Day 3 - The Hills Are Alive!

Salzburg, what a great city.  Loved it but didn't love the 1 1/2 hour bus ride each way from Linz.  Despite how long the drive was, the Austrian countryside is so picturesque, rolling hills dotted with cows, farmhouses with barns attached, and the mountains standing tall in the background, that I would not discourage anyone from taking this tour.  

We took a walking tour of the city which touched on the highlights but was heavy on all things Mozart and on the Sound of Music.  Of course, there is no way to talk about Salzburg without mentioning Mozart or The Sound of Music, but there is much more to it than that.

But before I get into it, some Sound of Music trivia:  

1. Lisle was 21 years old (not 16 as her character) and she had a big crush on Captain Von Trapp

2. Captain Von Trapp liked his alcohol a bit too much and he didn't like the movie all that much

3. The mountain they crossed to save themselves did not take them to Switzerland, in actuality it crosses into Germany (hardly the place they wanted to to go!)

Seems like every winding street leads to a plaza, beautiful examples of Baroque architecture all around.

Salzburg has a really cool fortress overlooking the city dating back to the eleventh century. A funicular make the trek up and down easy but being the cool intrepid people we are, we went up on foot. It was crazy hot but the views form the top were worth it.

But Mozart truly is the town son and there are countless monuments, shops and other reminders of the illustrious boy.

Dinner on board was lovely and we had a funny Sound of Music sing-along afterwards.  Mark Farris continues to make the evenings enjoyable and fun, for the day in Salzburg he brought on a troupe of young Tyrolese boys and their mother for a local dance performance.  The days are busy and long and it's hard to stay up late.   This is perhaps the one thing we miss the most about this not being an ocean cruise, downtime is hard to find.