These are a Few of My Favorite Things...

Here is the last blog of pictures from our European vacation.  Some might argue that the last few days had some of the best highlights of the trip.


We went on an organized Sound of Music tour where among other things, we learned some new jokes. Some of us were really excited about the tour:

This is where Mozart was born (side note...he was not involved in the Sound of Music....the movie that is...)

I am aware that this is a bad picture but out the bus window you can see the bridge where Maria and the Von Trapp children run across the bridge in their curtain clothes singing "doe a deer" or "these are a few of my favorite things"....one of those fun songs.

The Salzburg fortress

This is the lake where Maria and the kids row up to the back of the house and flip the boat...side note:  Grettle nearly drowned when filming this and threw up all over Louisa.

This is the back of the house where the backyard shots were filmed however it is not the mansion used for the house.

Our tour guy Peter

 Peter's jokes:

Did you hear about the guy who lost his left side?   He's Al-right!

Did you hear about the golf club that's giving out 2 pairs of socks?  It's for in case you get a hole in one.

Why did it take so long to film the sound of music?  Cuz you can't get a Plummer on the weekends!

tourists!

I'm sure you remember when this thing was used...

I am 27 going on 28....!

On the way to the Mountains and Lakes region:

We passed the headquarters of RED BULL!

Red Bull is owned by some Austrian who went to Thailand, discovered this tasty energy drink, came back to Austria, carbonated and marketed it an vwalla!

Trevor loves the Sound of Music

Wow we are such tourists...

Look!

This is the church where the wedding scene was filmed

the church is located in Monigsee a cute little town outside Salzburg

Inside the church

Austrians having a sit

$2 Stiegl beers on the bus!

watching the sound of music on the way home for the umteenth time

Mirabell Gardens

the dwarf from the movie!!

garden from the movie

Salzburg

The Abby!  Where's Maria!?  I want to show her my finger....

After the tour we went back to the hotel and watched....The Sound of Music ....

Me and my birthday Austrian hate...with Sound of Music in the background...

 Then we went to a local brewery for dinner.

Die Weisse

mmmm goulash

The second to last full vacation day was my actual birthday and instead of bustling around the city streets, Trevor and I went for a hike,  Up Untersbeg mountain.  Where the hills are alive!

contemplating my next step as as a 28 year old

meh I think I will just have a good sit

lost in the Alps

potato goulash?  don't mind if I do

can't beat the view

 After the hike on Untersberg we decided to continue the birthday celebrations at what was once a birthday present to Hitler....the Eagle's Nest.  The Nazi's built Hitler this little tea house high on a mountaintop for his 50th birthday.   Not going to lie... it kind of gave me the creeps...

We took a bus 4 miles up a closed off road then walked through this tunnel to the elevator

same elevator

From the top:

Eagle's Nest...now a tourist restaurant

Im down there somewhere...

Nice shot, Trev

Then we drove out to Konigsee, a little town on a lake, and had a nice little dinner

Auggie's at night

For my big, birthday, going out celebration we decide to check out an Irish pub, because that seemed like a sure fit for a good time.  It was fun.  We had ourselves a few Guinesses and we tried really hard to make friends with the bartenders.  I was waiting all night for the opportunity to tell them it was my birthday in anticipation of a free drink or shot, but we were having a hard time keeping the conversation going.  So well after a few drinksand for lack of the opportune time to make a casual mention of it I just blurt it out.  The bartender, now very excited, yells well come you didn't tell us originally!? He walks out from around the bar and comes over to my side and shakes my hand..... As he's shaking it the other bartender comes out and tender #1 tells tender #2 it's my birthday and so the second bartender comes out from behind the bar and also shakes me hand.... This is just weird.  i just wanted a free drink not a hand shake! 

bumper sticker in the bar

University of Portland student center

Our last day in Salzburg and we decided to take it easy.  It happens to be 95 degrees this day.  The only thing I want to do is jump in a lake.  We start walking to the lake, but it is too far.  And we are too hot.  And now we are too hungry.  So we head back towards town and get some food...

This is where Mozart lived when he was older

We found this horse pond

and then found this tunnel

so we walked through it

and out the other side

Then we decided to try and find the Steigl brewery.  According to our map it should be a few blocks away.  But upon arriving to where the icon suggests, we notice a little arrow underneath indicating the brewery is a few kilometers east of where the map ends... damn.  But we've come this far... we can't go back now.  So on our day "off"  we end up walking around Salzburg for at least 5.5 hours in the sweltering heat...But we did eventually find the brewery:

We paid the admission fee and spent about 15 minutes in the exhibit...

This was Trevor's favorite part:  a bed-sized beer pillow!