Salzburg

From Paris, it was off to Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Mozart, a center for classical music, and of course former home of the Von Trapp family. It turns out that there are actually Sound of Music tours to choose from in Salzburg. And while it was certainly cheesy at times, it did end being a good way to see Salzburg and the beauty of the countryside surrounding it.

This classic view of Salzburg has the Hohensalzburg Castle in the back up on the hill and the Mirabell Gardens in the foreground. For those of you with an intimate knowledge of the Sound of Music, this is where they sang Do Re Mi.

We didn't just go on the Sound of Music tour, we also walked the streets. Below is the main shopping street. We were there for the opening night of Euro 2008, which was hosted by Austria and Switzerland. This might have been the reason for some rather crowded streets.

This pretty lake and castle also happen to be the spot where the famous canoe-tipping -over scene was filmed.

The gazebo.

It wasn't a perfect day to be in the Alps, but it was still quite beautiful. As you can see, my mom and dad were enjoying themselves.

The tour took us to a town nearby Salzburg called Mondsee, where they filmed the marriage scene. The town was very cute and there happened to be a number of sidewalk cafes selling crisp apple strudel. It was nice to see the locals taking advantage of the cuteness as well; below you can see a real wedding party at the church.