Salzburg: A Sound of Music Tour

The hills are alive with the sound of music... 

For my 30th Birthday, I did a 4-day tour of Austria. The greatest travel that I have done so far to pay tribute to my 3 decades of existence. 

The Sound of Music was a childhood memory. It might not be in my generation, but it is my Mother’s favorite movie.

I don’t remember exactly my first time watching it. But “Do a deer a female deer” and “I was sixteen going on seventeen” lyrics were too catchy to not stick in my memory. Probably, even those who have never watched the movie heard the songs somewhere. 

This year, on my birthday, I checked for myself whether the “hills are alive.” I set off on a tour sandwiched between a group of mother-and-daughter British travelers (the irony). :) It was a sing-a-long tour, but I didn’t rehearse the lyrics the night before. So, I wasn’t sure enough if I could still remember them. One of them asked if I knew all the songs. I said that I was familiar with the songs but was not so sure if I could sing them well.

A female tour guide met us at the rendezvous early in the morning. Guided Sound of Music Tour has been operating since the 60s. It is a “thing” in Salzburg. 

After a bit of intro, she took us on our ride.  As soon as we set off, she started with the first song on her playlist. While she drove our way to the first stop, she shared stories of the original family portrayed in the movie. A story that I could no longer recount hadn’t she retold. 

We stopped by the house, the pavilion, the Schloss Leopoldskron, the church, and the lake, and so on. From one song to another, I found myself singing with gusto. I did remember some songs’ lyrics. 😅 As our guide swerved at the snowy curve, she played Edelweiss. The song was the namesake of a flower that grows in the Alps. She played two versions of the song with different singers and made us choose whom we liked better. I liked the second one. 

The Sound of Music failed stardom in Austria and Germany when it was released. The hint of World War 2 in the movie didn’t receive a good response from people who gravely suffered from it. But it became a Hollywood hit and almost every baby boomer’s favorite film of all time. 

My heart was full after the tour. I took as many photos and videos as I could for keeps.