The hills weren't as "alive" as I'd hoped...

We arrived in Salzberg after driving for an hour and a half in some serious snow. As we approached the countryside surrounding Salzberg, the snow faded and the sun came out. Spring looked like it was approaching the city...until we parked. Then the snow we had left behind caught up with us! It was snowing so bad, it was vertically hitting us in the face under our umbrellas.

We decided instead of sitting in a packed, hot and sweaty tour bus that seated 10 (and not to mention the sickness that would have ensued after going through the "hills") we decided to do the tour on our own. I'm glad we did...we were able to see the sights I wanted to see, and at our own pace (meaning we would stop in warm shops to heat up).

This first picture is in the Mirabell Gardens, where the Pegasus statue sits. Maria and the Von Trapp children sang "Do-Re-Mi" around the statue and the gardens. You can see in the picture how snowy it was!

The second stop on our tour was the house the Von Trapp family lived in in the movie. We weren't able to get to it, so all of the pictures are from far away. The front side of the castle was used as the Trapp family home, the children were boating on the Leopoldskron Lake and fell into the water. Too bad it was frozen, or I might have tried a re-enactment :)

This picture is of the Nonnberg Abbey. It's the oldest convent in the German speaking part of Europe. Maria was a novice there. The baron and Maria were married here in 1927. The scenes for the movie made here include the opening with the nuns going to Mass and Maria coming too late. I'm behind the gates that they shoot the movie through, where you see Maria running to catch up.

The rest of the pictures are from the other famous sites in Salzberg. The Salzberg Castle, the Dom (Cathedral) and the shopping streets. While at the Castle the weather cleared up, and we were able to get a view of the city from the top. It was fantastic. We ended the night at the Augustiner Brauhaus, supposedly the best beer garden in Austria...we thought Munich was better :)