Born to our oldest son Seth and his wife, Jessica, Marrion Kenneth was named after Seth’s grandpa who just happens to be my dad. My father is a very special man and at this point there are 4 grandchildren (including great-grandchildren) that bear some part of his name. Seth’s middle name is also Marrion!

Hope is quite happy with little brother.

We got to go visit and meet little Marrion. It was a nice time!

While we were there Seth continued with his commercial ice fishing line. Audrey went out with him for 2 days on the ice. What a tough girl! Russell took me out to see them one day on the snowmobile; I took off my gloves to take a few pictures and in less than a minute my hands were hurting so bad. I don’t know he can work in such cold conditions and enjoy it but he does.

It was time for us to head back to Arizona so of course, I had to get a few more photos.

Now it’s Seth and Jessica’s turn to try and get family pictures where everyone is looking. Oh my, do I ever remember those days!

Where do you stop with the pictures? It was such a unique and beautiful place!

Two years ago we went to Carlsbad Caverns and had quite a few hilarious moments. Last year we visited Colorado but sadly, I never wrote a post about that. On my to-do list though!

This year we traveled to Utah. We ditched the motor home idea after our New Mexico trip since the reality didn’t meet up with the expectations and instead we traveled here in 2 separate vehicles.

What a beautiful day to view Marble Canyon!

After several hours of driving we arrived at our vacation rental in Kenab, Utah.

After one of our typical slow starts to the day, we headed out the door the next morning for a little disc golf. Russell and I had never played it before but what a good time we had!

But there’s always that guy (or gal!) that’s just learning and playing disc golf next to the water definitely gives one some challenges.

Wesley was our designated diver for the multiple discs that didn’t quite make land.

What a fun activity disc golfing is for the family. I’m definitely good with going again… but I just need to find another willing diver or my own set of scuba diving gear. lol

Have you ever been? How was your aim? haha

I had determined that Russell and I really needed to take up a new hobby of hiking. It’s free, it’s good for us and nature is just plain beautiful.

The only trouble is I decided that when we were going into Winter and I’m not a huge fan of cold weather or at this point hiking in inclement weather. I say, “at this point” because I don’t want to rule out anything so maybe in the future I will just love getting out and hiking no matter the weather. DrEaMiNg. haha

Anyways, my 50th birthday celebration continued when my thoughtful hubby whisked me away on a getaway to Sedona. I love it when he does these things which he’s always been really good about doing in the many years we’ve been married.

But this time we did a few hikes as a concession to my wish that we start a new hobby.

The Woodchute Mountain trail was one we did. It was easy, nice views and we were alone the entire time.

You can walk along the creek and see the canals which the Natives dug, flowing with water still today. The canals provided irrigation for the crops the Natives raised.

We had fun and hopefully burned off a little more calories than we consumed!

What’s your favorite activity you do with your husband?

It was a bike ride. A bike ride where you ride (in my dreamy imagination) through the countryside and through little villages feeling the breeze against your face as you go downhill (for the guide book said it was a gentle downhill slope the entire way), sometimes beside the Blue Danube and sometimes not.

Riding along the Blue Danube

We traveled to the town of Melk where the bike trail was to begin. Melk is a small little town but yet it also has a massive abbey that is partially hidden in the tree tops and you only catch glimpses of it until the last minute when you are right on it. Then in that moment, the immensity of Melk Abbey and the extravagance of it kind of stuns you.

We rode through several small towns/villages.

Castle ruins along the way…

Time for our last meal in Austria – another outdoor cafe.

We stopped at a McDonald’s at one point for Russell was having a bit of trouble staying awake and thought a frappuccino from McDonald’s like they serve here in the US might help… but they do things a little different from here in the USA.

Quite a beautiful selection of sweets were available.

Their coffee station was serious business. No frappuccino’s like they offer here in the States was available. They had no idea what Russell was talking about. He tried to explain and they tried to understand. They made him up something they thought was similar but it was not.

We reached Innsbruck and I can’t say we were impressed with the city. Just not our favorite place but the Alps were gorgeous. We rode 3 different lifts which are collectively called the Nordkettenbahn to the top of the mountain, Hafelekar.

Amazing Views

The day we were at the Alps we met Frederick who was actually getting ready to ski down the mountain. The ski slope was unlike anything we’ve ever seen. It is a 70° slope, so almost straight down once you get started. This is just one of the slopes.

The historic district was enjoyable but crowded.

That night we enjoyed more delightful lodging.

Want to read more about our trip to Austria?

We Have Arrived in Austria – Day 1

We Have Arrived in Austria – Part Two of Day 1

An Italian Eatery in Vienna, Austria

The Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria – Part One of Day 2

Street Views of Vienna, Austria – Part Two of Day 2

The Summer Palace of the Habsburg’s – Day 3

Castle Ruins on the Danube River (Day 3)

Driving Adventures in Salzburg (Day 4)

Salzburg, Austria (Day 4, Part 2)

A Musical Evening in Salzburg

The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music (Day 5)

Dining at a Thousand Year Old Restaurant – the Stiftskeller St. Peter

Dreamy Hallstatt, Austria (Day 6)

We left Salzburg and drove through the countryside to reach Hallstatt. I took some pictures of the houses just to show how the architecture is different than here in the States.

We arrived in Hallstatt and parked in one of the parking lots provided for tourists. The road to the old center of town is closed during the day and so you must park in one of the designated parking lots.

We rode the funicular (a funicular is a similar to a tram car except you go almost straight up the mountain on tracks) to the Salt Mine – the oldest one in the world and which is still in operation. They produce about 1.1 million tons of salt each year. Most of the salt is used for roads. There have been archeological digs conducted and they have learned some of the history of the people that occupied there so long ago. The mine has been operating for 7,000 years – since before Christ was born!

There’s a beautiful overlook at the top before you hike to the mine that has a little cafe. We stopped here for a look and then continued to the mine.

The best thing in the mine was going down the wooden slides to get from one floor to another. It’s very fast and so much fun.

Hear me squeal as we slide down this great slide.

Salt Rocks

Objects found in the mine are quite preserved from the salt.

They say this is Europe’s oldest wooden ladder.

After our tour of the salt mine, back to the overlook we went.

Looks like quite the location for a home at waters edge. 

A little fancy coffee and a grand view.

We finished our drinks up just in time because the clouds let go and there was a torrential downpour.

Heading down the mountain, after leaving the salt mine, back to the village of Hallstatt.

We learned something that night. Always book your accommodations early on. We were scrambling to find a place to stay that night. Hallstatt had no vacancies and it was getting late and the operators of lodgings were leaving for the night. We ended our visit in Hallstatt on not such a good note. We were in the parking lot, in our car, trying to get a signal to call the different bed and breakfasts. We drove back and forth in the parking lot trying to get a call out. A man in a nearby house was apparently watching. He came over and told us if we didn’t leave right away he was calling the police. We tried to explain but he wasn’t interested. Not needing any more drama since we just really needed to get a room booked immediately, we left and drove down the road (it didn’t matter where it was going as long as it was away from the parking lot haha).

We finally were able to get someone and found a man that was willing to wait for us in a nearby town and we drove through the pouring rain, getting lost a few times, to our delightful room. It was a great place to call it a night and get some rest.

My previous posts of our trip to Austria.

We Have Arrived in Austria – Day 1

We Have Arrived in Austria – Part Two of Day 1

An Italian Eatery in Vienna, Austria

The Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria – Part One of Day 2

Street Views of Vienna, Austria – Part Two of Day 2

The Summer Palace of the Habsburg’s – Day 3

Castle Ruins on the Danube River (Day 3)

Driving Adventures in Salzburg (Day 4)

Salzburg, Austria (Day 4, Part 2)

A Musical Evening in Salzburg

The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music (Day 5)

Dining at a Thousand Year Old Restaurant – the Stiftskeller St. Peter

It was operated by monks since it was a part of St. Peter’s Abbey. Until not too long ago, it was still ran by monks.

It was a lovely restaurant with food prepared fresh using healthy ingredients and beautifully presented. They also offer Mozart concerts in the evening times – which we did not do since we had already attended the mini orchestra concert at Hohensalzburg Fortress.

This part of the restaurant was in the courtyard. There were booths in the center and down the sides.

Don’t you love how they did this long wagon/trolley with moss and flowers? So cute!

An area to have a beverage while visiting.

The lovely food…

Here you can see some of the old abbey walls.

Church bells are a very common thing in Austria which makes for a unique and fun experience. In this video I pan the Stiftskeller St. Peter restaurant and then the streets.

We finished up the evening with a lovely dessert at a cafe located in the Hohensalzburg Fortress – the same fortress where we had enjoyed the lovely evening concert the night before.

Talk about indulging. Mmmm it was SO good!

My previous posts of our trip to Austria.

We Have Arrived in Austria – Day 1

We Have Arrived in Austria – Part Two of Day 1

An Italian Eatery in Vienna, Austria

The Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria – Part One of Day 2

Street Views of Vienna, Austria – Part Two of Day 2

The Summer Palace of the Habsburg’s – Day 3

Castle Ruins on the Danube River (Day 3)

Driving Adventures in Salzburg (Day 4)

Salzburg, Austria (Day 4, Part 2)

A Musical Evening in Salzburg

The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music (Day 5)

So on this Sunday morning, we met on the street where the bicycle tour was to begin.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, most Austrians have never heard of The Sound of Music but this company has found a thriving business appealing to all those that are fans of the movie and who live in other countries.

Off we went after getting accustomed to our bikes. One of our first stops was at the Residence Fountain where in the movie Maria sings, “I Have Confidence” as she splashes the water out.

We made a little stop to get some wonderful from scratch pretzels. This family’s claim to fame is that they are the original creators of the pretzel and they’re still making and selling them generations later.

We had to ride up a very steep narrow road to the Nonnberg Abbey where the real Maria actually was a nun. This is also the place where the nuns sang “Maria” in the film, where the children came to the gates and begged Maria to come back to them. It is also the location in real life and in the film where the police came to get the family but they were able to escape.

It is still an operating nunnery today – the oldest continuously running convent in the German speaking world.

Beautiful views from the city.

We left the city and biked through the countryside, riding along the path while our guide played music from The Sound of Music on a portable speaker.

Schloss Leopoldskron built in 1741 by Archbishop Leopold Count Firmian. This house, which was originally built for the Archbishop’s family, was eventually bought by Max Reinhardt, the founder of the Salzburg Festival, in 1918.

In the film this is where the children drank lemonade with the Baroness, Maria and the Captain danced at the ball and where the children fell out of their little boats and into the water.

Our American tour guide, who married an Austrian and now lives full-time in Austria, took our picture when he found out we were celebrating 29 years.

The hills are alive with the sound of music!

The actual gazebo that was used in the film was donated to the people of Austria (who don’t care much about it since they don’t know anything about the movie) and sits in a city park. It is locked up because of injuries incurred when people tried to reenact scenes from the movie that involved the gazebo.

Sunday’s in Austria are very different. Most everything closes down and it was actually a little difficult to find a place to eat later that day. Austrians take the weekends seriously for time to spend with family. The park was packed with people that had brought picnics and settled on the grass to eat and relax. The Austrians love being outdoors when the weather is good.

We were ready to ride back to our starting point after riding several miles. Everyone was meandering to their bikes when Russell told me he was going to the bathroom. I thought he would be pretty quick but he didn’t come and he didn’t come… We’re on our bikes at this point and pulling up to the parks entrance which is near the bathrooms. He still didn’t come. Finally they start to head out. I tell one of the last ladies in the group that my husband is in the bathroom and to please let our guide know.

Russell still didn’t come. Our group was long gone and we had to make the decision of which way to go. We both decided, from what our guide had said, that we would be returning a different way so we made a right out of the park instead of going left. We rode for quite a ways and finally reached a main road. We kept going along but then came to the conclusion that there was no way they would take a group of bike riders across busy sections of highway like we were doing. We even tried to call the bicycle company but had no luck getting a call out.

We decided to return to the park and head back the same way we had come. We started along the tree lined avenue and before long we see our guide riding towards us. Whew! It was good to see him but a little humiliating as the 3 of us  rode all the way back down the lane to where the rest of the group was waiting. I cannot imagine how we would have gotten back if our guide hadn’t come to see us. And to think that he had said at the beginning of the tour they hadn’t lost anyone yet! haha Well, there’s always got to be a first, right? lol I’m sure we were lost for a good 25 minutes. Thankfully nobody seemed put out about being delayed.

What happened to the lady that was supposed to let our guide know that Russell was in the bathroom? Well since she was always at the back of the line, she never was able to catch up with him. 

Back in Salzburg after our 8 mile bike ride!

For supper that evening we went to the oldest restaurant in Europe.  I loved it! That will be next post.

We Have Arrived in Austria – Day 1

We Have Arrived in Austria – Part Two of Day 1

An Italian Eatery in Vienna, Austria

The Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria – Part One of Day 2

Street Views of Vienna, Austria – Part Two of Day 2

The Summer Palace of the Habsburg’s – Day 3

Castle Ruins on the Danube River (Day 3)

Driving Adventures in Salzburg (Day 4)

Salzburg, Austria (Day 4, Part 2)

]]> https://treasuringthemoments.net/2018/10/23/the-hills-are-alive-with-the-sound-of-music-day-5/feed/ 1 https://treasuringthemoments.net/2018/09/20/a-musical-evening-in-salzburg-day-4-part-3-of-our-austria-trip/ https://treasuringthemoments.net/2018/09/20/a-musical-evening-in-salzburg-day-4-part-3-of-our-austria-trip/#comments Thu, 20 Sep 2018 15:13:31 +0000 http://treasuringthemoments.net/?p=706285 I almost skipped over this part of our stay in Austria but it was such a special evening that my trip journal wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t include a mention of the musical quintet we heard the first night we were in Salzburg.

We finished up our day in Salzburg by seeing where Mozart was born and lived for the first 17 years of his life. His family lived on the 3rd floor incidentally.

This trip will always be a fond memory. We had such a wonderful time.

Highly recommended in Salzburg is the Mozart Concert that is given at the Hohensalzburg Fortress.

We decided to go and it was lovely. What a beautiful evening.

Of course, you must be willing to do a little stair-climbing!

You are literally overlooking the city.

Hohensalzburg Fortress is one of the largest medieval castles in Europe and is built on top of a hill.

The Mozart concert featured 2 cellos, 2 violins, 1 bass and a piano. Just beautiful! This is a must do if you go to Salzburg – in my opinion.

And that’s all for today, folks. Just a short and sweet post of a really special day in Salzburg, Austria.

We Have Arrived in Austria – Day 1

We Have Arrived in Austria – Part Two of Day 1

An Italian Eatery in Vienna, Austria

The Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria – Part One of Day 2

Street Views of Vienna, Austria – Part Two of Day 2

The Summer Palace of the Habsburg’s – Day 3

Castle Ruins on the Danube River (Day 3)

Driving Adventures in Salzburg (Day 4)

Salzburg, Austria (Day 4, Part 2)