The Sound of Music (Melk to Linz to Passau via Salzburg)

 Another night cruising down a very shallow Danube found us in Linz in the early morning.

Early morning on the Danube

This is exciting, if for no other reason than today we are heading for Salzburg, The Sound of Music territory. Yes, dear reader, I have hyperlinked the songs for your enjoyment. The title was a bit of a give-away wasn't it, my dear reader? That classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical from 1965. It's true, I was only a youngster, but I do remember travelling into Sydney by steam train to see the movie. It was one of My Favourite Things. Yes, steam train, like the one we rode on in Hungary. The electrified system didn't reach our far flung suburb until 1968.

This was always going to be a big day, firstly because we had to be on the coach by 8 am to drive to the small town of Mondsee and then onto Salzburg for the walking tour of the iconic city that provided much of the backdrop to the venerated movie classic.

We were greeted at the coach by our guide, Elisabeth, attired in Austrian traditional dress, but fessing up that she was actually a South African who moved here in the 1990's to pursue an operatic career, married and stayed on.

Thankfully we didn't have to Climb Every Mountain

Very early on in the guide script, Elisabeth declared her devotion to The Sound of Music, and from then on, the day was punctuated by performed excerpts of various songs of the sound track. Thankfully, Elisabeth's range and pitch mirrored Julie Andrews.  Imagine if she'd sounded like The Lonely Goatherd  - the day could have irrevocably scarred us!

The building where it happened.

First port of call was the quaint town of Mondsee where we walked to the Basilica of St Michael, the scene of the wedding of Maria to Captain Von Trapp. As is generally our experience in Europe, we arrived on a public holiday - the Feast of the Assumption and so we were on  a mission to be in and out of the Basilica before the 10am Mass. The upside of this constraint was that we were spectators of the community as they arrived at the church in traditional dress to observe the religious day of obligation. We learnt about the culture of passing the unwashed lederhosen (yes, unwashed) down from father to son and the position of the bow on the apron, denoting the marital status of the women. The complete lederhosen outfit, including jacket, vest and belt cost in the vicinity of €2000. I guess you'd save money on dry cleaning.

The room where it happened.

We also heard the choir and ensemble, practising prior to the commencement of Mass, as the community gathered. Outside the church, Elisabeth regaled us with a portion of Maria? before we moved off to the lakeside which was the scene of the children and Maria riding bikes around in their repurposed curtain play clothes. 

In real life, this is a natural freshwater lake that provides all kinds of water sport options, against a picturesque mountain backdrop.

Not all watersports are easy.

From here, we travelled to Salzburg to start a walking tour of the sights, woven around, but not exclusive to, the production of the movie. We first went to the Mirabell Palace and gardens which were the locations of the shooting of the Do Re Me scenes. 

The Do Re Me steps - well, part of them

The Do Re Me fountain

The dwarf hugged by the children

Another Do Re Me scene

From there, we headed across the river to the Castle Church and shopping districts, which were crowded because of the public holiday. At various pertinent points, Elisabeth burst into song which attracted other people to pause and wonder at this wandering recital. The impromptu songs made it seem like a real life musical. We were very fortunate to have such a theatrical tour guide, even though I Have Confidence, I would not be singing in public like Elisabeth did.

As has been the case right throughout Austria, there were horse drawn carriages you could hire to provide a tour of the city with commentary. Some of the drivers thought their horse was an Audi and controlled them in a similar manner, cutting corners and yelling at people on the footpath.

A friendly driver.

The city has many claims to fame besides The Sound of Music, not the least of which is the birthplace of Mozart. His presence is very obvious in the city and the Mozartplatz was in fact our focal meeting point after the official walking tour finished and we were left to navigate the holiday crush for a couple of hours. It was here that we were set adrift to Edelweiss to wander the old town and were warned to be back at 3 o'clock and 3 seconds.

Our meeting place

The first priority was to find a shady spot to sit and eat our boxed lunch, so we left the main area to sit and survey the river in relative peace. That lasted about 2 minutes as, immediately in front of us on the cycle path, a cyclist stopped for a kodak moment of the castle and another cyclist ran into the back of him. 

A view to die for.

A loud and robust discussion ensued around cycle path etiquette, in which the two were joined by a third cyclist who then tried to enlist our support. We pleaded the language barrier and 2 of the 3 cycled off. The culprit took his photo, shrugged his shoulders at us and cycled off to pass the other 2 who had paused to assess the damage to the bike. The argument reignited up the path but thankfully, we were no longer in proximity so we ate our lunch and resumed our discovery of old Salzburg.

Ladies in traditional dress. Check out those hats.

After a successful shopping expedition, (and that was Something Good), we circled the precinct, looking for somewhere to drink the obligatory people-watching beer. After a number of failed attempts, we scored a table in the Mozartplatz, rescued 2 fellow cruisers by inviting them to share our hard won table, drank a beer and made it back to the rendez vous with a few seconds to spare.

Jayne's only disappointment on the day was not seeing the rotunda where Liesl and Rolfe sang I am Sixteen Going on Seventeen. Maybe next time.

We boarded our coach, ready, after a big day, to snooze on the relaxing drive back to meet the ship which by now would be at Passau, across the Austrian-German border. Alas, our driver was on a timeline and the trip back became an exercise in how to keep your passengers alert. Whiplash was a possibility. A number of us remarked on his driving ability, particularly his skill in overtaking numerous vehicles, at one time, coming into a blind corner. He was very skilled in this area and practiced his expertise all the way to Passau.

Despite his attempts, we made it to the port safely where Elisabeth farewelled us with that Austrian traditional song, So Long, Farewell.

From there it was back to the mundane. Drinks, dinner, drinks.

So long, farewell, until tomorrow.

Vienna (Day 2)

No dear reader, I haven't abandoned song titles as the heading for each post, it's just that we're still in Vienna and Ultra Vox recorded a song of that title in 1980. It has a truly haunting, melancholic sound to it. In case you have forgotten, here it is.

This morning, we wound our way through the Saturday morning traffic to the Ringstrasse and then out of town to Schönbrunn Palace. It was much more quiet than our Friday afternoon journey; this part of Europe seems to prefer the night life and then a slow start to the day. The Palace is not far out of Vienna and, in keeping with many of the landmark buildings we have seen so far, it was clearly in competition with Versailles. Hmmm. Competition? Maybe not. The Aldi version? Getting close. The Best and Less version, that's it. 

Apparently the money evaporated before the building was completed and then many items of value were stripped from the Palace during the Second World War. Although since then restoration and replacement has returned parts of the Palace to its former glory. Apparently, despite knowing the whereabouts of many "misappropriated items" (that is, stolen during the war and secreted into private collections), they cannot be retrieved until the current possessor dies. Schönbrunn still doesn't hold a candle (real or electric) to Versailles. Sorry but we can't actually prove Versailles' superiority because Schönbrunn will not let you take photos in any of the palace galleries so you will have to take our word for it. When our guide was asked about the 'no photography' rule, he suggested it was so we buy the postcard photos in the gift shop. Points for honesty.

Looking from the back of the palace.

Not all of the rooms are open to the public and you can actually rent rooms in the top floor. Everything from 1 bedroom to a 5 bedroom family residence. While prices were quite reasonable, it is out of town and you would be constantly surrounded by tourists. Doesn't that sound like fun?

Arty shot from near the fountain looking at the back of the palace.

The gardens are quite expansive with many avenues, punctuated by statues and fountains. Like much of the Palace, the grounds need a little more love and attention. We had less than three hours here and our tour of the Palace itself was at a fast pace. Had we been on our own and plugged in to the audio guide in the Palace and then walked the gardens, we would have spent an entire day there.

One of the many fountains.

We were back on board mid-afternoon for lunch with enough time for some blogging and a quick shower before the concert at the Liechtenstein Family Palace in the evening.

This recital is a signature APT experience which apparently is not available to other ship lines. The celebration of music and Austrian composers, musicians and singers is part of the lifeblood and fabric of Vienna. We have not had time to go into the Opera House but we have driven past it on a number of occasions and have heard many stories about this being part of the Viennese lifestyle. The New Year's concert each year is only able to be subscribed through a lottery because demand outweighs seating - 160,000 applications for 1400 seats!

Tonight was dress up night to attend the exclusive recital at the palace and the timing required us to bolt down the first part of dinner beforehand and then to consume the dessert upon our return to the ship post-recital. It was a bit of a shock to the system to have to put on proper clothes but we poured ourselves into our finery and headed off to the event.

The Palace recital hall is at the top of an ornately classically decorated and carpeted staircase. It was impressive but nothing prepared us for the opulence of the reception room where we were invited to have pre-recital drinks. The decoration, chandeliers, gold and mirrors have to be seen. Keep in mind, this is a private residence. 

An accidental shot of the boys' choir in the hallway.

We gathered around high tables, drinks in hand and then hurt our necks by continuously looking above us. After the merch purchase op (cash only please), we were ushered into the recital hall, which was similarly gobsmacking in its excess and grandeur. The ensemble then entered and began the first piece in a set of polkas, waltzes and some excerpts from operas such as the Marriage of Figaro. There were 2 principal singers and the ensemble included violins, viola, cello, double base, clarinet, flute, French horn, trombone and percussion. After the soloists, a choir (from a town outside Vienna), ranging from young men to tiny boys performed a vocal piece, accompanied by the ensemble.

No words.

It was a celebration of Mozart and the Strauss family particularly and justifiably received a standing ovation at the conclusion of the programme. Beautiful harmonies and intricate melodies all for our fellow voyagers, all 70 of us. It was very intimate.

The chandelier from below.

After an hour, it was back down the stairs, onto the coach for a night time spin around Vienna and then back to the ship for apple strudel and ice cream before an early night. All in all, a very Viennese evening - fine music, opulent surrounds and gourmet food ...

And sorry Luke, although the Webster University has a campus in Vienna we were unable to get a photo.

À demain!

(that's from Jayne)