Europe - Salzburg

Today's Garmin Step Mileage: 11 km

Today we headed out to the lake district to explore one last stop from the Sound of Music filming locations. Mondsee is a town in the Vöcklabruck district in the Austrian state of Upper Austria located on the shore of the lake Mondsee. The town is home to the historic medieval Mondsee Abbey. The cloister church was used for the site of the wedding in The Sound of Music.

The Abbey has now been turned into a Historical Hotel and the grounds are private for guests only. The town of Mondsee is a quaint little town to stroll through and a place where we enjoyed our morning coffee in. Just as we got into town the Saturday market beside the old Abby was in full swing. You can catch a glimpse of local produce, cheese producers, a local butcher selling meat and often jams and jellies. There was lots of action on the lake; wedding

photos, lake cruises, people walking dogs and even a wedding party headed out on a boat across the lake.

Off to the the next lake and the town of St. Gilgen. St. Gilgen is a well-known travel destination. Boats from St. Gilgen sail around the Wolfgangsee lake, providing transport and views of the surrounding mountains. In 2005 St. Gilgen was promoted as the "Mozart Village" by the Wolfgangsee Tourist Board. Although Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart never visited St. Gilgen (as he had intended to), his grandfather worked in the town, his mother was born in St. Gilgen, and his sister Nannerl moved there after her marriage. It had a nice waterside promenade with nice shady benches to relax on; a great place to have our picnic lunch.

The last stop was at Fuschl am See. We only took a drive through the community to check things out a bit. It seems like a big place for

vacationers in the summer months. It has a wonderful beach at the lake front and an area where families can go (paid entrance?) to spend the day. Believe it or not it has a Sheraton Hotel in an old traditional Bavarian styled building, along side a pristine golf course. It is a town and lake with a ton of activities for those who vacation in the area.

We have had such a wonderful time here in Salzburg. It has been nice to have 5 days to explore the city and its surrounding areas. Everywhere you go is an experience just waiting to happen.