Christmas this year was different than any other year.  For one thing, I've never spent Christmas in another country, and for another, it was the first time I didn't see any of my siblings in person on Christmas.  I also know, though, there will never be another Christmas like this one.  My parents came to visit and we got to spend about a week together.

We went to the Christmas markets, spent a full day at church eating, communing, and singing with my church family here, we watched many a good film, we went to see castles, we walked along lake shores, and...we went to Austria.  My family loves musicals, but none love The Sound of Music as much as I do.  In fact, one of my brothers can't stand the movie because I watched it every day for a year when I was 3.  Sorry about that, Matthias.  It has always been a dream of mine to go to Salzburg and see the places where they filmed the movie.  This always was just a dream, though, and I never thought it would happen.  So, when my parents asked if I wanted to take a trip somewhere, I thought, "Sure, France has many lovely places to visit."  After discussing it for a while, my mom said "What if we go to Salzburg?" Without a moment's hesitation, I said YES.  So, the morning after Christmas, we got on a train that would bring us to that lovely town nestled in the Alps.

In the morning, we were picked up at the hotel along with another family to go on the tour for The Sound of Music.  This other family was an Argentinian woman, along with her mother, and her Dutch husband whom she met in Antarctica.  How's that for a story?  We joined with three other buses and headed through the lovely town.  Because I'm a bit of a dork, I had already known that the interior of the house was a separate location from the front of the house, and the terrace and lake and the backyard was also a separate location.  I still cannot believe how beautiful it was there.  I mean, seriously.  Look at this!  When I see places like this, I am just struck with how great a gift God gave us when He created the world.  And that beauty still remains, even if it hard to find sometimes.

After we saw the back of the house, we headed up to the lakes and mountains region.  On the way, we stopped at the site of the front of the house, the lane where the kids were up in the trees while the captain, the baroness, and Max drove by, as well as THE GAZEBO.  One of my favorite scenes in the movie is the scene in which Liesl and Rolf sing "Sixteen Going on Seventeen".  That dance is one of my favorites, and I've always wanted to learn it, not to mention wear Charmian Carr's dress.  I think that may be my favorite place we visited, and sadly it was only for a few minutes.

After we drove through the mountains, listening to the soundtrack the whole way, we arrived in Mondsee.  What is in Mondsee, you ask?  Many things, including delicious apple strudel, but most importantly, the church in which they filmed the wedding scene.  Yes, I was geeking out the entire time, and yes, I did walk down the aisle like Maria.  (And yes, I do realize how incredibly dorky and embarrassing that is, but I don't care)  The church was so beautiful!  It looked exactly like it did in the movie, except that it was decorated for Christmas which only added to its loveliness.

 When we finished the tour, we walked around town, saw the fountain and gardens from Do Re Mi, Nonnberg Abbey, and went on a carriage ride.  I loved every moment- except for when my camera died, so I don't have pictures from those places, but Mom is sending them to me- and wouldn't trade it for anything.  How great is it that I got to be there with my parents too?  We had delicious Austrian food, fabulous coffee, and exquisite desserts.  Those are all being added to my list of recipes to learn.  Especially this coffee ice cream drink.