THIS WAS MY FAVORITE THING EVER! If you haven’t seen The Sound of Music, you should! It’s still the highest-grossing musical of all time. And did you know it’s based on a true story? They even tried to use as many historically accuracte filming locations as possible and we got to see many on this bicycle tour. We used the company Fräulein Maria’s Bicycle Tour and were very happy with them!

We watched the Sound of Music as a family before our trip in preparation for this tour and Simon really latched onto it. He loved the music and listened to it often on the road trip. This made it so much more fun that he was able to recognize places from the movie and sing along with the songs. He’s still listening to the Sound of Music songs even months later!

Here’s’ a live video I posted on Facebook to give you a little taste of our tour!

For our ride, we reserved a bicycle with a child seat on the back but since it was a high chance of more rain, they gave us a pull-behind carrier instead. It was fine though and we used it to carry Hyrum and our backpack of water and snacks. Simon rode on a cute little tag-a-long bike attached to the back of Nicks. I’m pretty sure he only pedaled on the uphills but he really enjoyed it.

We re-enacted Maria’s walk up to the Vontrap house!

You’ll recognize more of this famous song from these fun photos

The mountains surrounding Austria were breathtaking. I loved riding down this little path and singing along with the music. If you’re wondering why the music is so loud, I volunteer to be the DJ and ride with the music in my basket playing loud for all to hear. Many people chuckled or rolled their eyes as we passed by, but I didn’t care one bit! Best Day Ever.

They even had a little flip chart of the movie locations and song lyrics in case you wanted to sing along! I loved how thorough this company was with the tour.

The Gabezo was locked due to someone (an American) hurting themselves dancing around and filing a lawsuit. Lame! So no dancing and singing for us but it was still a fun little stop.

Driving through Salzburg

I wish I could have captured more to remember and share! Even for the Sound of Music Non-Fans (if there ever was such a thing) it was a great way to see Salzburg and explore the country you wouldn’t see otherwise. The first half of the tour was out in the country seeing movie sights out there, and the second half we rode through the city.

We just about fell in the lake on this stop!

Here’s our fun little group!

The Abbey

Only one wedding has ever been performed at the famous abbey from the movie and it was Maria’s. It was a beautiful church and you could hear the nuns in the back singing. What a cool feeling.

After the Abbey we road into town and drove through Salzburg. We stopped outside the arena where the Vontrap family sang their final goodbye song before fleeing Austria. Our small tour group stood outside and sang Edleweise for the passersby. We got a few funny looks, but it’s my favorite song from the movie and I loved the peacefully feeling of remembrance and respect it brought for the difficulties of many people through that time period.

Next up was the little cemetery that was the inspiration for the scene where they hide near the Abbey from the Nazis. The movie wasn’t shot on location here due respect for the grounds, but they modeled a scene built in Hollywood to shoot the film.

DO, a deer, a female deer, RE, a drop of golden sun!

Another re-enactment from the movie. Most of the group was less than impressed with our eager tour guide, but I loved it! Our only instruction here was just to jump up and down the steps at random and run up on the last note. Chaotic success I think!

And just like that, it was over. The 4-hour tour was about 1 hour too long for the kiddos, but they did very well. Simon got a sticker and was super proud of himself.

I am not an experienced bicyclist and even so, this tour was very doable even pulling a heavy trailer behind. It cost €100 which was well worth it in my book! We learned so much and had too much fun. What a great morning!

We were also grateful for sweet Simon’s prayer the night before where he asked Heavenly Father let the rain take a break while we went on our bike ride. It did, in fact, stop for only 4 hours that day allowing us to complete our tour and get into our car before the downpour started again. What faith this little boy must have!

Next EPIC SUMMER ROAD TRIP stop –> Bavaria, Germany!

~Tolman Travels~

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Hohenwerfen Castle

We arrived in Salzburg early afternoon and had the evening to explore the city. Salzburg is the birthplace of Mozart and they are quite proud of this historical fact! Mozart is EVERYWHERE! Even on the carpet of our hotel…

Actually, it was quite fun and we got to tour the home where Mozart was born. You aren’t allowed to take pictures inside, but I took a couple anyway. Don’t tell!

And EXCELLENT dinner (one of the best so far) and we walked slowly back across town to the bus stop. What a wonderful evening and we were thankful the pouring rain took a break for us to explore.

The Mozart chocolates were quite unique (and expensive), but I bought a few and enjoyed every bit. Delicious!

They had a large bridge across the water full of lovers locks. We wanted to buy one to put on but I guess you’d have to bring your own. Next time we go to Salzburg, I’ll be better prepared to leave my mark on the city.

Now for my FAVORITE part!

Farline Marie’s Bicycle Tour!

If you’ve never seen The Sound of Music, you may be underwhelmed but the next post. But you if you have, I’d highly recommend going to Austria just for this! It was soooo much fun! I’m going to put it in the next post so I can add all the pictures and videos of our tour!

Next EPIC SUMMER ROAD TRIP stop –> Farline Marie’s Bicycle Tour!

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