The hills are alive ...

First stop on our 4,000km journey was Salzburg, the birthplace of Mozart but for me even more closely associated with THE best musical of all time - The Sound of Music ! We spent 2 nights at a campsite situated on a hill just above the city, with a bus ride of about 30 minutes into the centre of the city it was perfectly positioned. Our little Dutch orange mascot also travelled with us - you can see him here enjoying a beer in Salzburg ;-)

It goes without saying that the main reason we stopped here on the way to Croatia was so that I could do the "original" Sound of Music Tour :-) But we did also manage to see a few other things whilst there. Namely the birthhouse of Mozart, the picturesque old inner city and the imposing Festung Hohensalzburg (literally, the high Salzburg fortress). The fortress is one of the largest medieval castles in Europe and sits high on a hill looking out over the city. After a VERY steep climb up to the top of hill we were rewarded with great panoramic views over Salzburg.

The tour itself was pretty tacky, but loads of fun. A bus chock full of Sound of Music fans who just couldn't get enough of the trivia and lame jokes of the tour guide! All the "important" sights were covered - Mirabell Gardens, where most of the scenes from the "Do Re Mi" song were filmed; Leopoldskron Castle, used as the von Trapp family home and for the scene where the children & Maria fell in the lake; the glass gazebo from the "I am 16 going on 17" song; Nonnberg Abbey; St Gilgen & Lake Wolfgang, the panoramic scenery shown at the beginning of the movie; and last but not least the wedding church in the village of Mondsee. And with the soundtrack blasting out of the speakers on the bus on the way back into town, it was definately a fun filled 4 hours and one of the highlights of the vacation (for me at least - didn't force Jeroen to do the tour !). As a parting gift we all received a packet of edelweiss seeds :-) Not sure how successfully they will grow here in Nijmegen, considering they require an altitude of at least 2,000m to flourish !!

Alli xxx