Inspiration from the Sound of Music

Today was our last day in Salzburg so I decided to go around to as many "Sound of Music" filming locations as I could! I looked at quite a few websites to find information and found this one and this one extremely helpful. I realised after looking at it that we'd already been to some of the spots, too, but I hadn't taken photos because I didn't even realise they were associated with the movie!

Pictured above are some marionettes of Maria that we saw at the marionette exhibit at the Fortress Hohensalzburg.

Visiting Nonnberg Abbey Convent was at the top of my list. We saw the gate and Church door which were featured when Maria left singing "I Have Confidence in Me."

The red dome was also shown just before Maria's wedding, but the wedding itself was actually filmed elsewhere.

The gate was also featured when the Von Trapp children went looking for Maria, after she left from the ball without saying goodbye.

Right outside the convent

View of Dom zu Salzburg, walking down from the fortress

These green domes were featured in the credits at the beginning of the film.

Cora and I took a daily 2pm tour of the Salzburg Festspiele theatres to see the beautiful stage (Felsenreitschule) that the family performed on at the end of the movie (and the kids were practicing on with Max while the parents were on their honeymoon). It now has a ceiling, whereas in the movie it was an open air theatre, but was still a treat to see as this is one of the most memorable scenes from the movie for me.

Saint Peter's Cemetery inspired the scene where the family hid from the Nazi soldiers among the arches. 

View from Fortress Hohensalzburg

Who could forget the beautiful snowy mountains the family hiked on in the last scene of the film?

I took a walk on the bridge that the kids were running over when they had their first outing with Maria, in their curtain clothes. 

The horses trough (Pferdeschwemme) was also part of the "Favourite Things" instrumental ending when the children were going out that first time.

And last but not least, quite a few spots in the gardens at the Mirabell Palace which were filmed mostly during "Do Re Mi." 

"Sound of Music" has always been one of my favourite movies. It has so many iconic songs, as well as a timeless message of love, resilience, and joy in music. It was very special to have the movie come alive by visiting some of the sites it was filmed, and awesome to share with my daughter as well. 

I hope one day she'll show her kids the movie, and tell them about the time she went with her mom to see some of these places!