Europe Day 6

Today was incredible. We left at 9 am on a tour bus from Linz Austria {here where we are ported} and rode 1.5 hours to Salzburg Austria. Birthplace of Mozart and also the home of The Sound of Music. Our tour guide played "The hills are alive!!" over the speaker as the Alps came into view! lol. On our way we stopped at this gorgeous little town where we got shots of the Alps behind us. When we got there we first walked by Mozarts birth house- WAY cool. Then we started out our tour in the beautiful courtyard where they filmed the DO RE ME song in Sound of Music. It was SO beautiful! Then we moved on to the Cemetery / Monastery{ also the one featured in the Sound of Music movie} Which was my favorite place of our 6 days out here so far. IT IS STUNNING. And just basically something you won't see anywhere else in the world. You can walk through the cemetery that sits against a cliff UP and INTO it! There is a church carved out of the freaking mountain. We climbed all the way up and were able to get some stunning views of the cemetery down below. There are also these gated areas {almost like zoo cages} where multiple family members can be buried together in these "rooms" . All the burial plots are RENTED. Yes, rented and if you don't maintain it's grounds to their standards your family member's body will be evicted. Isn't that CRAZY!?!? There were bodies buried in there as old as like 1300 and as new as 2011. It was FASCINATING. Steve's new book coming out is interesting. It makes connections between Abraham Lincoln and Mormons and there are quite a few scenes that take place at the Cemetery here   It was really interesting to hear his little speech about how he spent time in SLC researching Mormons etc. After the cemetery tour I had a chance to talk with him at lunch. I asked him What out of all the research he did on Mormons was the most interesting or surprising info he came upon. I was expecting many different answers but I was surprised. He said it was the connection between Mormons and ALL of American History- how intricately they are intertwined AND that Mormonism is the ONLY religion that intertwines the constitution in our religion. He also talked about the Book of Mormon being buried under a rock for years and then being revealed to Joseph Smith and translated and how is that any less believable than when Jesus died and 3 days later awoke and arose from the tomb. He literally said "Honestly which one is harder to believe, It most certainly could have happened" We spent lunch talking about good book event places. They really wanted to do it at Deseret Book but we pretty much talked them out of it explaining that Deseret Book isn't like a Barnes and Noble and it honestly might do better at a Costco etc in Utah. During his research he went to the Library of Congress and was able to hold and read our first print Book of Mormon that Abraham Lincoln had checked out for 9 months. No President since has checked it out but him. Interesting and this is part of the thriller novel that will be coming out next year :) Way cool. He asked us how many of us Mormons actually read the Book of Mormon on a consistent basis. We told him that we are encouraged to read it daily, but that as with other religions we aren't all that obedient. lol. He was very considerate to explain that this book will not offend nor does it paint Mormons in a bad light- there are historical connections that makes into a historical based but fiction thriller. This was all discussed over lunch at one of the most famous places to eat lunch in Salzburg- also a place where a pivotal scene in the book takes place. It was FANCY! The waiters were dressed up like German Downton Abbey characters if you can picture that!. lol. We were free to roam after lunch through Salzburg's shop streets. We found the cutest little wool vests for the boys to wear to church. There is such a difference between Czech and Germany/Austria. In Czech MOST locals speak a decent amount of English to where we can communicate questions rather well, But here NO ONE speaks English and you really have to pantomime. :) I wished we had another day here. First place I felt like I REALLY wanted to return to someday because there just wasn't enough time to soak in all that is there! We rode our bus back to our boat an hour and a half and let me tell you what a BEAUTIFUL country Austria is!!! So wooded and GREEN. Much more mountainous than Czech and Germany. So this port was interesting because you double up with another boat at the port. So imagine two river cruise ships parallel to the dock and we literally had to walk through another ship to get to ours. Dinner was another night of spectacular. Every meal is a 4 course menu and you order what you want of the choices given- free of charge of course, and I swear I am going to gain 15 pounds on this cruise! Warren assures me that all the walking we are doing is going to cancel it out. haha. But the staff here is so nice that they bring us our cranberry juice for me and coke for Warren as soon as we sit down because they remember it from the night before. It's just been such a dream. We are SO lucky to have this 2 weeks of heaven. I DID shed a few tears today on the streets thinking about missing our boys. It feels like we are 2 worlds away. But what a trip of a lifetime. My friend Ruby- our cruise directory- the one who hired me to come is already talking about London next July and I said YES! I am in! haha. It's another tour with Steve Berry. We'll have to see of course how this next year pans out but I might have found my new niche. Travel Photography :) I am in heaven with all this architecture. And it REALLY tests ALL my photo skills moving about at the pace we move with a different light scenario every time I turn around. haha. We have come to really love the people on this cruise. And I think they love us too. Everyone is always asking how I am feeling and if I need anything and basically I think it's a win win. We love to hear their life stories and they love to hear ours :) So again, we are back in our comfy room with dim lights- Warren is lying next to me fully clothed and snoring away. haha. We deport around midnight and sail through the night to our next destination where we get to do more exploring tomorrow!

Nighty Night

Taisley {and snoring Warren}

PS. Found myself paying 2 Euro's today to use the WASH CLOSET in the McDonalds. It looks like a NYC subway token booth- It's all automated- you stick your $$ in and then walk through the turny thing. The toilet self cleans when you are done. Imagine the top ring where you sit making a 360 degree turn as a little arm cleans and disinfects it. haha, nice. Oh and it rained on and off all day. Tricky with my camera and umbrella but we worked it out. :)

 The Alps behind us!

 "DOE a deer, a female deer..."

Mozarts birth home :) {above)

Above: this is where they filmed the scene with the VonTrap family singing at the concert at the end where they escape out...

Church adjoining the cemetery where you can go UP and INTO the mountain.

 inside the rock!

most gorgeous cemetery I've ever seen

Lunch with the clan!

 

* Pictures are imported straight from RAW form and appear a little darker than they should- I can't wait to get home and edit all these but I wanted to atleast give you all an idea!!*