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The Sound of Music route

SALZBURG Rolling hills, snow-capped mountains, charming cottages, and, of course, the film connection… APARNA KARTHIKEYAN takes a tour of the Austrian city

MUSICAL ATTRACTIONS Some of the locations where “The Sound of Music” was shot

We’ve never prepared as intensively for any trip as we did for this one – for as soon as we booked our train tickets to Salzburg, my daughter and I began practising our Do-re-mi’s in earnest. Being major fans of “Sound of Musi c” (SOM), we wanted to, like millions of tourists before us, sing along and visit the castles, gardens and hills where the movie was filmed. “Edelweiss, edelweiss, every morning you greet me!” we would passionately rehearse, making do with a bunch of buttery yellow narcissus; ‘Climb every mountain, search high and low” we would belt out, in our best treble, to lowland swans and mallards. And after a fortnight of frightening every living creature in the neighbourhood, we set off for the hills.

We arrived in Salzburg after a long overnight journey, but nevertheless, found train travel far superior to the regular budget-airline experience, especially since we could see, up-close, the lush Austrian countryside. Rolling hills, the distant snow-

capped mountains, charming cottages, and winding mountain lanes ensured that we sat with our nose glued to the windows.

The city of Salzburg is celebrated for a number of things — (a) the pedestrian-only Altstadt (old-town), with its striking, baroque green-domed Cathedral, bustling squares, and old-world Fiakers (horse-cabs), is a UNESCO world heritage site; (b) Mozart, the musical genius, was born in Getreidegasse, the now hip shopping street, and composed about 150 of his works when he lived across the river; (c) the prestigious Salzburg Festival, every July/August, that attracts millions to this Mecca of classical music; (d) and of course, ‘that musical’, as the locals call the SOM, was filmed here.

Soon after the release, tourists from halfway across the world apparently started pouring in, to see the film locations; and they still do, more than four decades later! Now, it must be mentioned here, especially for the benefit of those who consider this the ultimate in cheesy tours, that the SOM crew did a particularly thorough job, scouring the district for outstanding locations; they’ve shot the movie in classic churches, historic squares, picturesque villages, grand villas and jagged, snow-covered mountains that are high on every ‘must-see’ list.

We commenced our tour at the beautiful, manicured Mirabell Gardens, which features in the Do-re-mi sequence. In full-bloom, since it was a warm spring, the gardens, with the Pegasus fountain was a colourful foil to the stately palace on the grounds. Crossing the bridge over the river Salzach, (which, by the way, affords some great photo-ops) we reached the old-town, where all the action, so to speak, lay.

The Altstadt, with the Hohensalzburg (the fortress) towering over it are perhaps the two most recognisable features of the city. While the old town is a tad too large, not to mention busy, to impart an authentic medieval feel, it still manages to, quite cunningly, work its charms on you. If the narrow passageways don’t get you all excited, then the large, bustling squares, with their sparkling fountains and regal statues surely will; and if the Mozartkugel (decadent, round, marzipan-centred praline chocolates) leaves you cold, you’ll surely warm up to the cinnamon-laced apple strudel.

Well, coming back to the SOM connection, the Altstadt ‘plays’ several side-roles in the movie – the ornate St. Peter church’s cemetery was the ‘set’ for the escape drama, while the Residenz square, with its row of fiakers and remarkable fountain, featured in the “I have confidence” song.

Next, we walked uphill to the Benedictine Convent on Nonnberg. Now, this is the convent that Maria rushes back to, when she hears the church bells pealing, even as she prances about on the lake district, a good 30 km away! Talk about cinematic licence! After spending a while admiring the Gothic church with its magnificent frescoes, we set off to see the Leopoldskron Palace. But, alas, this beautiful building is now a private hotel, and you can’t get in, unless you’re willing to fork out several hundred Euros. So, all we got was a long-distance glimpse of the ‘residence’ of the Captain and his family. Still, the drive was well worth it, through clearly wealthy neighbourhoods, with their elegant bungalows and leafy avenues.

The gazebo, the site of the famous “I am sixteen” song, was next on the list. Now, the gazebo itself was quite modest; but the impressive Hellbrunn palace grounds, with its Wasserspiele (trick-fountains), certainly made up for it! Designed by a Bishop with an ‘infantile sense of humour,, the fountains liberally drench you, from every which direction, when you least expect it! The tour is highly popular, and even as you await your turn, you can hear the squeals and shrieks of those who’re merrily getting wet.

Close to the Hellbrunn palace was the Untersberg Mountain, which, to its credit, faithfully pretended to be Switzerland in the movie. Riding up by a cable-car on a foggy day was a bit sad, as the promised, panoramic views were obscured by a thick, swirling white-mist. The summit however was stunning, though it proved to be treacherously slippery!

And finally, we set off on the last leg of the tour, to explore the little villages around Salzkammergut (lake district), where several scenes, including the opening scenes of the movie were shot.

This was, by far, the most beautiful stretch, as it wound its way through the mountains, with the lakes shimmering in the valley below. We explored, by foot, a few picture-postcard villages - Fuschl, St. Gilgen, and Mondsee (this houses the church where the Captain and Maria get married). Indeed, the hills are alive here… with the Sound of Music!

Useful tips

The tour operators charge about 35 Euros for the four-hour trip; renting a car and driving around works out slightly cheaper if you travel as a family/group; besides you can choose to spend more time on the hills and lakes.

Since the movie was shot largely in and around Salzburg, it is theoretically possible to ‘cover’ all the places in a single day (the packaged tours zip through in four hours!); but, frankly, if you wish to do any justice at all to the locales, it would be wise to spread it over several.

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