European Vacation 2013 - Day 5

Having a family of three daughters and a mom who love The Sound of Music, going to Salzburg ("Salt Fortress") was at the top of our list of "places to see".  So when the very helpful hotel clerk mentioned that Tuesday would have the nicest weather all week, we knew we were headed to Salzburg that day.

Our rental van had GPS and we were told there was a parking lot outside Salzburg.  The plan was to park there then take public transportation into the city to avoid driving in the city.  We missed that parking lot.  Before we realized it, we were driving in the city.  I looked up and saw a parking garage and we decided to park there.  It was full so we had to drive around inside it for 10 minutes or so before a car left for us to park.  Little did we know that we were in the closest parking garage to where we were headed.  (Our vacation was covered in prayer and we saw answered prayers over and over and over again.)

Mirabell Congress Parking Garage - I took a photo so we could show it to people in case we were lost and couldn't find our way back.

Our first stop was Mirabellgarten (Mirabell Garden) where Maria and the children are seen dancing around singing "Do-Re-Mi" in the musical.  It looked just like it did in the musical!

Fountain in Mirabellgarten (Mirabell Garden)

We didn't have bicycles to ride through here but we ran and skipped and sang!

One of my favorite views of Mirabellgarten
(Notice the fortress on the hill in the background.  Unfortunately, we did not have time to go up to it.)

Salzach River that runs through Salzburg

Birthplace of Mozart

We toured Mozart's birthplace.  This map amazed me at how much traveling ("touring") he did during his short lifetime in the days before trains and planes.

Mozart's sons worked with the city of Salzburg to commission a statue in memory of their father.  It took us a while to find it but we finally did.

Walking the streets of Salzburg with all the shops and restaurants

We had lunch at a restaurant on one of the streets we were walking.  Then we headed back to Mirabell Plaza for an afternoon tour.  We stopped by Mozart's Residence on the way.  We just didn't have much time to spend there.

Mozart's Residence after he was seven years old until he became an adult

We took a guided tour in the afternoon to see all the sights in The Sound of Music.  The first stop was at the gazebo used in the musical.  After filming the musical, "Hollywood" gave the gazebo to the city of Salzburg. 

Our tour guide said that they used to let tourists inside the gazebo but the tourists kept getting hurt.  Can you guess why?  If you've seen the musical, you'll know.  Our girls were disappointed that they didn't get to jump from bench to bench.

The "road" Maria skipped down to the house where she would meet the Captain and his children.  Hollywood pieced together several locations to make it look like one place.  We didn't get close enough to the house to take any photos.  It is a private residence and they do not allow tourists.  Only the outside was used in the musical.  The inside was a Hollywood set.

Clicking her heels together...just like Maria did on this lane!  :)

The "water scene" had to be filmed two times.  The youngest child actor was afraid of water.  Julie Andrews assured her that she would catch her.  Well, she did the first time.  But the second time, they fell off opposite sides of the boat and Julie Andrews could not reach her.  Our tour guide said that person is still afraid of water to this day.  The child refused to film the scene again so the producers had to use parts of both scenes for the final product.

The back of the "house" used for the boat scene in The Sound of Music.  Tourists are not allowed in that building because it is a conference center.  However, we could see it from the other side of the lake.  Our oldest thought it would be fun to fall in like the children.  (Thankfully, she stayed dry.)

We drove about 40 minutes outside the city to see other sights.  The fall colors were amazing!

Hollywood used parts of different geographical locations in filming the opening scene.  If you go to Austria, you will not find the land and lakes just as in the musical.  They even used parts of Germany.  They also removed the fortress from the mountain so you just see the abbey.

The lake used for the opening scene of the musical. (Dad's getting excited that the tour is getting closer to ending.)

The church where the Captain and Maria got married in the musical.  This was not where they married in real life.

The trees where the children were climbing when the Captain, the Baroness and Uncle Max passed by in the car.  The trees were so tall that the children had to be lifted up in the trees to film the scene.

Our tour bus

While riding around Salzburg and the countryside, our tour guide played all the songs from the musical for a sing-a-long.  Dad even joined in a couple of times to our girls' delight.  B on the other hand endured the tour but was happy when it ended.  Did you know that "Edelweiss" is not an Austrian folk song?  If you go to Austria, most Austrians do not know it.  Actually, most have not even seen The Sound of Music.  Our tour guide said the first time she saw it was when she was asked to lead the tours with her company.

An evening in Salzburg walking across the river

The bridge Maria and the children biked across in the musical

Salzburg was beautiful at sunset. 

Oh, Salzburg, we would love to visit you again!!

We had no trouble finding our van and driving back to Schliersee.  What a fun day we had seeing so many places we recognized and discovering many new ones!

European Vacation 2013 - Day 4

I started my day a little earlier than everyone else by going to the grocery store.  It was quite an experience trying to find things we'd like all the while trying to figure out the cost Euros to US dollars.  I was rather proud of myself by the time I got back.

Upon my return, everyone was getting up so we started our morning with breakfast and B opening his birthday gifts.

This was his 11th birthday so we let him choose where we were going for the day.  He wanted to go see Kehlsteinhaus (called the "Eagle's Nest" in English speaking countries), the gift given to Hitler for his 50th birthday.  So off we headed to Obersalzberg to find it.  It was a beautiful drive.  We ooo-ed and aaaahhhh-ed every 30 seconds - or so it seemed.

The fall colors were amazing!  Our photos do not show the deep colors we saw.

When we arrived at the Eagle's Nest, we quickly found our way to the ticket window to board a bus up the mountain.  Cars are not allowed to drive past the parking lot.  So everyone going up has to ride a bus.  The road is right   on   the   e d g e   of the mountain.  (The house was not destroyed during WWII and is a popular tourist attraction now.)

Soon we were walking through the tunnel into the side of the mountain, riding up on the elevator, and walking outside the chalet.  The view was amazing!  We explored for a couple of hours, had a snack at the cafe then headed back down.

Mom and the birthday boy

The actual building is on the edge of the mountain.  The view is spectacular in every direction!

Dad and the birthday boy

We found plenty of rocks to climb.

We had a tray of meats and cheeses for a snack.  The kids plunged into it before I could snap a photo of it.  It didn't last long.

I finally got a photo of the tunnel without extra people in it as we were leaving.  Notice the TWO sets of iron doors.

We had things for sandwiches in the van so we ate lunch in the parking lot then headed to another adventure.

A few miles away we found the Salt Mine in Berchtesgaden.  They did not allow photos to be taken inside the mine but it was a very fun afternoon adventure.  We would recommend this to folks of all ages.  We were the only Americans on the tour and had the only children.  When three of us went down the slide yelling "whoo-hoo!", it made the others laugh.

Everyone had to wear these special suits to enter the salt mine.  It was a bit chilly so we were happy to have them.

After our Salt Mine tour, we headed back toward Schliersee.  We found a pizzeria in Schliersee for dinner.  Back at the condo, we enjoyed some cookies to finish off the birthday celebration.  It was a fun birthday for our boy!!

Every village had a church.

We found the ice cream shop often.

European Vacation 2013 - Day 3

We didn't set any alarm clocks before falling asleep Saturday night so it was a bit of a surprise to wake up Sunday morning and realize that it was noon.  What!?  We were sleeping away our vacation so we got up and out fairly quickly.  The day was half gone so we decided to explore the village where we were staying, Schliersee.  We found a cafe for brunch.  Dad did a good job of helping us translate the menu and then we all shared a little of all the dishes we ordered.

Cafe Mesners = delicious

Interesting how the "orange" drink in Europe are not bright orange like here in the US.  Our kids sure enjoyed drinking them though!

After brunch we walked down to the lake.  The village of Schliersee is built around the lake so there were lots of people out enjoying the beautiful weather.

Dad spotted a gondola going up the side of a nearby mountain so after enjoying the sights of the lake, we took off in search of the gondola.  From my research I knew there were things to do at the top of the mountain.  Parking in Europe is not always an easy task but we finally found a spot to park the van and walked to the gondola.  Soon we were on top of the mountain looking down on the village and lake and it was breathtaking!  So beautiful!

Each of us rode on the "roller coaster" then we rode down the mountain on the alpine slide.  That was so much fun!!

We drove back into town to find an ice cream shop.  After all the fun we'd experienced our first day, we were ready for bed.  And the next day we had big plans to celebrate a big day...

The church in Schliersee

European Vacation 2013 - Days 1-2

We have talked about going to Europe for a very long time.  Every time we thought it was going to happen, something else happened to keep Europe from happening.  So when a friend offered us her timeshare and we knew I had enough "perks" from work to get us there, we seized the opportunity.  It was a quickly planned trip but that made it all the more exciting.

We typically like to surprise our kids with trips but we knew this one would take more planning so we told them from the beginning.  We got passports for those who didn't have one, made packing lists, researched things to do at our destinations, and bought things we would need for the trip.  

Finally, the day came for us to leave.  Finally!  Our flight left Knoxville right at noon so it was an easy morning of final packing then we headed to the airport.  Our check in and flight to Chicago was smooth and easy.  We had time to eat an early dinner in Chicago then boarded our flight to Vienna, Austria.  We flew Austrian Airlines (a first for all of us) and in hindsight, it was our favorite flight as far as service.  We tried to sleep on the 9 hour flight but none of us were very successful - except C who used Mom's lap for a pillow and slept about 4 hours.  

The plane landed and we were in Austria!!!!  On Dad's birthday!!  Oh my - we were ready to see some sights.  We stored our carry on bags at the airport then headed out to see the city.  We only had about 4 hours since our layover was just over 6 hours.  A quick (18 min or so) train ride and we were in the city center.  The first place we saw to eat was McD's.  We were all so hungry that we ate there since we were short on time for sightseeing.  (For the record:  I don't like it anymore there than I do here.  But it filled us up for the moment.)

We started walking and it all seems like a blur since we were tired.  We found a cathedral and the bells started ringing.  And they rang and rang and rang and rang.  And rang some more.

Then we found a palace and couldn't decide what to see and/or do.  Did I mention that we were all tired?  So Dad in all his wisdom said, "Let's take a ride in one of those horse drawn carriages."  So we did.  And E slept during the entire 40 min ride.  But it was a great way to see the main sites of the city.  

Outside the

Vienna Opera House

After another stop at McD's - we didn't have the energy to find anywhere else to eat since we had to make it to our train - and we were on our way back to the airport.

We claimed our carry on bags, went through security and went to our gate to catch our third and final flight to Munich.  It was a short flight and soon we found ourselves in Germany.  We went through Immigration and Customs then headed to get our van.  Soon we were following the GPS to our home for the next week in Schliersee.  It was dark by this time so we couldn't see anything.  But just being in Germany was exciting for all of us!  A quick stop at a Burger King - remember it was dark so we took what we could find - and soon we were at our destination.  The Alpen Club was a welcomed sight.  

We checked in, found our condo, unloaded the van and fell into bed.  14 hours later we would see Germany in the daylight.

In the Kitchen

Dad and B got the girls a cookbook for Christmas.  By evening H had a menu planned and a grocery list ready.  So this morning - the morning after Christmas - I journeyed off to the grocery store to buy the necessary ingredients.  When I got back H got to work preparing things for dinner.  She spent a good bit of time in the kitchen but she had a great time.

Rolls ready for the oven.

On the menu...

Pan Fried Pork Chops

Twice Baked Potatoes

Rustic Rolls

I spent a good bit of time washing dishes to keep her going.  Dad got home from work just in time to help fry the pork chops.  But for the most part, she did everything by herself.  It was a yummy dinner!  And there were leftovers.

Yea for cookbook Christmas gifts!  Yea for our girl learning how to cook and serve her family!!

Christmas 2012

We stayed home this year for Christmas.  And it was very nice.

Christmas Eve just before I went to bed.  Some of the lights quit working but I was too tired to care.

Thankfully, our kids are "good sleepers".  No "up too early" kids around here.  Once we were all awake, we made breakfast.  Then it was time for opening gifts.  We do one at a time so everyone is shown respect as the giver or recipient.  An hour later this was the sight.

I got a new camera.  But I haven't loaded the software on my computer to upload the photos.  And I can't find my "thing" that will upload from the card.  So these two from my phone will have to do for now.

The rest of the day the girls baked (thanks to Dad and B for the cookbook) and we were just lazy.  It was a quiet day that we all enjoyed.

But most importantly, we celebrated the Christmas story...

Happy birthday, Jesus!!