The Hills Are Alive....

Go ahead, finish that line. You know you want to. I'll give you a moment (....with the sound of music....a-a-a-ah). 

A few weeks ago we got to experience for ourselves just how alive the hills really are by taking an overnight trip to Salzburg, Austria with our friends David and Kelli Smith. You may or may not recall that Salzburg forms the backdrop for almost every scene in The Sound of Music, but the local residents sure haven't forgotten. We stayed at a hostel, in fact, that plays the musical every night [the sleeping arrangements in said hostel were less idyllic: in our room there were at least two high decibel snorers and some funky odor emitters as well]. So, after finally figuring out how to access the striking fortress-castle that dominates the town and exploring its heights, we settled in to watch the musical. We had the experience of seeing a movie now that one had last seen as a child and being aware of a level of meaning one had previously overlooked completely. The Sound of Music isn't just a nice story about a singing nanny turned mother of seven, it's also a story of national Austrian resistance to the nazi takeover. This is probably obvious to everyone who has seen the movie recently, but political agendas are not high on a child's agenda. Now, however, Edelweiß will no longer be just a white flower (or the eponymous beer), but a coded symbol of covert resistance. But when thinking about political resistance, its nice to have some catchy songs (e.g., the whole time we were in Salzburg I treated Julia to my own moving rendition of "How Do You Solve a Problem like Julia?", showcasing again just how lucky she is to have such a versatile and multi-talented husband).

Speaking of flowers, the next day we headed to Münich for Kelli to get her visa to travel to India. We had time to check out the Neue Pinakothek, a museum devoted to 18th and 19th century art. It was a real treat, and filled with surprises - including, memorably, versions of Van Gogh's Sunflowers and Monet's Waterlillies. 

Here's a few pix: 

A courtyard at the top of the castle:

The castle had a great view of the Alps:

Did I mention that Mozart was born in Salzburg?

Here's the Van Gogh (though this really doesn't do it justice):

And maybe this is a Rodin? Maybe even of Adam himself?