Springtime in Salzburg

“The hills are alive with the sound of music” was hummed and sung as Year 5 and 6 students strolled through the streets of Salzburg on a Thursday afternoon recently, accompanied by Mr. Jim, Mr. Eley, Ms. Erika and Mr. Roman.
We made our way first to the Fortress Hohensalzburg via the funicular that rises at a steep angle up from the old town. The views from the top were astounding and the students enjoyed learning about the history of the structure and the playful vibe of the marionette puppet museum that is also located within its thick walls.
After taking the funicular back down into old town, we made our way to the Mozart Birthplace Museum, where we strolled through the home where the famous composer and musician was born and learned about his relatively short but interesting life. Next was a quick stop to try out the original Salzburg Mozartkugel candies (which were thoroughly enjoyed and plenty of extras were picked up for family and friends back in Bratislava). Finally, we took a leisurely walk through the gardens of Mirabell Palace where the children in the “Sound of Music” famously danced around singing “Do Re Mi” before heading to our accommodation for the evening.
On Friday morning it was more “Sound of Music”-related fun as we made our way around Leopoldskroner Teich, a small artificial lake that fronts Schloss Leopoldskron, to get a glimpse of the lakeside terrace where parts of the film were captured. We then headed over to Hellbrunn Palace to take pictures in front of the famous gazebo where several romantic scenes from the movie were shot before finally boarding the bus for the trip home.
It was a quick, busy experience, but one filled with learning and laughter that will hopefully be remembered by the students and their teachers for a long time.

• This blog post was created by Jim Clipp and Erika Malikova