Salzburg: Day One, Part One

Dr. Barr said today would be a busy day. So, I'm going to break it up into sections. 

Our day started with a breakfast of nuts for me and then off to find "Fraulein Maria's Bike Tour." We would be biking around the city of Salzburg to see filming locations from the movie, "The Sound of Music." Dr. Barr said it is one of her favorite movies.

Our bike, with a basket for me!

Me and Santino, our fun tour guide!

Dr. Barr at Nonnberg Abby 

Santino found a spot for me to get a drink of water.

Dr. Barr was really excited about this gazebo. She says it is an important place in the movie.

Dr. Barr said this is a fountain and not a bird bath. 

Part Two: Mozart's House and Strudel Making!

Someone Got In Trouble

Hi, I'm Woodstock. I'm a little yellow bird and Snoopy's best friend. I'm writing Snoopy's blog because Snoopy got in trouble. BIG TROUBLE. Dr. Barr is not happy.

Yesterday, when we were in the mountains on the very long train ride to Vienna, Snoopy got bored and decided to go on an adventure. 

He jumped out of Dr. Barr's backpack and went exploring. Dr. Barr kept reminding him to listen and stay with the group, but when the group arrived in Vienna, Snoopy was not with Dr. Barr or her friends. He stayed on the train. 

Thankfully, one of the train conductors located Snoopy. I expect my good friend will return to posting soon, but not until Dr. Barr determines when he earns back the privilege of having his phone (she is really upset). 

Here is Snoopy waiting at the train conductor's desk.

Me, cooling off after my long flight to Austria. (I have really tiny wings!)

Dr. Barr's dinner with homemade noodles!

My meal. Yummy, but not quite as fancy 

Bedtime! I get a whole bed to myself.

Dr. Barr and I are in Salzburg, Austria till Sunday night. It is a little colder here, so I asked Dr. Barr to crochet me a sweater. She is working on it now. 

Tomorrow, we are visiting the sights from the movie, "The Sound of Music." Dr. Barr also told me that it is important to look out for anything related to the composer, Mozart. I'll do my best to keep all you Snoopy followers posted. 

Visiting the mountain town, Mariazell

Today started by waking up and getting dressed in my hiking outfit and filling my canteen. Dr. Barr said we would be taking a scenic train to the small village town, Mariazell. 

Before getting on the train, Dr. Barr said we had to try and use the restroom before our long train ride through the mountains. In Austria, it usually costs .50 to have access to the bathroom. 

Here I am looking for a coin that is the sum of .50. 

Here it is! Now we need to insert it in the machine so the doors will open to the bathroom.

Here is our train.

After a long scenic train ride through the Austrian mountains, Dr. Barr and I arrived at Mariazell. 

In order to get to the top of the mountain, I got to ride in a gondola.

Here I am at the top of Bürgeralpe mountain.

After a yummy meal, we rode the gondola back to the village.

We walked around and enjoyed shopping and visiting a beautiful church. But first we wanted a sweet treat. See if you can find the flavor that Dr. Barr wanted to try.

On our way back to the train station, we smelled something delicious. 

We went inside a gingerbread bakery and bought some snacks for the ride back to the hotel. 

Tomorrow, Dr. Barr is attending school with her friends. I plan to enjoy swimming in the hotel pool.

Visiting Bratislava

Yesterday was an amazing day filled with lots of music. Sadly, today was not. We traveled by boat to the neighboring country of Bratislava, which is known for a castle on a hill, but not much else. For 50 years, a political party known as the Communist Party made decisions that didn't value art and music. It was really strange to visit a place where there was little to no music or art. A tour guide told Dr. Barr that as a neighbor to Vienna, Bratislava was once a place for musicians like Mozart and Beethoven to visit and perform. Today, they lack music teachers and very few people visit symphony performances. Dr. Barr and I tried to make the most of our day learning about a new culture. 

Here we are riding a boat down the Danube River. Dr. Barr made me wear my life vest 

There were a lot of unique statues around the "Old Town," part of the city. 

This is the castle on top of the hill overlooking the city. 

This is the oldest working fountain in the city. The bottom level is for animals to drink. The middle level is for people. And the very top is for the birds. Dr. Barr and I thought it would be fun for me to drink at the bottom, while she and Woodstock could drink from above at the same time.

After our walking tour, we went with our friends to share three traditional meals. In Bratislava they do not eat a lot of vegetables. In fact, there were none in the menu! Everything we ate was made with cheese from sheep's milk. The meals were very yummy.

As we were leaving the city, we saw a sign outside of a building that said "Mozart." It is believed that Mozart performed a concert at this house when. He was six years old. 

Tomorrow, we are back in Austria. Dr. Barr said that I get to ride something very unique. She told me I would only see this type of transportation in the mountains. Do you know what it is?

BIG Music Day!

Today, was the best day, yet! Dr. Barr and I had a full day of music adventures. We started our morning at a place called the House of Music. And that is exactly what is was! An entire building of music activities. We learned about composers, did sound experiments, and even conducted the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra using virtual reality. Dr. Barr did really well and earned a certificate. I was too small to conduct the orchestra.

But look at me next to this big percussion instrument.

Here are the ear trumpets the composer Beethoven used to help him hear. He was a student of Mozart's, but later composed music when he was completely deaf. 

After the House of Music, I was hungry, so I grabbed a quick bite to eat before walking  to one of Beethoven's apartments. The apartment was on the fourth floor and had lots of stairs. I helped Dr. Barr get to the top.

Here I am with a statue of Beethoven. 

And this is his music stand. 

Our next stop was the Musical Instrument Museum. We spent a lot of time here looking and listening to lots of instruments. Dr. Barr pretended to pick out her favorite instruments to take home. Here are a few unique instruments.

We were surprised to see a very special instrument in the museum. This is a piano made by the person who built Mozart's piano. It is very possible that Mozart played this exact piano.

I was excited to find really old flutes. I got out my flute to show you the difference. 

Dr. Barr said I was too small to reach the keyboard and pedals of the organ. 

But with a little help from Dr. Barr, I played the harpsichord! Do you know what song I played? 

Snoopy Performance

Our next stop was a very old church called, St. Stephen's Cathedral. This is where Mozart married his wife, Constanze. It is also where they later held his funeral service.

Dr. Barr and I had one last stop before heading back to rest. Café Frauenhuber is the oldest café in Vienna. Both Mozart and Beethoven performed on the piano at this café.

Dr. Barr ordered a drink called Mozart Kaffee. It was coffee with chocolate from Salzburg, Mozart's birthplace. We also shared a traditional Austrian dessert called apple strudel. It is similar to apple pie. 

I'm not sure what the plans are tomorrow, but Dr. Barr said to make sure I bring a life vest.