Salzburg Sights

One item on Chris' "Bucket List" was to see the theater where the von Trapp family performed in the Salzburg Festival Choral Competition. Wednesday afternoon we took a tour of the Festival Hall.  It was once a quarry and then a horse riding arena.
Here is the front atrium:

The famous stage (currently being used by another production).

After our theater tour we went up to Hohensalzburg Fortress and had some impressive views of the city below.

Camden and Emma got to play with a marionette.

A fair maiden and her brave knight.

Walking around outside the fortress.

We found a speciality pretzel stand in a market in old town.  Emma and Camden's chocolate pretzel was more of a chocolate donut.  I was in cheese heaven. 

I have to say as a life long soft pretzel connoisseur, Austria's pretzels are superior to Germany's.

One last look at old town Salzburg.

Chris had a mission on his Wednesday morning run: find the Stiegl brewery so he could buy some beer. We headed back there for dinner in their beer garden.

We will be hosting a party in mid-November (after the NYC Marathon). Can you guess what we'll be serving? ;)

The Eagle's Nest

Wednesday morning we joined another tour, this time to Hitler's mountain hideaway, The Eagle's Nest. On the way through the park we stopped for a few more pictures.  Here is Emma and her favorite statue in the troll park.

 Cute lion tamers...

 After 2 buses and 1 elevator, we reached Kehlsteinhaus. 

Here's one of the views from inside:

 What an amazing place!  

The Hills Are Alive...

...with the Sound of Music!
A trip to Salzburg wouldn't be complete without a Sound of Music Tour.  Our first stop was the lake and backyard of the von Trapp home.

The gazebo

A drive-by picture of the home used for the outside of the von Trapp's.

We drove through the Lake District that was shown at the beginning of the movie.  The view of Wolfgangsee Lake was absolutely breathtaking!

The Mondsee Cathedral

The inside of the Mondsee Cathedral was used for the Captain and Maria's wedding.

When we got back to Salzburg, we spent some more time walking around the old town. Here is St. Peter's Monastery.

 The von Trapp family hid from the German soldiers in the St. Peter's graveyard.

 Walking up the hill to Nonnberg Abbey, we stopped for a picture with the Salzburg Cathedral in the background.

 At the gates to the Abbey.

 On our way back through the old town we came across a little market selling Chris' ALL TIME FAVORITE beer, Stiegl. 

Staying true to his marathon training, drinking no alcohol, Chris enjoyed the aroma of his favorite beer.  I was a supportive wife and...

 ...drank it for him! :)

 Our dinner spot was the largest beer garden in Salzburg, the Augustiner. It was a beautiful summer evening (and the day before a national holiday) so all the prime garden spots were taken.  We enjoyed our wursts inside the beer hall.

Into the Salt Mines

The theme of our first full day in Salzburg was salt and the Sound of Music.

As we were walking from our apartment to the tour meeting point, we passed through Mirabell Gardens again. We took a few more Do Re Me pictures.

 Front row seats on the bus.

 Beautiful scenery driving through the Bavarian Mountains.

We couldn't take any pictures inside the mines, so I can only share 2 that we bought after the tour.  We loaded on to this little train that took us back inside the mines.  We wandered around and learned about the process of mining salt. 

Besides wearing these snazzy jumpsuits, the highlight of the tour was going down the slides in the mines. 

 After the salt mine tour, we went to the nearby village of Berchtesgaden, Germany.

 My favorite little guy and I are ready for lunch!

YUM!!!!  

Wilkommen to Salzburg!

The final stop on our European road trip is Salzburg, Austria. This has been on of Chris' favorite cities and he couldn't to share it with us.  Here are a few views from our apartment:

We walked along the river towards old town Salzburg.

A playground with this MEGA slide.

 Camden's not too thrilled with this swing.

 We were told to, "pose like we're singing Do, Ray, Me."

(I am a cross between jazz hands and a stick up...)

 Climbing a tree in the park.

Mozart's Birthplace

 A giant pretzel! 

 The Horse Pond

 The Kapitel Horse Pond

 The grand cathedral