S is for Salzburg

Starting on October 10th, Oscar had a two week break from school so we took advantage of the time off to go on some trips.

License plates in Germany indicate the city in which the vehicle is registered.  When I see a license plate that starts with "S", I know its driver is from Stuttgart.  We saw lots of "S" license plates during our recent trip to Southern Germany and Austria.  In this instance, however, "S" stood for Salzburg instead of Stuttgart.

Salzburg ("Salt Castle" in German) is an old city with a rich history.  Anciently, prosperity and fame were derived from its nearby salt mines.  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born and raised in Salzburg.  And, of course, The Sound of Music was filmed in and around Salzburg.

We rented a two-bedroom apartment in Schönau am Königsee, Germany (about 25 minutes from Salzburg).  The "Eagle's Nest" (a house built high in the mountains to mark the occasion of Adolph Hitler's 50th birthday) is in nearby Bertchesgaden.  We wanted to go to the top of the Eagle's Nest but it was closed because of the weather so we rode the "Jennerbahn" (cable cars) to the top of Mount Jenner instead.  It took about 20 minutes to ride to the top.  The view from the top was really nice so we stopped to take some photos.

After Mount Jenner, we drove into Salzburg and visited the Haus der Natur.  The boys really liked the science center that is adjacent to the natural history museum.

Tina lets the boys pick a junk cereal to eat for breakfast when we go on trips.  Usually they get something like Lucky Charms.  This time, Oscar picked Cookie Crisp.  At the science center, I wanted Oscar to spend some time with an old math game -- the Towers of Hanoi.  But he didn't want to play my game.  So I told him he would have toast for breakfast unless he played the game until he figured it out.  He hated the game but eventually he did figure it out.

At the end of the day, Sara was getting tired.

The next day, we visited the salt mine in Berchtesgaden.  At the salt mine, visitors put on traditional miner clothes and ride down the slides.

After touring the salt mine, we drove into Salzburg and visited some of the sites where The Sound of Music was filmed.

Do Re Mi was filmed at Mirabell Palace and Gardens.  Notice the view of Hohensalzburg Castle in the background of some of the photos.

The gazebo from Sixteen Going on Seventeen was moved to a local park in 1991.  We went to the park, saw the gazebo, and let the children play at the park.

The front of Leopoldskron Castle faces a lake and forms the façade of the views shown in the movie that respresent the Von Trapp family residence (the actual family residence in Aigen is not featured in the movie).  Hohensalzburg Castle is in the background (again).

One of the famous scenes from the movie shows Julie Andrews and the children standing up on a rowboat and subsequently falling into the water.

We all enjoyed our trip to Bavaria and Salzburg.  More pictures are in the Picasa Album (click the icon below).