Egads, it's been awhile since I posted, huh? Well, I have a good reason: I was checking off an item on my bucket list, that being SEEING WHERE
THE SOUND OF MUSIC WAS FILMED, bitchez.
No, seriously. Since the first time I ever really sat down and watched what is probably the most saccharine movie ever made, when I was a teen (my parents were not fans of the movie, so I managed to never really see it till high school), I was like "Dude, I have to see Austria." I was convinced there was no way it was as green as it appeared in all its technicolor glory, but you know what? It is.
But let me start at the beginning (a very good place to start), when my plane HAD A BIRD STRIKE. Oh yes, upon takeoff - like, we're just leaving the runway - I see a flock of birds burst up and I'm thinking of nothing but the Miracle on the Hudson and like "OhnoOhnoOhno". Nothing. Then a few feet higher, another flock jumps up. Nothing. Then, a few seconds later, another flies up under us... and that's when there's a big bump to the right side of the plane and I'm like "WE'RE GOING TO DIE. WHY AREN'T WE TURNING AROUND? WE'RE GOING TO DIE." Yet we just pull out over the Atlantic and I'm still thinking we're going to turn around... but we don't. A few minutes later, the captain comes on and says that despite engine issues, we're staying the course. At this point, I just force myself into denial mode - there was no way I could think of a possibly impaired engine for eight more hours. We make it to Berlin with no more incidents, but before we land, the captain mentions the bird strike and is all "Yup, no worries, right?" Former Production Gal Aimee was on my flight, but on the bird-strike side of the plane, and said feathers flew up and then the smell of burnt bird filled that side. At baggage claim, another guy was talking about the burntness. Apparently near-death experiences smell like waterfowl flambé.
ANYWAY. Our first stop was Berlin, where we met up with Rachel, and then we headed for Prague via train, complete with shared compartments. How very Hogwarts of us, right? The ride was quite pretty, with castles ad river towns and spies in the compartment next to us. No, really, some shady shizz was going on in that thing. The curtains were pulled on it, and I joked that there were, um, some shennanigans going down, but then Aimee and Rachel went to visit the snack bar, and got a look inside... and there was tons of surveilance equipment and cops waiting outside. Do I want to know what all that was about?
And then we get to Prague and our hotel is insane, a two-room suite in a converted mansion that Mozart once stayed in. Prague, overall, is quite pretty and preserved extremely well. It's clean, but there's graffiti all over the place, which... come on, kids. You really need to take your angst out on the bones of a beautiful city? Write a freaking letter. Or demonstrate peacefully. Defacing public property never solved anything. And that goes for you too, disgruntled youths of Salzburg who graffiti up the outside wall of A CONVENT. /rant.
Some photos from Prague:
This is St. Vitus Cathedral, which had the most stunning stained glass work I've ever seen. It also had this gorgeous yellow light that was pretty impossible to capture on film, but I tried.
The weather was mixed while we were there, but the clouds made for a great sunset on our last day in town.
But this is really a post about Salzburg.
Before we left, the forecast was iffy, at best. It was supposed to be cloudy and/or rain every day... but it ended up being damn near perfect. It was warm, the sun was out most of both days, and when it did rain, it held off till nighttime. Which was key, because that's how I got to see that Austria is indeed as green as it was portrayed on film. The hills, the trees, even the water (the Salzach River was this gorgeous shade of sage) did not disappoint. The people were lovely. The food was great, but this might be because of my German heritage and I am therefore predisposed to liking shnitzel and pretzels and goulash. The city itself was more picturesque than I could've imagined. Like so (photo dump, ahoy)
Inside the Salzburg Cathedral, where Mozart used to play. The late afternoon light was awesome.
Running like Maria and the kids in Mirabell Gardens. Even awesomer? When we're standing on the steps looking into the gardens, and the Japanese tourist next to us goes "Do, Re, Mi. Heh heh." Seriously, I had no idea how many countries were into the Sound of Music.
This was the house used as the back of the VonTrapp home in the movie, and thus this is the lake Maria and the kids capsized in. It also had that beautiful green color to it.
This is the lake town of Mondsee, which was totally stunning. Too bad we only had an hour there.
The kind of thing you don't see in New Jersey.
See what I mean? How can I not love this country's culinary style?
This one I took with my phone.
Maybe our most perfect moment was when we hiked up to the Nonnberg Abbey, where both real-life and fictional Maria VonTrapp was a novice. We went inside the little chapel there, and at noon, the bell started chiming, which was awesome... and then the nuns, hidden off in an upper chamber, began what I assume is their midday prayer chant. With just the three of us in there. It was incredible.
Inside the abbey.
Outside the abbey.
All in all, it might've been the best trip I've ever been on, definitely the best to Europe. I've decided that because I'm in New York City every day, that going to other cities while I'm on vacation probably isn't the best bet, because aside from older buildings and certain architecture here and there, most cities are the same at their core: Hey, look, an H&M! An ugly metro station! More tourists than natives! It ends up feeling like you haven't gone away. Yet with Prague and Salzburg, SO MUCH of their old, old,old-world charm has been preserved that it doesn't feel like you're in a city when you get there, and what you see you certainly don't get in New York, or anywhere in the U.S. for that matter.