Grade 5 (I think) that we had to study a little bit more on the notable composers....and on the other hand, I took Tae Kwon-Do (ITF). Great!
I did well on Tae Kwon-Do and so so on the piano.
Anyway, with Mozart..I believe most of us had listened to some of his creation. The most popular would be the 'little serenade'/'little night music'..the Eine Kline Nachtmusik, all the 4 movements of the serenade..had been used widely in movies.
He also composed music from a french children song...which we use for Twinkle Wtinkle Little Star, Baa Baa Black Sheep and the Alphabet song (ABC)...now I know most of us would sing silently and realised its the same tune! He died on December 5th, 1791 at the age of 35
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| 3rd floor, just above the sign.. |
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| entrance to the apartment, SPAR is everywhere... |
The town of Salzburg is also equipped with free Wifi. Managed to get some message out to family members and Madam. My sister had visited Austria quite extensively asked me to look for the location of the Sound of Music..which is the Leopoldskron Palace.
But with time running out, I crossed the river to the 'New Town'. The bridge was build by POW (prisoner of war) from 1941-1945....
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| info of the bridge |
From the other side of the riverbank, you could see clearly the Hohensalzburg Fortress commands the landscape from the Festungsberg hill. Building started in the 11th century and expanded over 600 years after that and maintained the appearance ever since. Not a fortress for a royal family, but for the Archbishop.
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| Hohensalzburg Fortress |
I picked up my steps and missed Mozart's house (during his adult years) and into Schloss Mirabell (Mirabell Palace) built on behalf of Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich for Salome Alt.
Now the palace serves as seat of the government.
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| Mirabell Palace and its ground |
Which part of the palace were featured in the movie, Sound of Music? This one....the fountain in the 'Do Re Mi' song.
The Pegasus fountain by Kaspar Gars, 1661
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| from the movie... |
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| Now |
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| Then... |
top left: the entrance to the palace (one of many)
top right: the ground with fountain and Mirabell Palace
lower left: fountain by Ottavio Mosto in 1690 with the four statues depicting the elements
lower right: one of the statues (not sure which element it represents)
The best part of the visit was, I was free to take as many photos unrestricted of course uninterrupted as well.
The walkie talkie came to life when Saiful and Syibli reminded us to regroup for the dinner. That infernal device, the walkie talkie was...had somehow woken me from enjoying the atmosphere of Salzburg. Because now I have to rush, but instead of taking the earlier route...I took a detour to a bridge full with locks. I have no clue where it started...but I remembered there were some at Rheim Falls in Switzerland and now, here in Salzburg.
Hohensalzburg Fortress from the bridge...every design and colour of locks on the bridge with the names of the couple...
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| Indian Palace Restaurant |
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| food selection is good...had biryani |
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| Syibli giving his speech |
It was during the dinner it really dawned to me that we had arrived at the end of the journey. Back to reality in a few days time (for me, at least) and pray that I will be able to follow them on their next trip wherever it may be...I hope so.
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| Emir, Januarhaikal, K and Kak Rose..no Anz (L-R) |
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| Zach, Tasha, Coke, Arifah, Munirah, Radzi and Apiz (L-R) |
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| serves Halal food |
All of us gave a short speech...about the trip..where to improve..the best part etc etc.. We did quite a racket...but Saiful was quick to shush us and put the blame on someone or rather on an entire different country altogether....The effect was quite funny and if anyone were barred from entering the restaurant..would be our fault...hahahahha. Let us know, where you're from...
The food was tasty and soon, we left for our camper van. We had quite a problem exiting the parking lot. The machine of the card seemed to be faulty. Anyway, Syibli to the rescue...went to a nearby bar and problem solved. Something to do with the ticket machine when we paid the parking fee.
We arrived at the camping ground by Lake Atter (Attersee) after midnight. The attendant or camp staff was nowhere to be seen..must be asleep, so we had to use some ingenious way of entering the place. It was something like one of Mr. Beans comedy series when he was locked at the municipal swimming complex and did not pay his parking fee...(no incoming vehicle involved btw). Anyway, it was a success.
We got the camper van parked the way we wanted for ease of getting the water and electricity. Converted the bench and seat to sleeping mode and of to land of dreams....
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