The Sound of Music Tour

If you visit Salzburg, you must do one of two things before being allowed to leave the city: 1) attend a dinner where you are treated to the musical stylings of Mozart or 2) take a guided tour of the filming locations of ‘The Sound of Music’. Since I’m way more into musicals World War II history than I am classical music, I chose the latter.

Since Jonathan had to work, he was excused from either activity, but they considered not stamping his passport at border control. Just kidding; on my tour I learned that most Austrians have never even seen The Sound of Music. Can you imagine, hordes of tourists descending on your city because of this one film that you’ve never even seen? No wonder the waiters are so rude! But seriously, UK border control did ask us if we'd done The Sound of Music Tour. Seriously.

So I was a bit nervous to take my first tour by myself, but had a full day Friday with nothing planned and no idea what Salzburg had to offer. When I saw Fraulen Maria’s Bike Tour listed as the #1 Salzburg tour on Trip Advisor, I figured I’d go for it. If nothing else, it was a beautiful morning and I needed some exercise, so a bike tour sounded perfect.

I showed up first, but was quickly followed by several pairs and groups from all over the world. Our guide, Claud, set up our bikes and gave us a crash course in bike safety. They say you never forget how to ride a bike, but I know from experience that this is simply not true. As we did a practice lap, I noticed the entire group looked wobbly on their bicycles. I began to think that weaving through tiny tourist congested streets in a group of 20 was not such a great idea after all.

At first I was disappointed when Claud gave me a mint green rather than a purple bike, because mint green is only my second most favorite color on Earth. But then I spotted this little beauty on the back.

I was the only American flag in the pack, which made me easier to target for any terrorists in the crowd. Thanks, Claud. I appreciate the sentiment, but you got any Canadian flag bikes in the pile? Just kidding, I owned my stars and stripes with my head held high, and plus, one of the Irish girls was wearing an American Flag Tshirt which took some of the heat off me.

The tour began at Mirabell Gardens  where they sing the ‘Doe Ray Me” song in the musical. Then we made our way through Old Town stopping at some film locations before making our way up and out of Salzburg city.

We stopped at the convent for a quick tour and some photo ops before making our way downhill to see some of the palaces used in the filming.

I was fine being on my own during the tour, except for when it came to the obligatory Sound of Music picture posing. It was just so pathetic when Claud would ask me if I wanted a picture by myself. Twirling by yourself just looks silly.

It’s much more of a group activity.

Along the way out of town, we had breathtaking views of the Alps, and the weather was absolutely heavenly. Not a single cloud in the sky and 73 degrees. Seriously. It was just so pleasant to leisurely ride a bike through the country side with the Alps as our backdrop. The only thing stopping the moment from being in my top 5 of all time was the fact that I wasn’t sharing it with Jonathan.

Our last stop before heading back to Mirabell Gardens was, of course, the famous gazebo. Obligatory photo op. Awkward standing by myself. 

But seriously, I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone visiting Salzburg, and I recommend doing it as soon as you get into town. You’ll get a great orientation to the city, complete with interesting historical information and a brochure with lots of tips for enjoying Salzburg. The quality of our trip went up exponentially once I’d taken this tour because we weren’t just aimlessly wandering around trying to spot a group of 30 Japanese tourists in order to find out where Mozart’s house was. (P.S. There is nothing that gives me the giggles quite like a Japanese tourist dressed in lederhosen).

The complementary brochure contained a list of quirky museums, hidden beer gardens, hiking paths, and restaurants to guide us along our way. It also had a map of the bike route we took, which allowed me to take Jonathan back to some of the picturesque spots along the way. Somehow, I didn’t feel as silly posing by myself when Jonathan was the photographer.

That’s all for today. So long, farewell, Auf Weidersehen, Goodbye!

Seedy Salzburg

How can I put this politically…When you travel a lot, you have places that you fall in love with. Places that before you leave, you’re already planning your next trip back. Scotland was like this for us, as was South Africa and the Lake District. And then you have places that fall short of your expectations and you leave feeling disappointed. Ireland (other than Dublin) falls into this category, as does Salzburg.

My first impression of Salzburg was one of disappointment. When we arrived, there was a distinct fog obscuring the mountain views. We could see a faint outline of the Alps in the distance, but nothing like the majestic images I had conjured in my head.

When we left the airport, we gave our hotel address to the cab driver. Since Jonathan was in Salzburg for a work conference, his company was footing the bill for us to stay at the same hotel where the meetings were being held, whose website claimed it was right across the street from the ”city center”. The scenery in route to our temporary digs was not too impressive. Just as I was thinking, “Man, Salzburg sure does have some seedy areas”, our cab stopped and welcomed us to our hotel.

The “city center” turned out to be the name of a second rate mall, and our hotel was actually located 2 miles north and across the river from Historic Old Town Salzburg.  I could kiss those cute summer shoes I packed goodbye, because nothing but my neon blue tennis shoes were going to handle the 4 mile round trip trek to and from the action. Not to mention the 3 additional miles or so we walked once we got to the city center.

While some of the walk into town was a pleasant view of the riverside city looming ahead, the majority of it looked like this:  

Our hotel location was very disappointing simply because my favorite thing about European cities is how walkable they are. But when you have to walk to a walkable city, it gets a bit tiring overall. By the end of the second day, I had no skin left on the back of my heels. Seriously. At one point, Jonathan had to stop and buy me bandaids so that I could walk to the taxi stand. Yes, at that point we decided that the 10 Euro taxi ride into Old Town was worth the skin on my feet. The hotel was free for the first few nights, so I was able to look past the less than desirable location (one brochure actually called our neighborhood  ‘dodgy’).

We decided to shake it off and focus instead on what we expected to be great food and great Austrian beer. We headed out to dinner, yet were sorely disappointed with the tourist trap restaurants on every corner, not to mention some of the worst service we’ve ever encountered. One waiter actually rolled his eyes at me when I asked for the check. Seriously.

Why yes, that is a hot dog cut into the shape of an Octopus. An Austrian specialty.

By the end of the first day, we had enough of authentic Austrian food and spent the next 4 days hunting down Italian, American (Seriously, we ate at McDonald’s twice…it was that bad), and Indian food.

Plus, each ‘beer garden” only offered one brand of beer and they all closed at 8 pm. I thought it was really telling when the tour guide on my ‘Sound of Music Tour’ joked about pulling a prank on one of the city’s statues at ’11 pm when everybody was asleep.’ Jonathan and I have quite a reputation for having an early bedtime, but the 8 PM bar closings were a bit extreme.  

And then there is the bathroom situation in Salzburg. You cannot use a restroom for under 50 cents. Yes, they charge you for the public restrooms. And don’t think that by buying a small fry at McDonald’s you’ll be able to use the restroom for free. Nope, that’ll cost you 50 cents as well. And don’t think that just because you bought a train ticket that you can use the train station bathroom for free. Nope, that’ll cost you 50 cents as well. And don’t think that just because you sat down for coffee and ice cream at a café that you can use their bathroom. That’ll be 50 cents.

For a woman with the smallest bladder known to man, I spent quite a fortune on public restrooms this past week, until I finally went on strike and just dehydrated myself. Which is easy to do when it’s 80 degrees and sunny and you’re walking 6+ miles a day.

And did I mention that it’s rude to ask for tap water at a restaurant? Yep, it’s way more polite to pay 3.50 for a small bottle of water, and then another 50 cents to use the restroom afterwards. Not cool, Salzburg. Not cool.

I feel like I’m giving Salzburg a bad rap. It really is a lovely city, worth a day or two of your time as a side trip from Vienna or Munich. Five days is a bit excessive. I loathe being negative, but at the end of the day, Jon and I can’t possibly love every place we visit. Salzburg just happened to fall onto the short list of places we have no desire to return to.

But there were things we did enjoy. Pleasant strolls through shaded cobblestone streets. Fantastic ice cream. Beautiful architecture. Vending machines selling Gummy Bears. Clear blue skies and enough Vitamin D to give us both farmers tans. Stay tuned throughout the week, and I’ll share these positive momentos with you. Like I said with highs and lows, I like to start with the lows, to get them out of the way. Over the next few days I’ll make the argument for visiting Salzburg. Because it is something to see. Just go easy on the liquids.  

 

Bon Voyage!

Today begins a whirlwind of travel which will last for the next 2 months. Within a 7 week timespan, I will lay my head on pillows in Salzburg, Inverness, The Isle of Skye, Edinburgh, Krakow, Covington, Baton Rouge, Orange Beach, Gainesville, and Orlando. While I’m over the moon with excitement, I’m also doubled over with anxiety and apprehension.

I love travel, but I hate living out of suitcases. I hate getting out of my routines. I hate packing. I hate unpacking. I hate bringing my dogs to the kennel. I hate airports. I hate airport food. It’s just stressful.

So while acknowledging that the travel tornado will be an exciting time to see some sights and hug some friends and family, I know that something’s gotta give. That something, is my blog.

For the past 6 months I have been posting every weekday, but for the last few weeks, I’ve known that I couldn’t continue at that pace for much longer. So for the next 2 months, as I am traveling in and out of Aberdeen, I promise to post as much as I possibly can. But I don’t promise to post every day. And I don’t promise to post anything clever or poignant. I don’t promise to post anything worth your morning tea time.

I’m sure you’ll be getting a lot of posts consisting of a single picture with a grammatically incorrect caption followed radio silence for days on end. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. But please hang in there. You really do make my heart glad with your comments and viewership.

And while you’re hanging in there, could you toss a few prayers my way for good health, good weather, and good sleep? I’m going to need all three to make it through the next two months in one piece. Thanks for all of your encouragement and support. I’m going to miss you!

Now on to ABZ for a 6 AM flight to Salzburg, Austria! Don’t you just feel so sorry for me?

Home

There have been a couple of instances that have made me realize that I actually live in Scotland, instead of just being on a prolonged vacation. Going to the movies is one such occurrence.  I feel like you officially live in a city once you meet friends for a double date to see the new Batman movie, or plan a spontaneous outing with the girls to catch the new Disney flick, or have a well-attended girl’s night to see the ridiculously bad Magic Mike. There is just something about standing in the ticket line, and ordering popcorn that makes it sink in: I’m just doing something totally ordinary. I could be anywhere. But I’m not just anywhere. I am home. And home is Aberdeen. 

Another big sinking in moment was coming ‘home’ to Scotland after our first trip to Warsaw. Three times before in my life, I had sadly left Scotland to go home to the US, but this was the first time I was leaving mainland Europe to return ‘home’ to the UK. It all became very real to me during our drive to pick up the dogs from the kennel. We were home. And home was Aberdeen.

And then today, after postponing for 4 months, I had my first hair appointment. I just trimmed a bit off the bottom and shaped my fringe (bangs) around my face. And it hit me all over again: I’m just living my life, doing completely ordinary things. I could be absolutely anywhere. But I’m not just anywhere. I am home. And home is Aberdeen.

And then last night I had the biggest aha moment of all when I started having a major freak out over how long my October trip to the States was going to last. I originally planned for 3 weeks of 'home leave', but was starting to question if that was too much time. I started worrying about being away from Scotland for so long. I worried that I would feel too homesick. Which made me realize that my sense of ‘home’ has really changed a lot over the past four months.

Any other transplants ever have those surreal moments?

"Hold on to me as we go, as we roll down this unfamiliar road. And although this wave is stringing us along, just know you're not alone, 'cause I'm gonna make this place your home". Phillip Phillips, 'Home'

Braemar Gathering

Balmoral Castle

Every August, the Queen and her entourage take their holiday in the Highland hills of Scotland. The Balmoral estate was first commissioned by Queen Victoria and it has been the official Scottish home of the royal family ever since. The end of their month long holiday always coincides with the first Saturday in September, which is when the nearby Braemar Highland Gathering is held.

If you’ve seen the movie Brave or the last season of The Bachelorette, you’re aware that the highland games are a sort of Scottish Olympics, whose events include Tug of War (yes, really), Caber tossing (the big logs), long jumping, racing, Scottish dancing, and Hill running. The games occur throughout the summer all over Scotland, but they all lead up to this main event in Braemar. The Queen is always the honorary guest of these games, and this year was no different.

Our group of friends all bought tickets and we staggered out Saturday morning, making the hour drive to Braemar. Before leaving, Jonathan and I had our usual camera debate, which went something like this:

Him: Do we really want to lug this two ton camera around all day?

Me: Hello, THE QUEEN is going to be there and my readers expect documentation. And plus, you’re the one carrying it, not me, so yes, I think you should lug this 2 ton camera around all day. Please and thank you.

So, I had my fancy camera in tow, hoping to get some paparazzi quality shots of the Queen, and crossing my fingers that her handsome grandsons might be along as honorary guests.

The games lasted from about 9:30-4:30, and we rolled in around 11, our carload being the first of our group to arrive. We figured the Queen would arrive around lunchtime, so we grabbed some burgers and warm drinks (it was 45 degrees, drizzling, and windy) and watched some of the events.

When we sat down, Debbie and Luke said they wished they’d brought their fancy camera. No worries, I told them, I’ll take lots of pictures that you can share. I grabbed my ridiculously heavy camera that I insisted on (Jonathan) lugging around all day, and as soon as I turned it on, my stomach dropped. You see, I had decided to fully charge the battery before leaving, and had left it sitting in the charger in our kitchen. Drats! My i-phone camera is good, but not good enough to take snapshots from 100 yards away. Rookie blogger mistake. Here are some of the shots I got of the grounds with my phone.

Caber Toss

Dancing

Tug of War, Courtesy of Nary.

Long jump.

Racing. In a kilt.

And some video:

Discouraged by my dead camera, the dropping temperatures, frostbitten toes, and an hour long line at the coffee shop, when the Queen hadn’t arrived by 2 pm, our carload started to get antsy. You see, I don’t want to brag or anything, but this wasn’t Jonathan and I’s first rodeo highland gathering . In fact we had been at this very event 3 years earlier and we sort of already saw the Queen, so it wasn’t all that big of a deal to us Jonathan to see her again.

Queen, wearing a yellow hat, at Braemar gathering 2009.

And since I had already made him lug around a 14 ton camera all day for no reason, I didn’t have much leverage for pouting. Debbie and Luke, who we rode with, insisted that getting out of the cold windy rain was more appealing that standing and waiting around to see Her Highness, so we left right at 2:30, just 30 minutes before the Queen made her appearance.

Luckily, I had about 20 friends at the games who were way more prepared, and they got some stunning shots of the lovely monarch that they are allowing me to share with you guys. All pictures courtesy of Nary. She always takes the loveliest photos which you can see on her blog.

And, my friends who stayed behind reported that as soon as she arrived, the sun came out and the stands warmed considerably. Double drats!

The good thing is that we sort of live in Scotland, so we can catch the event next summer. Next time I’ll know to not show up until around 1 pm or so, wear toe warmers, bring my own thermos of hot cocoa, and of course, pack a camera battery. You live, you learn.