Tag Archives: cathedrals & churches

Cathedrals & Churches

Munich: Theatinerkirche

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Fact of the Day: November 1st is Allerheiligen Tag (All Saint’s Day) and is an official holiday in Germany.

Visited Theatinerkirche – St. Kajetan Kathedrale on Odeonsplatz. The interior of the cathedral looked as ornate as the interiors of the Jesuitenkirche St. Michael on Marienplatz.  Unfortunately, during WWII, only the two “towers” and the dome survived the destruction – so most of it is pretty new (with a baroque flair). The Wittelsbach family vaults were opened to public for free. Rather eerie to be staring at the variously sized caskets of rulers and their children of centuries gone by. I kept wondering what their corpses looked like now… were they only skeletons? Skeletons with some dried up skin attached? What did they wear for their funeral?

Theatinerkirche

The hills are alive with the Sound of Music…

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Ort (place): Salzburg, Österreich
Tour: the official “Sound of Music” tour by Panorama Tours
Datum (date)/Zeit (time): Mo. 27. April, 9.30-13.30
Hostel I stayed at in Salzburg: Yoho Int’l Youth Hostel (26. Apr.)

“Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start…” So sang our tourguide, Trudi/Judy, a British lady with a British sense of humour in traditional Austrian costume – a dirndl, to be exact. Our bus was filled mostly with young adults – the ones that were too proud to sing, unfortunately.
We visited:

  • setting for the Von Trapp Villa
    • Schloß Leopoldskron (back) – now an American institute…grr! That was my dream home! 😛
    • Schloß Frohnburg (front)
  • Mirabell Gardens – where the kiddies sang “Do-Re-Mi”
  • Mondsee Basilica/Cathedral – where the wedding scene was filmed (the couple was actually married in Nonnberg Abbey)
  • Mondsee – gorgeous scenery!
  • Gazebo in Schloß Hellbrunn (now a private Gasthaus – guest house) – originally put up in Leopoldskron…’til the singing tourists upset the American scholars.

We saw:

  • the original Von Trapp Villa – sold in 1938 before the family fled Austria and ended up in USA *never used in film
  • Nonnberg Abbey – founded in 714 AD

We learned about…

  • Christopher Plummer (Captn. von Trapp)’s singing voice was replaced by Bill Lee
  • the real Maria von Trapp was an extra in the scene where Julie Andrews sings “I have Confidence”
  • the movie was set a little later than the actual events

“So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, good night!”