Sound of Music

December 03, 2025

We decided to go on the Danube tour because Melissa wanted to see the Christmas markets.  My sister and her husband had gone on the Danube tour several years ago in late November and told us when they took the extension the Christmas markets were already in full swing.  We booked a tour that left on the 25th of November (two days before Thanksgiving) and ended on the 1st of December.  We arrived two days early to overcome the jet lag that can accompany overseas travel (and did for us!).  That also meant we did not have to plan anything for Thanksgiving, a meal that is always difficult for two.  A (somewhat) traditional meal was served on the ship with turkey (sliced white and dark meat), mashed potatoes and stuffing (sort of), and cranberry sauce with pumpkin pie for dessert.  I have had potatoes and stuffing at other meals on board and while ok, the consistency is much different than I am used to in the US.  The extension included four days before we fly home on December 6th.  I noticed the extension was called the Sound of Music Tour, but I was not ready for what that entailed. 

When I went online, I found the Sound of Music is a 1965 musical film (Rodgers and Hammerstein) based on the 1949 book by Maria von Trapp.  The story is set in Austria on the eve of the German annexation (Anschluss) and tells the story of Maria who takes on the job as governess of the large family while she decides whether to become a nun.  She falls in love with the seven children and eventually with the widowed father, Captain von Trapp.  A former submarine captain, he is ordered to accept a commission with the German navy but opposes the Nazis.  The captain and Maria decide on a plan to flee Austria with the children.  The family left by train to Italy, then traveling to London and the US.  The film version made the escape more dramatic by having the family hide in the cemetery before escaping over the mountains to Switzerland on foot.  Many of the songs have become standards, including the title song, “The Sound of Music”. 

Our Sound of Music tour started with a panoramic coach drive through the mountains.  At every stop and turn we were told about how the movie had used such and such location for filming, even though it had nothing to do with the von Trapp experience.  The scenery was amazing and at one stop I saw several dozen lake trout, all about 18 inches (45 cm) long, swimming along the shore (that was not included in the musical).  As we passed several locations the guide played appropriate songs from the movie over our bus sound system.  Many of the guests sang along, some becoming very animated.  On arrival in Salzberg we saw the façade of the villa used in the film (not the von Trapp villa) and the gazebo used in the film (“I am 17”).  The gazebo was from the film but not the von Trapp villa and had been moved several times because tourists were harassing the owners.  The tour continued the following day as we passed four or five Salzberg sites used in the film but were far removed from the family.  The church where the couple were married is still an active convent.

THOUGHTS: While the tours were focused on the Sound of Music, we also passed the birthplace and several residences of Wolfgang Motzart.  These were of keen focus in Vienna but seemed of only passing interest (to our guide) in Salzburg.  We did get to the cathedral of St. Peter and its large Christmas market.  They had amazing pretzels.   It was interesting to see many Chinese tourists poising and dancing and singing the screenplay of the movie as they passed through the film locations.  Like so many things, we give the customer what they want (or we think they want).  When telling the difference between reality and what we would like to be, the facts seem to be harder to discern.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.