The hills are alive....

.....with the sound of music. Yes, I have been singing that all day for this was the day I looked forward to all week. The one and only (actually, that's not true, there are several) - Sound of Music Tour.

Was is campy? Yes. Was it silly? Yes. Was it wonderful? But of course.  I sang in the bus and danced - or to be more accurate - skipped on the streets. The whole expeience felt very comfortable since the five girls behind me and my traveling companion were all belting out the lyrics and oohing and aahing over the gazebo.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start at the very beginning. For those that don't know, the back of the house in the movie and the backyard plus the lake in the movie are at two different locations. We saw the lake and the back of the palace that was used as the back yard. Both this place and the house that was actually used for the front and back of the house, this propety is privately owned. We couldn't get close to either. In fact, we couldn't even drive on the road in front of the house - it's closed to motorized vehicles (so guess who's renting a bike this week.).

Then we saw the gazebo. I have a picture of myself in front - one in flat and one in releve (oh come on, you know I had to do it. Also, I'm too lazy to remember how to insert the accent -  deal).  The sad part? The Gazebo was locked. Why? An octogenarian broke her hip jumping from bench to bench. I mean really. What a silly thing to do. And 80+ year old woman should know better. I mean, I'd do it - but I'm not 80, yet.

We saw the lakes in the opening sequence,the abbey where Maria lived, and the hill for the picnic, where the do re me song started . Which is quite far from salzburg, interestingly enough. And at the very end, we saw the lovely church where the wedding took place.  It had much gaudier decorations and was lighter in color than I imagined. I didn't see the gate that shut the nuns out of the wedding. I looked. I was sad.

While we were there,  two weddings were in progress. Saturday must be a big wedding day here.  One had a marching band leading them up the street and to the church - all ready and excited for the big momemt. Couple number 2 (because they were the second couple I saw) was finishing up their wedding and getting ready to walk under an arch of sabers. Couple number one, outside with the marching band, seemed to arrive a bit early. They made this big splash as they walked to the front of the church, clapping, cheering, and smiling. And then stood there for at least 15 minutes, waiting for the other wedding to end. Finally I saw them go down another street. Perhaps they were supposed to enter at the back.

What was interesting was that many of the guests wore traditional Austrian clothing. The bodiced dress for the women (I'll take a picture, promise) and a jacket, the same type the Captain wore on several occasions in the movie, and quite often lederhosen for the men.  Somehow I expected Western clothing, especially considering the neon green miniskirt/dresses that the bridesmaids were wearing (did I mention NEON green? No, not exaggeration). But the invitees had different ideas and wore traditional garb. Good on them, I say.

On a side note, honestly. If I was getting married, I'm not sure I would want one that is also a tourist attraction. Ungangly people (myself included) with their cameras, phones, fanny packs (no, not me), and loud shoes all hustle into the church. The flashes never stopped and while everyone made an attempt to be quiet - come one. Do you reallly think that would be possible? Perhaps it's a big deal to be married at this church. Perhaps it's the only catholic one in town. I don't know. But I don't think it would be my first choice (if i was going to chose a catholic church in the first place).

The whole wedding experience made me wonder if the various towns with the various buildings ever regretted their decision to let a movie be filmed there. They probably though nothing of it at the time. Who's going to notice a church or a gazebo in some silly musical movie? And yet, the gazebo has been moved twice due to the influx and distraction of the tourists and the little town of Mondsee, where the church is located, is now a tourist town. And let us not forget the entirety of Salzburg. The movie fundamentally changed the nature of these idyllic little cities and towns, and even a church and an abbey. Are they grateful or regretful? I wonder.

But I had little opportunity to dwell as I at my apple strudel and vanilla ice cream, dreaming  of sashaying down the street in time to "Do re mi" and climbing that big ol mountain over there (did I mention i saw paragliders along the way!).

There is more to see of course, and I've seen most. Nonnberg Abbey, the Mozart Foot Bridge, Mirabell Gardens, etc. It's interesting. I saw the movie right before I came over here. I don't recognize very much. But then I see the scenes from the movie again and then I realize, "Oh My Goodness, that WAS that place I just saw. " Cool.

Of course, the day ended with a liter of beer. That's simply customary here. :)