Above the City

Just another day.. in a Nazi bunker

Today we ate breakfast in the Von Trapp family’s old dining room. You know, the usual. After enjoying that, a few of us went outside to explore the old WWII bunkers on the property.  They were falling apart and not in the best shape, and going down under the ground was definitely creepy. It was really dark and the tunnels went a lot farther underground than I would have thought. It’s just weird to think we’re one of a very few people who have ever entered Himmler’s old bunker system. Later when we went inside, Rachel and I overhead an Austrian government official meeting with the hotel owner about what they should do in regards to the bunker. Our Australian friend told us we were witnessing “history in the making”, because the decision the government makes about the bunkers will determine if future generations can see them or know about them. The government is really wanting them to be destroyed since this Nazi-era evidence is a scar on their face.

It started raining again, but the three of us ladies took a cab to our next hotel, called the Schloss Leopoldskron. It used to be a palace, but was recently converted into a hotel. It is locally famous because the back of the property is where The Sound of Music backyard scenes were filmed. It was really cool getting to see the scene you’ve seen so many times throughout your life just sitting before you in person. Once we got settled into our room (which was absolutely freezing!), we walked around and took photos on the grounds. My Mom was just dying of happiness, you should have seen it.

I can picture the kids falling off the boat now...

View from the Fortress - One of many

We then headed back to the Mozartplatz, where we took a funicular to the large castle-like fortress that overlooks the entire city known as the Festünghohen Salzberger.  It was built in the 15^th century, and the entire city has revolved around the fortress and its safekeeping of the local “white gold” or salt (Salz in Austria)! Once we reached the top, we ate lunch at a restaurant with a spectacular view of the whole city. We then went inside of the castle and took the audio tour. It was actually pretty interesting, especially the dungeons. The tallest tower had some amazing aerial views of the city as well.  After taking photos to our heart’s content, we walked around some more aand then were terrified by this random puppet/marionette museum they had. I hated puppets to begin with and this museum re-affirmed that.  Once that was behind us, we took the funicular back downhill.

The legendary abbey gate from the movie

Since my Mom is unnaturally obsessed with the Sound of Music, she decided that we had to go find the abbey where the convent scenes in the movie take place, and where Maria was a novice in real life.  We walked up a few hilly steps, and reached the Nonnberg Abbey. We wandered around until we found the gate where in the movie the Nazis try to break in to find the runaway family, etc. We checked that off the list, and then of course we had to go inside the abbey’s church. We were the only people in the whole place, and while we were looking around we were serenaded with some beautiful operatic singing of religious hymns. I thought it was a recording they had on the whole day, but then we heard it stop and people walk away. I was shocked. Apparently the nuns sing each day at 5pm, and we coincidentally walked in to listen to our own private showing. Cue the song “Climb Every Mountain”… Oh, and also if you were curious, this is where the REAL Captain and Maria Von Trapp got married in real life back in the 30’s.

Next up: A quest for food. Since the dollar is terrible in comparison to the euro, we tried to find a cheap eat for dinner. We ended up finding a street market and bought a baguette, a slab of cheese, and some fruit. After some struggles to find a cab and watching Maryann sprint through a plaza, we were back at the hotel. We ate in the room and then Mare and I embarked on another quest to find an ATM. We walked down this road for about 20 minutes until we finally found one. It was annoying, but it ended the day with a great view of the fortress we were at all day:

Salzburg, Austria!

This morning, we headed off to Munich's train station (Hauptbahnhof!) We expected it to be confusing after our experience yesterday, but it was surprisingly easy. We got on our seats and slept for the 2 hours we were on the train to Salzburg. When we arrived, we hailed a cab and went straight to our hotel... the Villa Trapp. Now, if you aren't a Sound of Music fan, or more importantly if you have never seen the movie, stop reading this now. Go slap yourself in the face, become a real person, and watch it!! Seriously though, it's a quality classic movie and everyone who can appreciate a good story (based on a true one) will love it.

The Villa Trapp - No tourists (only guests) allowed! :)

Growing up watching the film, Rachel and I have always loved the story and the scenic area where it takes place. A big part of going to Salzburg is seeing the sights and places used in the film. It draws millions of tourists to Austria each year, so of course when you're there you have to take a Sound of Music tour! Since my Mom is obsessed with the film (more than your average person), she read up about the true history behind the story, and all about the real Von Trapp family. With this knowledge in hand, we booked our hotel very strategically. The building we stayed at is the actual house where the family lived during the pre World War II period. In real life, they escaped the Nazi regime by sneaking out their back door and walking to the train station near their house, fleeing into Italy. In the film, they hike up into the Alps off to Switzerland. Either way, it's a cool story-- what was even cooler was that we got to see the real stuff it's all about.

The Mozartplatz in old town Salzburg

After Maryann went on a photo spree of the house, we headed into the heart of the city. The main plaza, known as the Mozartplatz, is where we started it all. There was a lot of upscale shopping, and of course without our tight designer jeans and stilettos we felt very "American" walking around this classy city. As we explored, we saw the house where the famous Wolfgang Mozart was born, and we went to an old cemetery. Everyone we met was very friendly, and I loved how old and colorful all of the buildings are. I think this city is quintessential "European". After we spent one too many Euros, we headed back to Villa Trapp.

The staircase that the children ran down to meet their new governess Maria!

We figured we would explore the grounds and then go to bed early as the hotel is a bit outside of the city, but Rachel and I ended up chatting with two of the hotel's 7 total guests. They were from Kansas, and while we were talking in the parlor of the building, we were joined in conversation by another couple. They were from Australia but were living in Cambodia, working for a NGO to help young women who have been abused. Since I was in Cambodia in January, I was loving getting to talk to them about their work and experiences in Phnom Penh. We all ended up getting into a very lengthy and deep conversation about foreign governments, religion, and then the inevitable Nazi/WW2 topic. We all stayed up until about 1am, which is saying something because after walking around all day us three girls were exhausted! 

The seven Von Trapp children who lived in the house

One really interesting thing we learned from our new friend Geoff (a historian), is this: Apparently, after the Von Trapp Family fled from their home so that their father/The Captain would not be forced into the Nazi army, the home was taken over by the regime. One of Hitler's right-hand men named Heinrich Himmler used the house as his office, and it was there in his second floor room that he drew up and engineered the initial plans for the Holocaust. Finding this out gave us all goosebumps. I actually felt very uncomfortable when I realized we'd be sleeping in the house where so much evil had began. We then learned that after the war ended, the house was given to a convent, and the nuns set up a chapel in Himmler's office and performed rituals in it, etc. to make sure "all the evil was out". That was a big relief. It was still chilling to think about though, and it's not a fact that the hotel owners ever advertise or mention. The other thing they don't mention to guests is that on the grounds outside, an entry that looks to be a dirt-floor cellar is actually a bomb shelter. Himmler had a bunker constructed on the property in case of air raids, and it is still on site. The Austrian government is understandably not a big fan or restoring or promoting anything from the Nazi era, so the property owners were actually told not to restore it or make it common knowledge that the bunker is there. This of course was really interesting and cool for us to know, and we decided tomorrow we will go explore the bunker on our own...

München, Deutschland

To start off my European adventure, I began everything in Munich (München), Germany...also known as Deutschland, the Motherland, etc. My Mom, sister and I got here on a rainy evening, and after recovering from our jet lag we've had a pretty great time!

Our first full day, we headed to the main square in town known as the Marienplatz. We walked around, shopped, and noticed that a huge gay pride parade was going on. That made for some interesting photos. Rachel tried on a traditional dirndl dress, and we had fun exploring the "heart of Bavaria" and the main sights and churches of the city. For dinner (and beer) we went to the Hofbraühaus, and yes it was way better than the one in Newport, KY! It's a lot bigger than the one I'm used to, but people still run around in liederhosen selling pretzels and there are live bands blaring polka music. We also ate some schnitzel and strudel, and Rachel was happy to enjoy the legal drinking age of 16.

Hofbraühaus Munich!

Our second day here, we decided to book a guided tour and head 2 hours outside of Munich to the land of a fairy-tale castle known as Neuschwanstein. Much to our dismay, our tour was unexpectedly canceled because someone had "thrown themselves" on the train tracks that morning and they had to "clean up". After some frustrating conversations, buying tickets on our own, and sprinting to our platform, we made it on the train to the town of Füssen. Two hours later, we emerged from the station ready to see the amazing castle. I was so pumped about seeing this so I was thrilled when we finally arrived. The castle was built in the mid 19th century for the "insane" King Ludwig. It's undergoing some renovations right now but the views were still spectacular! It was so gorgeous it almost didn't seem real. It was definitely worth all of the frustration and confusion us ladies had in the train station that morning.

After taking in the sights from the Marienbrücke bridge and walking around the grounds and nearby town, we headed back onto the dreaded train, and back into the city. For dinner we went to the Lowenbraü Beer Garden (Bier Garten in German, ha!) and had another German meal. I'm not the biggest fan of their food, I will admit. We practiced our two words of German (guttentag and danke), and are off to bed soon. Headed off to Austria in the morning!

And so it begins

After hours upon hours of planning, and days of anxiety, and finalizing plans and then having to re-do everything, I am finally READY and off to Europe for the next few months! Problems with flights, visas, the language program, roomie schedules; all of this went down since I quit my job on June 8th. The plan I originally had has been revamped, revised and essentially redone 100%. Despite this though, I believe everything happens for a reason, and I am relieved to say I am finally READY! Flight leaves from Cincinnati to Munich, Germany this Thursday. Can't wait! :)

Fitting all my clothes/accessories into 2 bags for several months!

Now the hardest part is packing! As a girl who loves her accessories, it's not easy putting all the clothes and shoes you'll want for the next several months into just one backpack.