Back to Munich

9.00 am

After a quick breakfast we were on the Sound of Music Tour. In reality, it is a city of Salzburg tour as much as a SOM tour. We were at the Hellbrunn palace where most of SOM was shot. But of course, we had to stand for a few minutes to pay homage to the gazebo where ‘I-am16-going-on-17’ was shot. The Hellbrunn itself was a 17^th century day house for the Prince-Archbishop of Austria. There are lots of trick fountains and splendid vistas for visitors to the palace. We saw an orangery, grottos, statues of unicorns and Baroque sculptures as well. Very peaceful with lots of large trees and extensive parklands bordering the palace. We had only 30 minutes at Hellbrunn after which we climbed a hill in Salzburg to a convent for more SOM references. The convent is rather an atmospheric place. Lots of gloomy dark corners in the church interiors. Nuns still live here. I lit a candle and thought, if PD James visited this church, she’d be sure to set a murder scene here. Outside the gloomy interior, we walked upwards, admiring the mountains ringing the city. Gorgeous views all around. We were reminded of the ‘lonely goatherd’ as well. In the old days, our guide informed us, the Mother Superior at the convent dispensed justice to the villagers. We passed a very old brewery and came upon the St Peter’s cemetery where the SOM escape scene was filmed. A thrilling moment for all of us SOM fans! Everywhere there were tall towers with medieval gargoyles looking down. Our guide led us to the main square called, naturally enough, Mozart square. Indeed his statue with the violin stood as a reminder of the maestro. We saw the house where he was born. It had a yellow façade. The story is that his family had rented rooms there. Though he was born in Salzburg, he did most of his work in Vienna. After lunch at the square, it was time to explore and souvenir shop.

4.30 pm

We reached Munich, on the last leg of our trip. After freshening up a bit, we got together with our fellow travelers to visit Marienplatz, the main square in Munich. The Gothic Rathaus was certainly worth seeing. There is a column in the middle of the square with Mary and baby Jesus on the top, in gold. Thus Marienplatz (Mary’s Square). There were lots of people just walking the streets, the cafes were full. But we found a place and had coffee and cake. We did have a bit of time to spare and visited the Kaufhoff, a large department store. Later in the evening, we listened to jazz played by the Munich Groove Connection. The violinist was superb. Returning to our hotel, we bade goodbye to all our companions. It was the end of a very memorable tour. Home on an early flight in the morning.