More of the Sound of Music

SALZBURG, AUSTRIA. Salzburg as is was already amazing but to see sights there with my own eyes which I had only seen in movies was even more amazing that it took the experience we had in the city to a more special place in my heart. The Sound of Music had been a part of my childhood. I was first introduced to it by my mom. I think I was only about Grade 2 or 3 when I first watched it but it did not stick with me then. I was so young to understand the plot or at the least understand the stars past their slangs. Fast forward to when I was in Grade 6, I remembered renting a VHS tape in a local VHS store near our school prior going home one day. This was during those times when CDs were yet to be born and become a norm. I did not know what had gotten into me then. I may have just been feeling inspired and musical that I spent those after-school hours watching the full movie. After which, I was not able to get the songs and the melodies off my mind for weeks.

Forward to 2014, it was only a month before we are due to go to Europe that I had known that one of the cities we will be visiting is where The Sound of Music was filmed. That is why I made sure to be extra aware should the tour director mention something related to The Sound of Music during our tour around Salzburg.

It was snowing in Salzburg when we went there. I think the only difference of Salzburg in the movie and the Salzburg when we went there was the snow around and not to mention the color of the statues and the buildings. 

Though the above statues were already darkened by time and surrounded by snow when we came, I still recognized them from the movie! My heart was jumping with joy when I saw it. I think it was nostalgia that got excited when I saw these two familiar statues. I would have never missed it for the world! I saw in my mind that scene when the Von Trapp children were singing Do Re Mi across a beautiful garden.

We also went to the Salzburg Dom minus the prancing. This is most probably the city's most significant religious architecture. Its facade is made of pure marble. Now I understand why the director made the Von Trapp children pass through here; it is the icon of Salzburg.

Going through a cemetery and walking further, we reached Horse Wells near the base of the Monchsberg Cliffs. This is also one of the many pretty sights the video camera spotted on when the Von Trapp children together with Maria were wandering around Salzburg. I fell deeply in love with the Baroque style paintings depicting various horses in different poses. It was so dainty.

I had so much fun discovering the sights that I just saw in the movie and going through the movie again after I got back from Europe to spark a sense of deja vu and compare how the attractions had changed over the years. Although this had been shot 50 years ago, it is evident that the landmarks did not change even just one bit which amused me and, at the same time, filled me with envy. It was as if Salzburg paused in time, giving fans, like me, a chance to experience the sights in their perpetual splendour.