Travel Tuesday: The Hiiiills Are Alive! Salzburg Review 2

Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo! Time for my Sound of Music Tour review! {Ooh, that rhymed. I'm good!}  So, as you remember from last Tuesday's travel Post, my brother & I spent a few days in beautiful Salzburg, Austria during his visit!  What a gorgeous city, famous for its beloved Mozart & for being the filming location of The Sound of Music.  It really is as beautiful in real life as it is in the movie!  So, hop aboard & see the sights with me!

Our lovely & very funny tour guide, & the building used for the back of the Trapp Family Villa!  Beautiful, isn't it?!

I didn't really sing in front of the gazebo, but it made for a very touristy photo, wouldn't you say?!

The only glimpse we got of Nonnberg Abbey, where Maria is late to Mass!  "How do you solve a problem like Maria?!"  Also, a look into our happy tour bus.  It took a while to get warmed up, but before long, we were all singing along to The Sound of Music soundtrack!  How fun!

Taking a break from the bus to enjoy the beautiful scenery outside Salzburg. My brother & I got a traditional Austrian drink that was a bit like sparkling apple cider! Mmm. Also, here I am in front of the Abbey that was used to film the wedding scene.

Here I am jumping between the trees that the Trapp children climbed in the movie!  Also, a photo from the wedding scene.

 The cute little village of Mondsee where the wedding Cathedral is located.  Don't you just love all the different colored buildings?!  My brother & I stopped for Apfel Strudel & ice cream.  And I bought a very cute pink Austrian apron!  Also, the interior of the Cathedral.  The ceiling was beautiful!  Not an inch forgotten!

Dancing with Maria in the Mirabelle Gardens, where Do-Re-Mi was filmed!

And there you have it!  The tour was so much fun!  And even if you haven't seen the movie in years {like me!}, the sights & sounds are enough to take you back to every scene!  So, if you're going to be in the Salzburg area any time soon {of course you are, right?!}, or if you are just interested in learning more about the tour & the movie's filming locations, head on over to the Sound of Music Tour's website!  I hope you enjoyed this little virtual tour :)  "So long! Farewell!"

Photos from myself, Frankly Cross Eyed, & Iowa Grasslands.

Travel Reviews: Beautiful Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg, Austria. What a beautiful place! Known most as being the backdrop for The Sound of Music & also as the birthplace of Mozart!  Tourists flock to this lovely city, which feels more like a big town, to experience these two things, whether it be a Mozart concert in the Old Town or a ride on the Sound of Music Tour bus!  But no matter where you stroll, you will feel the presence of both ♥

I forgot to do my weekly "Travel Tuesday" post yesterday, so here it is on Wednesday! This will be the last city review of the trip I took with my brother when he was here last month! We went to London {including Stonehenge & Windsor Castle!}, Munich, & finally Salzburg. I'd been to this last city before, on a very rainy day the previous year. It was wonderful to return again when the weather was nice & we could do more exploring on foot! Also, I was able to find my way around quite well, walking directly to places I wanted to see again, including a lovely little jewelry store :)

My brother & I spent two days in Salzburg, staying at the incredibly beautiful Hotel Salzburg Auersperg.  What a find!  Large rooms, delicious breakfast, walking distance to all we wanted to see, & even a rooftop sauna & steam room!  How fun & relaxing!  Outside of the hotel, though, we did so much that I will have to write two posts about Salzburg!  This post will be about the city itself, & the next will cover the Sound Of Music Tour that we took!  How fun it was singing the movie's songs on the bus with our tour guide & the rest of the group!

I really like Salzburg.  The hustle & bustle of a major city can't be found in the Old Town.  It has been replaced with people strolling down the cobblestone streets looking into the cute little shops or listening to the many trios & quartets playing the music of the city's beloved Mozart.  And all the while, the enormous Hohensalzburg Castle peers down from the hilltop above.

The first time we visited Salzburg, Austria, I found a beautiful amber ring.  Don told me he would get it for me, but I said I didn't really need it...  And then I thought about that ring for the next year!  I went back with my brother recently & Don told me I'd better buy my amber ring this time :)  Thank you, sweetie!  I wear it all the time & think of you ♥

Thank you all so much for your participation in the first Saturday Around The World blog hop!  Twenty-one of you entered your blog, which is great for the first time!  It was a lot of fun to see all of your comments & to know that you're receiving new followers!  How great!  Let's do it again this Saturday, shall we?!  And tomorrow's post will feature the blog of one of the participants, chosen at random!  So come back tomorrow & see if it's you!

Travel Tuesday: Munich & Beer!

Oh, München!  The city of delicious beer & beautiful buildings!  Here you'll see me at the Hofbräuhaus, the 1 Million Dollar Pagani that we saw on the ridiculously expensive street of Maximilianstraße, a photo of a lovely window boxed building downtown on the Marienplatz, a fresh fruit stand, the famous Glockenspiel, the inside of one of the many gorgeous churches, & a photo out the window on our drive to Salzburg, Austria -- which is next up!  Enjoy!  Oh, & don't mind my hair!  We had just arrived back into Germany from London & it had been a busy travel morning :)  Mmm, I think I'm craving a Radler now.  Or better yet, a Russen!

Travel Tuesday: St. Paul's, British Museum, Lion King

It has been a quick month already since my brother left after his five week visit with me here in Germany. If you've been reading the blog since then, you'll remember that we took a trip to London while he was here! We were only there for four days, but we sure packed in a lot of exploring! That's given me writing material for many a post, to be sure! Here's yet another: St. Paul's Cathedral, the British Museum, & seeing the Lion King in the West End!  If you know my Travel Review posts, you'll know this isn't going to be short.  And I didn't even tell you everything!  :)  Enjoy!

St. Paul's Cathedral

One of London's most famous sights, St, Paul's Cathedral was a must-see while we were visiting.  We saw it during our Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus Tour, but made a definite point of taking the Tube there to see it on foot.  The building is so large & nestled between the other buildings of the city that you really can't take it in completely.  Therefore, I've found a great picture for you that shows it in all its beauty!

While inside the Cathedral, my brother & I dared to go where few go: up 257 steps on the spiral staircase to The Whispering Gallery, then up another 119 steps to The Stone Gallery {where you go outside for panoramic views!}, then yet another 152 steps over precarious stairs in very tight spaces to reach The Golden Gallery {where you have to go outside to reach the stairs that go back down, but it's a little scary!}

How cute is this wedding double-decker bus?!  I know it sounds very strange, but there was a wedding taking place in the Cathedral's Crypt Chapel.  It was stunning, really.  {I didn't realize the significance of weddings that take place in this location!}  And after our hike to the top of St. Paul's, a refreshing drink from the Starbucks next door {is there anywhere without a Starbucks these days?  Geesh!} was in order!  Then, hopping back onto the Tube!  Mind the gap!

 
The British Museum

Wow, what an incredible place!  I'd always wanted to go here, & I was so excited that my brother & I were able to squeeze a visit into the rest of our exploring!  We weren't able to stay long, but it was immediately clear that it would take months, if not years, to see all that the Museum has on display.  And, according to an employee we met, there are thousands of artifacts owned by the Museum that are in storage elsewhere!  Incredible!  I took an Art History class years ago, & it was amazing so see the things that we learned about, to be in the place that keeps these artifacts safe!  The Rosetta Stone, Egyptian hieroglyphics, Mayan sculptures...  Oh, I loved it!

It would be wonderful to go back when I had more time to look around, but it's nice to have been there even just once!

The Lion King on London's West End

Seeing a show in London was on our list of top things to do!  And we did it!  We purchased last minute tickets at Picadilly Circus the day before the show, & the price wasn't bad!  Neither were the seats!  I've been to a few shows on Broadway, so it was really fun to be able to compare.  The show was so well done, & the costumes were unlike anything I'd seen before!  I especially liked the baby elephant & the jaguar :)  I'm not ashamed to say that I got goosebumps during the intro, when all the animals come out & "The Circle of Life" is being sung!  Beautiful!  At one point during The Lion King, they sang "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!".  We were in London, indeed!

This video of the original London cast of The Lion King is great!  I hope that you all enjoyed the travel review!  It's fun for me to think back on trips & to look at photos again!  It's such a blessing to be able to visit so many new places in the world!  ♥