Yes it was that time finally, a tour to Salzburg, where 2 global music stars go head to head…..The von Trapp family vs Mozart !

Passing through another lock, we are descending the Danube now, saw us entering Passau for an early morning docking. It’s a most attractive University City with brightly coloured buildings along the wharf, all overlooked by the fortress on the hill.

Our group of 19 were first off, meeeting Pascal our local guide and Stefan our driver. The 2 hour coach ride went through some of the most picturesque farm land I’ve ever seen, and the KTM museum…..a famous Austrian bike manufacturer.

In the distance were mountains, still with snow, but it didn’t take long to get to Salzburg, nestled in their foothills, once we had crossed the border from Germany to Austria.

Walking through Government buildings, including a popular registry office, we got to the Mirabell Gardens. These were used in a number of locations for the movie “The Sound of Music”, produced 61 years ago. First up was the Pegasus Statue…..

Then onto an arbour, and finally the Gardens main entrance

A great start to the tour, the Von Trapps had come out of the starting blocks fast ! Time to walk into the town and see how Mozart fares….

Mozarts residence was just across the street, with a long queue of teenagers waiting to visit. So he’s still popular..It’s another beautiful city, with plenty of churches, squares and of course the fortress overlooking it all.

Mozart birthplace was as popular as his residence. At the moment our two musical contestants are level pegging, until Mozart unleashes his secret weapon…….chocolate !

As there are no direct descendents the Mozart name is not copyrighted……hence you can get anything with his name emblazoned on it. Umbrellas, miniature violins, T shirts and of course chocolates, made with nougat and pistachios; it’s rather nice and has possibly given him the edge in our running.

For lunch we visit St Peter’s restaurant , which first served a Pope in 803. Making it one of the oldest restaurants in the world. We are served a typical Austrian lunch of chicken and polenta, beef broth soup and a pavlovaesque desert. Plenty of beer and wine for those who want…….but what’s this I hear ?

The Von Trapps are back looking slightly older, still in fine voice though, and knocking out hit after hit, like Marie, Lonely Goat Herd, Doe Ray Me and a great rendition of Goodbye.

We exit the restaurant an hour later, humming all our favourites. I think the Von Trapps just win our contest, the sheer number of people miming the film and taking pictures shows just how popular the film still is. Walking back to our bus the weather looks threatening, and indeed it rains on the way back….but it doesn’t affect us…..we are running through a field somewhere with our arms outstretched…….a memorable day indeed.