Time Winds Down

Who knew four months could fly by so fast. I say that now, but as the clock was ticking, it seemed to be incredibly slow. For the first few months, everything remained the same. This led to never ending second thoughts. Perhaps I could wait a few months....or years. Then things took a definite turn for the worse. Who knew that could be a good thing? Yet it was. No more thoughts of procrastinating, no more possibility of keeping the weak defective knees I was born with. Despite all my squeamishness, it's time to face reality. What the heck, I'd better get 'er done before nationalized health care sticks me with them forever.

But wouldn't you think that with all the technology doctors have at their disposal, wouldn't you think they could at least make me a little taller?

How Did It Happen?

It's interesting how sometimes things just fall together. Coincidence some say. By the grace of God say others. Just a lucky break perhaps.

To replace the knees or not to replace the knees was the question. You're too young. You haven't exhausted all the options other than surgery. But what happens when all the options except surgery have failed? What happens when the quality of life has diminished to the point where your world is work and the couch? Do the same prohibitions to surgery still exist?

The doctor is good, is a second opinion better? More questions. The answer after much soul searching, discussion and counseling was a resounding yes. A second opinion means more knowledge upon which to base an educated decision. Or does it? What if the second opinion leads you down a road you never anicipated?

Not such a big difference perhaps, but a curve in the road I certainly didn't anticipate. By a cirquitious route, I was led to a surgeon in Allentown, who by all accounts, is one of the top in his field. I went in January 29 for a second opinion and came out with a June 3 surgery date. And thus the journey begins.

Hallein Bad Durnberg Salt Mine

This really wasn't all that far from where we're staying. The GPS took us on a twisty turny barely 2-lane road over hill and dale. Brent was worried a car would come the other way - there really wasn't much room.

To start out, everyone must wear these very attractive white 2-piece outfits. We were definitely stylin'!

We hopped on a train type thing where everyone straddled the seat and scrunched together. Down into the mine we went. This mine is no longer a working mine as it is not economical anymore, but Salzburg was a very wealthy city due to the salt coming out of this mine. The red blob in the pic below is salt.

The tour is a series of films with displays that take you through the old-time mining process.

The best part is when you slide down these wooden rails - something like 150 feet . It was pretty cool and we did two of these, continuing to go deeper into the mine. Actually a very large part of this mine is in Germany not Austria. Then, you take a little boat across water and this huge salt crystal is at the end.

We're leaving Salzburg tomorrow and driving through Hallstatt and heading for Linz. We fly home on Saturday. Mine brither tells me that Lufthansa might go on strike on Feb. 25. They can do what they want after I get home!

Salzburg Cathedral

Unfortunately I don't have a great picture of the entire building. This is the Salzburg Dom built in 1628

Supposedly this church can hold 10,000 people. The Ddome was destroyed in WWII and was reconstructed in 1959.

Tombs of 10 archbishops surround the dome. The second picture was taken of the ceiling along the left side, but there were painted sections like this along both sides.

This picture looks to the back of the church and the organ pipes. Mozart was the organist here for two years.

St. Peter's Church and Cemetery

St. Peter's is the only church in Salzburg with a Rococo interior. I'm not sure how old this church is, but from the outside it appears to be very old.

The picture below is the tomb of St. Rupert.

This is St. Peter's cemetery. I read somewhere that gravesites in Austria are not owned, they're rented. Bills are sent out every 10 years and if there's nobody left who's willing to pay for it, the bones are dug up and chucked. I wonder if that's true!

Remember the scene in the Sound of Music where the von Trapp's are hiding out in the cemetery at Nonnburg? Well, that scene was filmed in a Hollywood studio but this cemetery inspired that scene.

Hohensalzbug Fortress

This view of the fortress was taken from the old town. It is built on a rock basically. To get to the castle, you need to ride the funicular. This picture looks down on the midway station.

This was the first real sunny day we've had since I arrived so it was a great time to tour Hohensalzburg. You can see the snow covered mountains in the background.

As you go through, you follow a path which brings you to the inner courtyard. This is where various tradesmen would be located.

Very narrow pathways both outside and inside the castle. Here's Brent posing with one of his favorite things - a cannon. These were placed here to defend Salzburg against an Ottoman invasion. No, no matter how much he begs he cannot have one in our front yard.

Interestingly enough, this fortress was never actually used. I guess it looked impregnable so no one attacked the town for a thousand years. They surrendered the fortress when Napoleon came.

I really don't have many pictures from inside the castle. It was quite irritating that instead of being able to wander through leisurely, everyone was herded through all at the same time. It was crowded, and no matter where I seemed to stand, I was in someone's way or they were in mine. I was really irked by the whole process so I have no pictures of the torture chamber or the other few rooms we were herded through.

We did go to the marionette exhibit housed in the fortress. They were so cool. I was very disappointed that the marionette troupe was touring in France so we couldn't attend the Marionette Theatre.



These are a few views looking down on Salzburg from the Fortress 400 feet above the town.

The Hills Are Alive

Many of you may know that Brent's all-time favorite movie is....wait for it....The Sound of Music. I know your experience with him would lead you to believe that his favorite would be some kind of shoot-em-up with lots of guns and sex. Surprise, he actually is still half in love with Julie Andrews.

One of the first things we decided to do when we got to Salzburg was the Sound of Music Tour. I think this is the first time we've ever done anything like this, but we figured it would give us a quick view of Salzburg and a glimpse of the lake region.

Two homes were used for the von Trapp's home in the movie - neither of them their real house. This house was used for the scenes that took place on the patio out back. This is where the children were when they lied and said they were looking for berries and where the evil countess tried to pass a ball with the kids all the while figuring out how long until she could ship them off to boarding school. This building is used for conferences now.

You can kind of tell that there's a small lake or pond behind Brent. Remember when the kids were in the boat in their curtain clothes and tipped the boat over? Well, apparently little Gretel couldn't swim. So the plan was for Julie A. to catch her when they hit the water. That worked fine for the first take. Unfortunately for Take 2, Julie A. went off the back and the kids went off the front. Someone had to dive in and save Gretel. They were going to do a Take 3 but Gretel had a panic attack so the second one is the one they used. Apparently when Gretel comes up for air, she sinks back down.


Apparently the gazebo stayed on-site at the house above until so many tourists kept coming and singing You Are 16...sing along! Now the gazebo is at the Hellbrunn Palace. One story from the movie was when Liesel was dancing from bench to bench she slipped and went through one of the glass windows. Apparently if you look closely on VHS you can see that Liesel's ankle is wrapped. It was touched up when the DVD was released. I know this is going to shock you, but Christopher Plummer did not actually sing those songs. I take it he has a passable voice but couldn't compare to Julie Andrews so he opted to lip sync.

This is the lane where Maria got off the bus and began walking to the von Trapp home singing something about confidence. This was not the lane where the kids were climbing in the trees.

This is the Nonnburg Abbey that was used for the beginning scenes when Maria was still at the convent. This is where Maria and Gregor were really married, but it is not the church used for the wedding scenes. This is located in the pedestrian area and we didn't get over there.

The church that was used for the wedding scene was at the Basilika in Mondsee. This was undergoing some refurbishment, and I'm assuming that's what the purple screen is all about. This church has a really long aisle and is quite beautiful inside. I'm sparing you more pictures of a church since we visited several others here in Salzburg

Pegasus is located in the Mirabelle Gardens and the kids were dancing around this in the film.

I think the tour guide made this as interesting as they possibly could. Lots of schmaltzy singing in the van, but it was okay and Brent loved it so it was all worthwhile!