Aufwiedersehen, Austria

We headed home via the train on Sunday morning; it was a nice ride and Michael even took a nap! As you can see, we were literally in the end of the train! Made for some cool pics, and it was nice to have some extra space to ourselves. We arrived home around 7 p.m. tired but happy.

Nighttime in Salzburg, and an Austrian cemetary

We walked back to the hotel after our beer garden time - check out these beautiful pics! We awoke in the morning hoping to check out a few more sights before heading back to Germany. This is the cemetary that Mozart's parents are buried in; it was really neat in a creepy sort of way. The hotel we stayed in (Renaissance) was really nice; check out the boys in the big bed with the down comforters.

The Augustiner Brauerei and Monastery

When researching the trip, I read about a place to eat and Dawn and I decided it would be a good choice. Since John had been doing 'girlie' type stuff (SOM tour, then a concert) I figured we owed him a fun meal. So we headed off to find this brewery/monastery. It was an adventure - we walked along, in the shade next to the beautiful green water in the river, eventually making our way to the building we believed to be the location. There is a doorway (not very large) and one tiny sign, but it isn't on the main road. I was a bit hesitant - it said in the guidebook that this place seated 1000 people. Anyway, we forged ahead, into a small hallway - at the end of the hallway was a door. We opened it, continued in another small hallway and came to this huge staircase. We took a photo of John - he is posing sort of crazily so we could photo-shop in Chris, Joe and the other man-crazies later. ha ha. Anyway, we head down the stairs - mind you, it is quiet and there isn't another soul around. I am about to decide that we are going to come out in the middle of a chapel service when we see the food booths. We have arrived - the place is like a giant beer hall, with food booths in the hallway - everything from schnitzel to fish smoked on a stick, to pastries were available. We continued forward and found the stairway to the outdoor beer garden - Sah - WEET! We quickly found a table, sent the kids to the playground and were off to score some dinner. Check out the pic - that was the kids' and I's meal - we shared 2 dinner plates between us and still had food left - all of this, including the beer was less than 20 Euro. We also ran into Dr. Lamar; it was fun to get to catch up and visit with her! The weather was perfect, the atmosphere fun but laid back; the beer was cold and the kids were occupied. Predictably, we sat here quite a while...............

...with the sound of Music!

We really enjoyed exploring in Mirabell Gardens, famous in the SOM! The kids sang "Doe, a Deer" here, and there are a number of scenes that were filmed here. It is a beautiful park - the weather was absolutely fabulous so it was easy to enjoy! Plus, this was the venue for the concert we came to see - the UCA Wind Ensemble, as part of their European tour, performed here and also in Vienna. We really enjoyed hearing the concert - it was surreal seeing them in Europe. When Chris and I were in wind ensemble back in the day, this is what we dreamed of our group being and doing - strange to be witnessing it!

Altstadt Salzburg

We made our way through the town, checking out the Bishop's residence, St. Michael's church and Salzburg Cathedral. It is a really neat town with a lot to see; much more than we had time for! We checked out the market area, bought some souvenirs (we are such good tourists!) and then made our way towards the Mirabell Gardens.

Salzkammergut and Mozart

Our tour also took us out into the Lake District - stunningly beautiful! We stopped for an Apple Strudel at this restaurant - with a view like that, who cares about the food? After that, we went back into town and were dropped off in the Altstadt. We fed the kids a nutritious meal (we all had ice cream!) and then were off sightseeing. Check out that statue of Mozart- he is sort of a patron saint in this city; was born here and lived until the age of 17 here.

The Hills are Alive....

We also visited the Heilbrunn Palace, where the gazebo from "16 going on 17" was filmed. (That is the boys, taking it in with some other tourists!) In addition to the main house, there is what is called the "month castle" up on a hill behind it - allegedly built in only thirty days - so the King could take his mistress there.) It was a gorgeous area; couldn't resist singing "the hills are alive..." ha ha. Yes, cheesy!

SOM sights

We went from the Altstadt (Old City) to the palace where the SOM kids fell into the lake from the boat - it is a private residence, and like many of the castles in the area, owned by an American. It was hard to resist taking photos - the area is like a giant postcard.

City Tour

The next day, we were off on the Sound of Music tour! It was cheesy, yes - but also pretty neat. It is a good value; you get the SOM sights as well as a city tour and information. We booked in advance; very cool that we had our own van! (That is the boys with Natalie and Jacob Slieter)First we saw the old city, including the halls for the Salzburg Festival, held annually in August (if you remember, this is where the Von Trapp Family Singers were going to sing when they escaped from the Nazis.) We also saw Maria's convent, the old buildings built into the mountainside, and the Roman horse bath.

Salzburg, Austria

Hoping to catch a concert, the boys and I set off over Mothers' Day weekend for Salzburg, Austria with our neighbors, John and Dawn Slieter and their kids. It was a beautiful sunny day as we trekked down the hill to the train station. We were excited with our travel find: only 300 Euro for all 7 of us on the high speed train! It was a nice ride - zipping through Bavaria, with its lovely scenery. The trip took about 5 hrs and we were in Salzburg.

Snails, and Shopping in Spain

Spain had so many fascinating things we don't see in Germany .... boys loved checking out the snails all over the resort. We captured this one on film. (Check out their jackets; you can see how cold it was!) After the rain-soaked tour, we opted for a trip to a shopping mall on another rainy day. It turned out great! The mall was huge and INDOORS. the kids had a fine time attempting new jobs as mannequins, too! ha ha. We had a nice time, and even figured out the bus system.