Ed and Annette's Excellent European Adventure: The hills are alive...

We woke up to very cold wet streets and headed out looking for hot coffee and breakfast. After we found a little bakery we saw a group of tents near the direction we were headed so we went over to see. It was the Thursday Market. This was tremendous! They had more items and selection than we have ever seen. Everything was available; meats, cheeses, fish, veggies, fruit, plants, breads, pastries, etc. We were pleased to see that it was amazingly clean and inviting.

We headed to one of the bus tour places to look into a "Sound of Music" tour. As we were looking we found a combination ticket for Hitler's Eagles Nest and the Sound of Music; 4 hours in the morning and 4 hours in the afternoon. So our day was chosen and we loaded right on the van and headed off to the Eagles Nest. The weather was cold and it was only going to get colder as we climbed to the top of the mountian. Our guide gave us great information about the area as we drove toward the location. We stopped at the lower parking lot which was the location of Hitler's and the SS secondary command center. All the structures of this compound were completely destroyed and milled to dust at the end of the war; only the below ground bunkers remain. We changed to a bus to ride up to the upper parking area. This is a sharp climb on a single lane winding road along some very shear cliffs. Arriving at the top in the freezing weather (0 degrees) we walked through an approximate 200 yard long tunnel that ends at an elevator lobby. Boarding the solid polished brass elevator we went up 124 meters (406 ft) to the top of the mountain where this "Eagle's Nest" was built. It was too bad the weather was so bad we could hardly see anything out the windows. It had started snowing and our group was the last one allowed up even though it was still early in the morning. Eagle's Nest was built for Hitler's 50th birthday but he never really liked it. Eva Braun (his long time companion) loved the hideaway and spent quite a bit of time there. Their story is interesting - to say the least. Forty hours after their marriage it ended in a suicide pact.

Back to Salzburg for a quick lunch and then onto the bus for our Sound of Music tour. The majority of the 1962 movie was filmed in the Salzburg area. We boarded a large bus and headed out with a very enthusiastic guide. She quizzed us on some of the movie trivia and Annette got all the answers right away; she loves this movie. We traveled around the city and ventured to the surrounding areas to see the locations for the movie. We saw the gazebo (I am 16 going on 17...) We saw both mansions used in the filming one for the front and one for the back with the beautiful lake behind. We ventured into the countryside to see some of the other film locations, singing the very familiar songs along the way. Our last stop was in the mountain lake town of Mondsee where the wedding church was located. We had some free time to enjoy a coffee and piece of the famous Saucher cake (not that good) and see the everyday life of a Austrian village of 3,500 people.

We headed back to Salzburg for the evening and dinner. BioBurger was a great quick and familiar meal. The staff there made the experience wonderful. The days have flown by here in Saltzburg, it seems like we still have so much to see. Off to bed to rest up for a very special 27th anniversary day tomorrow.