O, Henrietta exists! She is a blonde spunky woman with an adorable English accent and she made it clear that she and Mr. Monopoly are NOT a couple and they are NOT sharing a stateroom. So if he curtails the cigs, I'm back to pimping for Betty.
So now that I got last night's nonsense out of the way..
THIS was an awesome day that exceeded my expectations. I can't wait to share my "Sound of Music" experience with you all.
The ride from Linz(Austria's third largest city--an industrial town where we're docked) was almost too comfortable. and beautiful! .I've never seen mountains like these..pointy, white, and marble.
The ride was long and as most of us were nodding off, a very familiar piece of music piped through the bus. I was ferklempt from the unmistakable intro, and then I started weeping when I heard another great Brit's voice--Julie Andrews bursting into the title song. If this didn't wet your whistle, then you have no whistle to wet.
"The snails came alive..and we needn't worry
the beautiful drive..made us long to sing!
So weepy yes I've..
never felt this merry!
My heart wants to sing about every-thing!"
Our first stop, and I don't want to call it a pit stop because that conjures up something ugly, was Mondsee Austria.
The lake was shimmering and spectacular..our wonderful guide Philip told us it attracts perch and pike, snorkelers and sailboats. I longed to dive in, just to experience it. And I desperately want Woodloch to open their European resort here and give me all the credit..meaning a window view in the restaurant. I'd settle for that.
The town was adorable and our first stop was St. Michael's church. I didn't recognize the exterior, and neither would you, because at the time of the filming, it was covered in scaffolding. But I did recognize the interior, where Liesl helped Maria with the train of that magnificent wedding gown as she prepared to welcome a loving new step Mom into the Von Trapp home,
Our guide gave us some interesting tidbits on the short ride to Salzburg when we were back on board: Director William Wyler scouted all the iconic locations for weeks, but he had to abandon the project soon after and Robert Wise went on to direct the Best Picture of 1965.
He also told us the movie was not a hit in Austria, where classical and folk music are preferred, and two stories of the Von Trapp family had already been told in previous films.
We saw many familiar spots on our walking tour: the "Do-Re-Mi" fountain(I stepped in Julie Andrews's path!!) the courtyard where the Von Trapps returned from their honeymoon to find Nazi flags, the archway where the nervous nun first made her way to the household singing what I read was Dame Julie Andrews's least favorite song, "I Have Confidence."
The 50th anniversary of the movie was on in 2015, and the myths that Diane Sawyer dispelled in that were verified on the tour: The family did not escape through the Alps..Switzerland was like 200 kilometers away and they were walking right into Hitler's eagles next in Germany with the route the movie shows.
(The real clan simply walked out of the garden, boarded a train to Italy, and started their new lives in Stowe, Vermont)
The people in my group were impressed with some of the tidbits I was randomly shouting out, like "I Have Confidence" being Dame Julie's least favorite song, and a lot of folks hadn't realized Charmian Carr, who played Leisl, had died. (But I don't want this blog to become a "blag"--my portmanteau of blog and brag, so I'll stop showing off right now)
Oh..and our guide told us Christopher Plummer was a bit of a diva. The word I'd use would be more like "asshole."
First of all, any regular readers know that I put fat-shamers right up there with racists and homophobes and sexists.
Legend has it that Mr. Plummer refused to carry the actress(Kym something?) who played Gretl because she had gained a little weight from the rich Austrian food(more on that later..I'm sure I did just that from lunch) and they had to substitute a skinny local kid.
Also, we saw the hotel where he was staying. The shoot went way over budget due to weather, so to cope with boredom. Plummer would entertain Chamian Carr and teach her how to drink.
She played his daughter!!
Is anyone else getting a creepy Woody /Soon Yi vibe?
We continued the tour, an easy walk, through beautiful gardens and saw a few more statues and then came to the footbridge that crossed the river. The bridge is covered in locks, so if you ever come to Salzburg, buy a small one, ink it with your name and the name of your loved one, and fasten it to the wire mesh. Jim took a photo--it's a really great site but we were told when there are too many locks some get thrown into the river.
We had a lot of free time--something like three hours--and it was nice to spend it just with Jim. He wanted to explore the Mozart exhibit but I felt I already knew everything there was about him, mainly that he's to the day two hundred years older than me, and infinitely more talented.
So I sat in the crowded court yard and watched some people and read a little "Subway Girls" and was really quite content.
This self declared foodie has written very few culinary posts, but I have to tell you about where we lunched.
Our guide recommended several spots, but we chose a place that shared the last name of our friends Natalie Mauro Elefante and her hubby Mike.
The waitress looked like Gloria Ruben from "ER" and she was a little bitchy. She seemed offended when I asked if she spoke English, and she got a little snippy when Jim put a water bottle(courtesy of the ship) on the table. A guest dining outside at this same restaurant asked to plug in her phone and you would think she asked Nurse Gloria for her first born child.
She offered very little help with the menu, so we were on our own, more or less.
Jim got Zweibelrosraten and I got the Austrian special..the Saltzburger Scmanker and if I could eat this meal weekly, I'd deal with every ounce of crap from Gloria.
It was worthy of a foodgasm!
The starter was soup that tasted like onion soup but better, the beef was tender enough to eat with a spoon. I was hesitant when it first came out..in a bowl, swimming with carrots and potatoes and served with a side of horse radish.
But one bite had me moaning... soooo sooo good.
I think Gloria sensed she had been too mean, because she came over after and told me how to make this at home:
"You buy beef, but I don't remember what kind. You boil it in a broth but I don't know what the broth is and I don't know for how long, and then you add seasonings --I don't know what they are--and add carrots."
Maybe I'll just come back to Salzburg and get some more.
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