What fun we had in Salzburg….one of the most spectacular cities in the world. Born in Saltsburg, the musical genius Mozart has kept tourists flowing into this beautiful city since the day he started playing concerts at age 3!
The only thing that could rival the tourists’ love for Mozart is the their passion for the beloved classic movie that most people in the Western world has seen…..The Sound of Music, which was filmed there all those years ago!
The morning after our arrival we all reported for “The Fraline Marie Bike Tour.”
This fun and thoroughly memorable tour was guided by such a great guy who might be the world’s greatest fan of everything “Sound of Music.” We went to every possible site where the movie was made!
Our guide directed us to contain ourselves when we felt as though we must burst into song because the locals are just plain sick of it! 
We managed to contain ourselves but had a thoroughly delightful morning following the trail of Maria and the Von Trapp family!
For a fun stop by stop review of our exciting adventure that day complete with scenes from the actual movie alongside the places we visited, check out Shawni’s fun blog post HERE. I’m not sure how you did it but thanks so much for capturing that Shawni!
After the bike tour we took an elevator to the top of the mountain for a breathtaking lunch at the Modern Art Museum where we had such a fun talk about what we wanted to be doing five years from now. Fascinating!
And then it was on to the Famous Fortress which has guarded the city for centuries. We were amazed at the ingenuity of those who built that amazing fortress all those years ago.
We hurried down from the mountain for a tour of that very unique city
and then we went on to dinner and to a mostly Mozart Concert at the fabulous Marabelle Palace in central Saltzburg. We were enthralled in a gorgeous gold-leaf bedecked room that had survived a devastating fire. Best of all, it was the very room where Mozart had performed as a child with his father and his brother.
These two musicians were dazzling! The man was playing a Stradivarius violin and his accompanist also played an astonishing piano solo. We waited until they came out to shower them with accolades. It was one of my best memories!
Although we tried to take turns keeping Dean out in the hall, Julie didn’t see as much of the concert as the rest of us. Dean’s “loud talking” echoed pretty magnificently throughout the palace halls (although no one heard him inside the room).
For fun details of our exciting time in Salzburg click HERE for Shawni’s blog.
That night, still glowing with the wonders that we had been able to experience together in Salzburg we settled down to share “The Best and the Worst” of our husbands!
It was hilarious! Details not to be divulged but you’ll be glad to know that nothing was really serious on the “worst” front!
Though we were regretting being so close to the end of our trip, we were also looking forward to our last day together as we all said good night!
The next morning we had fun visiting the “trick fountains” at Hellbrunn. Shawni’s blog from above includes that fun morning!
Here is Charity listening to the fascinating tour with that adorable Dean:
Then it was off to Munich where were looking forward to seeing the famous Glockenspiel In the main city square. As we got closer, we began to see lederhosen and brindles galore and as we approached the square. Suddenly we realized that we had accidently walked right into the final celebration of Oktoberfest….without a doubt the biggest celebration of the year in Germany!
It was so fun and festive to be dropped into a scene where everyone was friendly and happy to have pictures taken with us (even the ones who weren’t already drunk)! It was a grand finale of our last night together. For an awesome review of our night at Oktoberfest, check Charity’s blog HERE and Shawni’s super additions HERE.
We huddled together at a large table in an alley, which seemed to be the only place within reasonable walking distance with unoccupied chairs, where we shared some good food along with our favorite experiences of the trip.
That night we stayed at an Holiday Inn Express near the Munich Airport, Thanks to Aja’s VIP status we enjoyed some nice perks and were all on our way home next morning on shuttles to our various flights home. It was the Sunday morning of our church’s general conference and we were listening on iPhones and computers as much as possible, however most of us had to listen online when we got home.
What a glorious adventure we had together and as much as we were sad to part ways, we were also so excited to get home to our families and to thank all those heroic dads and babysitters and friends who had taken care of kids and homes while we were gone!
Richard had left shortly after the girls had arrived and was in Southern Utah winning medals at the Senior Games which is an annual event for us!
Anita drove one of the cars back to the Zurich airport and Aja drove me to another airport to a cut-rate airline so I could fly to Ireland, spend the night and take another flight the next morning back to SLC (what we won’t do to save a little money)!
Aja insisted that she was happy to take me to that other airport, even though it was an hour and a half away, claiming that she and Jonah had friends near that airport whom they had visited last summer during their European adventures She insisted that she really needed to go anyway because Jonah had left his beloved coon skin cap!
Well, that story checked out as we visited with the most delightful family in a small village near the airport. We got had such a lovely visit, retrieved the hat AND got to meet one of their good friends who dropped by while we were there to show off his great new car.
Aja was sure that Jonah was going to be delighted to get that fun hat back! It just adds a lot to his almost bald head!
From there I flew off to Ireland and Aja drove the other rental car all the way back to Zurich, back to Tal and Anita’s house to get a stroller and roller bag to pack home her treasures on the 12 hour train ride back home via Paris. You’ll have to check with the amazing Aja to get the details on that one!
What memorable days….every one packed with learning and glory in the joy of the earth as well as sister bonding, love and laughter! And best of all…. memories galore!
To get a grand overall synopsis in one post of this epic trip check Saren’s perfect blog post HERE.
We are well and truly blessed, which we appreciate everyday and do our best to continue to be grateful for this opulent opportunity to be together for this epic once-in-a-lifetime week together.
FYI: Just in case you’re wondering where the money came from for this trip I have to say it came from my sweet, humble little mom and dad who left their little house and farm in Montpelier, Idaho to my sister and I when they passed on. My mom was especially good with saving money from her 45 years of teaching about 1000 school children in her lifetime and also teaching about 1000 student piano lessons. I put my part of that dear inheritance into a really good stock in the stock market and it’s been growing for twenty years. I’m sure that my wonderful parents are so happy as they smile down from heaven and see that they have facilitated our bonding and growing together on this MFME trip (and others in the past and those that will follow every other year) as we sisters pass through this life together. So here’s sending love and gratitude to you Mom and Dad!
1 comment:
Family is everything. Thank you for sharing. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
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