I spent a day in Salzburg while staying in Vienna, and it was one of the happiest days of my trip.

Salzburg is where Mozart was born, and I was definitely looking forward to seeing some Mozart sights.

My first destination however had to do with the strongest reason that brought me to Salzburg.

My favourite movie, which I grew up with and even started this trip with on the plane to Dubai, is The Sound of Music, and it takes place in Salzburg. Therefore, my first stop was the gardens of Mirabell Palace where the end of “Do-Re-Mi” was filmed. 

I’ll refrain from writing this entire post in capital letters, but THOSE ARE THE STEPS THEY END THE SONG ON.

I hear that other places in the world exist, but I forgot about them in this garden. 

I’ve been watching this movie for as long as I can remember, so this was like walking through memories from my childhood to the present. 

I’m sure the image of these statues is one of my earliest memories. 

What do you do when your dreams come true and it’s better than you planned?

I got a ticket to visit the two part Mozart museum. The first was in the house in which the family lived while in Salzburg.

Yep. Mozart’s piano. Go to Salzburg. 

Next was the house he was born in, which had his first violin.

I found my way to the place where at the beginning of the city part of Do-Re-Mi they are looking ​out over the city. 

I wasn’t sure how to get up there though. There was less of a path and more of a sheer rock face separating me from where I wanted to go.

Maybe through the tunnel?

I continued through the city, planning on finding my way up eventually.

While the abbey graveyard in the movie was a Hollywood set, it was inspired by a real place.

The graveyard is outside of the Festungskirche, and it is beautiful.

I kept having moments of amazement, joy, and nostalgia. Turn a corner into a main square, and there’s the fountain from “I Have Confidence.”

I walked through Mozartplatz, with its statue of Mozart, to the bridge.

THE BRIDGE. It was awesome, as was the view.

One thing I loved about both Vienna and Salzburg was the drinking water, available at fountains.

The last thing on my list at this point was finding my way up to where that view of Salzburg was, and there was a way up! Firstly through that tunnel.

This is what it looks like on the other side.

I found the little path up, there was nothing stopping me at this point.

If you’re thinking I stopped to take pictures to catch my breath I’d say you’re crazy and I resent such ridiculous accusations.

There was a little path out to the edge of the cliff, which I of course had to explore, and found myself exactly where I wanted to be.

I had to delete so many pictures to bring it down to an acceptable blog amount. 

There was also a fortress on the hill that added to the awe of it all.

It was raining a little, but I have confidence and rain.

I’ve been enjoying the lack of safety bars and fences since leaving Canada. It makes for some excellent pictures. 

At this point it was time to start heading back to my train.

But you know where I had to go again right?

Just me and the steps, thinking about how glad I am that I went on this trip.

The train was overbooked on the way back so I had to stand for 2 hours, and after a day like this I couldn’t have cared less.

I can’t believe I hadn’t planned to go to Salzburg until considering side trips in Vienna. This will definitely be one of the highest points of my year (or maybe life).