Visit the most famous meadow in the world to jump while singing

BarcelonaI'll allow myself to exaggerate, but this is surely the most famous meadow on the planet. I don't know of any others that manage to attract thousands of people every year. Just 40 minutes by train from Salzburg is the village of Werfen. If you get off at the station, you have to walk about 40 minutes and you'll arrive at the meadow, with stunning views of the Alps and the Hohenwerfen fortress in the background. One of the most famous scenes in film history was filmed here, that of Smiles and tears with Julie Andrews singing "Do-re-mi" to the children who end up dancing across the meadow.

The city of Salzburg is beautiful enough to visit without having to think about any films. A city of art and music, but, according to its tourist office, each year around 350,000 people say that the main reason they come to this Austrian city The sound of music, translated in our house as Smiles and tears. While not a huge fan of the film, what I like about it is that it reminds me of my childhood. Almost everyone remembers watching this film as a child, with long-gone grandparents, parents, or siblings. A sweet and beautiful film, based on a Broadway musical, which was, in turn, based on a German film. We already know that Americans need to make their own adaptations of all the plays produced around the world.

The 1965 film starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer would win five Oscars and make the true story of the Von Trapp family famous. An aristocratic family from the old Austro-Hungarian Empire. Georg, a submarine captain during World War I who had been widowed with seven children, would end up marrying Maria, the governess hired to raise his children, a young woman who had aspired to become a nun. The events took place, with some minor changes to the script. But it's true that together they made music the family's mainstay, creating a choral group with their seven children that would become successful. And it's true that they opposed the Nazis, fleeing after the annexation of Austria in 1938. The Trapps would end up living in the United States, triumphing as a musical group, and Maria's memoirs would be the basis for films and musicals.

In Salzburg you can visit Villa Leopoldskron, the Trapp family home in the film. Or the garden of Hellbrunn Castle, where the first love scene was filmed to the rhythm of Sixteen going on seventeenThe former riding school, the Felsenreitschule, is the setting for the musical competition in the film, and the Benedictine monastery also served as a backdrop for the opening scenes. The wedding in Mondsee was filmed near the city, although the most visited destination is the famous Werfen meadow. The meadow is truly idyllic. And it's always fun to see people of all ages singing and dancing like children, without shame. Feeling like a child again is wonderful, isn't it?

Recommendation for traveling to Salzburg.

Film: Smiles and tears

Director: Robert Wise

Year: 1965