Salzburg Austria - The Sound of Music & Krampuslauf
One of the places we really wanted to visit was Eagle's Nest, a home in a mountain that Hitler used during the war to hide away. Unfortunately, trips to Eagle's Nest are closed from November to May so we had a free day to figure out something to do.
A bunch of people back home and in Salzburg recommended the Sound of Music tour...I didn't think Bryan would be into it but he agreed. So, we quickly booked a tour and joined the group.
I wished I'd watched the movie recently. I remembered a lot of the songs and the scenes but when they took us around to specific sites, it was hard to recall the look and feel of the movie particulars. Our guide was phenomenal, so enthusiastic about the Sound of Music and knew so many cool facts. She'd met Carmine Carr (who played Liesl) a few times too.
The tour took us through the Old Town of Salzburg and pointed out the abbey in which the film had used - Noonburg Convent. We saw the two hotels where the cast had stayed and heard how the girl who played Gretl had a few temper tantrums, so to appease her, her mother gave her everything she wanted - junk food galore! Well, she got bigger by the end of the 11 weeks and Christopher Plummer refused to carry her during the mountain scenes at the end...so they had to find a new Gretl for that! Which is why you don't see her face in those scenes. I never noticed that!
The Von Trapp family home was two different castles. The backyard and lake was Schloss Leopoldskron and the house itself was Schonbrunn Palace. We stopped to see the gazebo, which has been moved and closed up from its original spot due to too much tourist activity. It's much smaller than it looks in the movie!
The bus tour took us out through the Austrian countryside, along some beautiful windy roads, opening up to overlook a gorgeous mountain lake and town. We went to Mondsee, a town about 30 minutes away from Salzburg to see the church where Maria and the Captain were married. While there, we enjoyed some amazing apple strudel (mine was covered in warm vanilla cream). I'd totally recommend this tour to anyone in Salzburg! Just watch the movie first!
After we got back, we wandered briefly through Mirabelle gardens, where some of the Do-Re-Me song parts were filmed. The gardens were closed up and not green due to the time of year but you got the idea. I now want to watch the movie again!
Sooo, I have wanted to see a Krampusnacht parade for years, ever since I first read about this insane event! The sole purpose of going to Salzburg was to watch the Krampuslauf that happened on Krampusnacht (December 5). In Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and many other European countries, this is a big night, when Krampus or some equivalent comes out to beat the children who were bad all year. Then on December 6, it's St Nicolas night, when children are given gifts.
Anyway, after a trek up and down some back roads to a bar my cousin Chris told us to go to (it wasn't open, we met up with another group looking for the same bar and we were all disappointed), we ended up back in the shopping district for the Krampuslauf.
I'll be honest, it was freezing and they didn't start on time. I was getting really, really disappointed that something was going to go wrong. But...there were other people standing around waiting for something to happen just like us so I figured, let's wait this out.
Finally, 45 minutes later than it was supposed to start, a ruckas began at the end of the street. All the bells and shouts started and the crowd started to part. We could see horns coming down the street interspersed throughout the crowd.
When it got close, these Krampus figures began to walk by, with bells and metal noisemakers on their costumes. They were great to stop for pictures, they ran through the crowd to terrify the children, and they just kept coming! I videoed for 15 minutes, thinking that would be about it, but nope, that parade last almost 45 minutes! It was amazing, so cool to see the costumes and see the actual fear in some people. They Krampuses had switches and would come up and beat people's legs!
The girl beside me was a target the entire parade...I think she got beat about 25 times! I took one good one and it sure did sting...but it was fun. SO happy I got to experience that!!
After the Krampuslauf, we found a little Irish pub and enjoyed a few drinks and played our own version of music trivia.
A bunch of people back home and in Salzburg recommended the Sound of Music tour...I didn't think Bryan would be into it but he agreed. So, we quickly booked a tour and joined the group.
I wished I'd watched the movie recently. I remembered a lot of the songs and the scenes but when they took us around to specific sites, it was hard to recall the look and feel of the movie particulars. Our guide was phenomenal, so enthusiastic about the Sound of Music and knew so many cool facts. She'd met Carmine Carr (who played Liesl) a few times too.
The tour took us through the Old Town of Salzburg and pointed out the abbey in which the film had used - Noonburg Convent. We saw the two hotels where the cast had stayed and heard how the girl who played Gretl had a few temper tantrums, so to appease her, her mother gave her everything she wanted - junk food galore! Well, she got bigger by the end of the 11 weeks and Christopher Plummer refused to carry her during the mountain scenes at the end...so they had to find a new Gretl for that! Which is why you don't see her face in those scenes. I never noticed that!
The Von Trapp family home was two different castles. The backyard and lake was Schloss Leopoldskron and the house itself was Schonbrunn Palace. We stopped to see the gazebo, which has been moved and closed up from its original spot due to too much tourist activity. It's much smaller than it looks in the movie!
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| Schloss Leopoldskron |
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| The Gazebo |
After we got back, we wandered briefly through Mirabelle gardens, where some of the Do-Re-Me song parts were filmed. The gardens were closed up and not green due to the time of year but you got the idea. I now want to watch the movie again!
Sooo, I have wanted to see a Krampusnacht parade for years, ever since I first read about this insane event! The sole purpose of going to Salzburg was to watch the Krampuslauf that happened on Krampusnacht (December 5). In Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and many other European countries, this is a big night, when Krampus or some equivalent comes out to beat the children who were bad all year. Then on December 6, it's St Nicolas night, when children are given gifts.
Anyway, after a trek up and down some back roads to a bar my cousin Chris told us to go to (it wasn't open, we met up with another group looking for the same bar and we were all disappointed), we ended up back in the shopping district for the Krampuslauf.
I'll be honest, it was freezing and they didn't start on time. I was getting really, really disappointed that something was going to go wrong. But...there were other people standing around waiting for something to happen just like us so I figured, let's wait this out.
Finally, 45 minutes later than it was supposed to start, a ruckas began at the end of the street. All the bells and shouts started and the crowd started to part. We could see horns coming down the street interspersed throughout the crowd.
When it got close, these Krampus figures began to walk by, with bells and metal noisemakers on their costumes. They were great to stop for pictures, they ran through the crowd to terrify the children, and they just kept coming! I videoed for 15 minutes, thinking that would be about it, but nope, that parade last almost 45 minutes! It was amazing, so cool to see the costumes and see the actual fear in some people. They Krampuses had switches and would come up and beat people's legs!
The girl beside me was a target the entire parade...I think she got beat about 25 times! I took one good one and it sure did sting...but it was fun. SO happy I got to experience that!!
After the Krampuslauf, we found a little Irish pub and enjoyed a few drinks and played our own version of music trivia.
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