Today was a free day. We had a very late breakfast, the breakfasts here are just incredible, well except for the GF bread. Then scattered. We all scheduled different kinds of massages courtesy of the hotel. I went for reflexology. After Holly read aloud the list of possible options (breast massage to perk things up, abdomen massage to loosen things up), I didn’t know what might happen during a full massage and didn’t want to take a chance. It was very cool – little houses on a pond. First a foot bath with gardenias and mint and lemongrass aroma therapy oil. I went to a massage table and I lay down, ok, I’ll really relax. The masseuse then played the singing bowls and then the massage. So cool. Completely relaxing.
I staggered back out after and rode the bike to the work out place – great gym. I got on the treadmill and finished Dirty Dancing on my iPad, my treat from the night before. So had a work out and broke a sweat for the first time in a month. Then I swam in the longest lap pool I’ve ever seen. Mostly I just wheezed and tried to get to the end. But I did it! I couldn’t resist that gorgeous pool.
Then read, wrote, took quiet time for the rest of the afternoon. So nice.
We took a shuttle back into town to see a show at the Hoi An Lune Center. This was an acrobatic show using primarily bamboo for all athletics and many of the instruments. It was a pretty frenetic show, the people were so strong and the music was cool, many different instruments. Supposedly the show was based on the culture in the highlands of Vietnam. We had no idea if that was the case of if what they were speaking/singing throughout the show was even a language. But it was definitely diverting!
We then walked down the river – lantern river with the night market – to our dinner spot. Our guide from Hue had set this up for us, arguing for a particular table on the highest balcony right up front so we could see all the colors and activity on the river and the banks. It was great. And maybe the best Vietnamese food we’ve had yet.
This video is before it gets really dark and the lights shine even more, but at the start you can see all the chairs set up for people who sit to watch the lantern boats go by.
The last one is from our balcony at the restaurant. Amazing.
First breakfast, gluten free toast for Kellie. Guess which one is GF?
Our guide was Than, she didn’t have that much English, but oh man, she was darling and laughed at everything. So much fun to be with for the day.
Our first stop was at a lantern making shop and making our own lanterns. Pat and Kellie were ready to put their hands to art, but we quickly learned that the women sitting on either end of our table had very exacting standards and no one met them. Not even Kellie! We’d start something and it would be taken out of our hands and tightened, then taken out of hands for a bit of trimming, then for gluing (Pat – I would have done the gluing!), etc. But by the end, we each had our own little lantern 🙂
As we finished, Pat yelled out his usual Cam On! Tto thank the team and Tham cracked up. She then stopped us and explained that because of the inflections in Vietnamese, you had to be super careful how you spoke the words. Pat had been saying Cam On to everyone and often the faces were a bit confused/funny. But what the hey – he was trying! Then Tham said that in fact he’d been saying shut up every time. We were laughing so hard. Then she gave us a demonstration of what inflection can do to a one syllable word:
Styling
We then got on bikes. Than had prepared for all contingencies. She had water bottles, bags for our bags, rain coat/ponchos and off we went in the drizzle. This was a fun piece of the day because there are paths all around the rice patties and through the backs of the houses in the villages. Kellie’s highlight was stopping and getting to know a water buffalo. This water buffalo’s highlight of his life was having Kellie scratch his ears. I don’t know if I caught his expression, but he really did look like he was in heaven.
Water buffalo are beloved pets here, incredible docile (except if protecting a baby) and well cared for.
Then we stopped at an organic farm, the only one in the area. This garden was incredible. I tried to get a video for Eli C and Kylie – our farmers – but it was hard to capture. So many different vegetables with different flowers mixed in to keep the insects away. We then got to farm – a wee square. We were startled because the farmer (who clearly had a vast amount of knowledge) was putting cuttings straight into the dirt. We all wondered if she was then going to just pull them up after we left? But I don’t think so. There was another square that some other group had clearly planted and was growing well. They make a fertilizer with a mix of water buffalo dung, and a few other things, super rich looking, so maybe things just grow easily there.
We left the bikes and got in little coconut basket boats and rowed to lunch. These little boats come about because the Chinese were taxing all boats. So the people figured out how to make very large baskets – from bamboo actually – and then to row them thus avoiding the taxes. Clever and it was a pretty little ride. They put the hats on us before we even started moving, but it was nice because we could row. And we started to appreciate these hats – they’re actually pretty comfortable and seriously effective for both sun and rain.
Our stopping point was our lunch spot.
Here we got a wee cooking lesson learning to make a classic Vietnamese pancake with shrimp, pork, and vegetables. All rolled up in rice paper. Turned out that was just the start to the meal – and it was a fun start. We had a variety of dishes; my favorite was morning glory. Later we read that this vegetable, also called water spinach, is the second most common food item after rice. It grows in all climates and soils, the only thing that grows everywhere in the country. It has Vitamins C and B6, iron, calcium and lots of fiber.
After lunch we drove to town where we were dropped off and went back to the store for our fittings. My skirt was looking a lot like a mumu, the fabric is great and feels great, so what the hey, I’ll be comfortable! The dress is a mystery. Figured I’d try it out the last night of our travels.
We then started looking for our hotel shuttle. It wasn’t where we were initially told it would be, tried another place, then Scott started texting with someone back at the hotel who was in charge of our rooms. We got the message to look for Jolly Culture. Ok, so then we asked people where Jolly Culture was. Finally, Scott got some clarity – can you spell that – and it was Yuly Couture. Funny. We found our shuttle and then we had 24 hours at the hotel before we’d leave and come back for a show and dinner. Free day!
It was actually Valentine’s Day, something we kept forgetting but there were reminders everywhere. We came to our group living room and found treats and a shell design for Happy Valentines. Then we went to our rooms and all of us found warm baths and hot tea waiting for us. What?! I took a photo and then realized it was actually hot and thought, ok, well, shouldn’t waste the water. Fun.
Really nice quiet evening. I stayed in, ordered room service and took some quiet time. All of us did the same, retreat for a night.
We drove from Hue to Hoi An, a 3.5 hour drive up and over the mountains, largely jungle looking except for intermittent towns. We all looked at that green and couldn’t imagine being 18 and dropped into this area to fight – knowing nothing. We drove through Danang on our way to Hoi An and will come back here to fly to Saigon.
We crossed an amazing dragon bridge in Danang, the head is decorative, but the back is all structural and it’s designed to spew fire and water as part of a show on Saturdays and Sundays. This bridge was built both to welcome, to give a sign of luck and strength and to withstand typhoons. There can be 8 typhoons a year in Danang – from October to December mostly – and it takes a toll, However, in the last 3 years, no typhoons have hit. Instead, because of climate change, now the typhoons are moving to the north. In the last years, they’ve wiped out northern villages because the buildings weren’t designed to withstand the storms.
Danang is a pretty city, 5th largest in Vietnam, and modern because of how much was destroyed during the Vietnam War. It was in the midst of the DMZ. We drove along Danang Beach, which was called China Beach by the Americans because of all the pieces of Chinese pottery they found on the beach. Danang has grown steadily and there were a lot of big and gorgeous buildings/hotels, restaurants along the beach.
The next time I opened my book, When Heaven and Earth Changed Places, she was on China Beach in ‘86, first visit back from the States. She described it as shacks lining the beach, some still with GI writing on pieces of the walls. Most people wore black pajamas,but with western wear starting to get mixed in, and there was a peasant market on the street across from the beach. There was not a remnant of that scene now, almost 40 years later.
Our guide said that this city is a common spot for Korean visitors. They liked that it was a newly built city, very clean and Danang advertises to the Koreans – there are now 10 flights a day between Korea and Danang.
We drove straight to the old city of Hoi An and first had lunch at a well-known bánh mì, or sandwich, shop. It was a classic little store front business until Anthony Bourdain visited. The owner has now built this shop as well as two others. We walked into a large 2 story shop filled with people and the bánh mì were really good. I think it’s mostly because of the great French bread rolls. The first time we had them in Hanoi, we decided it was a mystery interior and just ate them. You can see Anthony Bourdain’s photo proudly displayed.
We then started exploring the old town of Hoi An. Hoi A was a trading post in the 2nd century and was an economic hub during the Cham Dynasties (7th–10th centuries). In the 16th century Hoi A became a major international trading center. It was a center for the spice trade and a settling point for Chinese merchants and soldiers. In the 18th century, the town was a top travel destination for Chinese and Japanese merchants. In the 1800’s many of the buildings were renovated with traditional methods. It’s now an UNESCO site. And filled with tourists. Every storefront targets tourists and only the pagodas are still used, though again, filled with tourists. And, yes, we were joining the throng!
During typhoons and storms, the river floods and the stores are inundated. When Kylie was here, it was raining a ton and she said the river flooded and all the shops had water in them, but the store owners were matter of fact. They raised everything up to higher shelves and when the water went back down, they cleaned and the lowered all the goods.
There are temples throughout the town, mixed in with all the colors and shops, you could walk by and not even see one. As noted above, this was a Chinese center and still reflected this in the temples. This temple was notable. Quan Cong Temple, 1653, constructed as a place of worship dedicated to Quan Van Truong. “He was the famous general with talent, steadfast spirit, bravery, righteousness and virtues of an honorable man, living in the period of ‘Three Warring Kingdoms’ ruled by Han Dynasty, China.
The cones of incense above were amazing, each one burning very slowly and sending up the prayers and blessings that are written inside for as long as they’re burning. Scott was fascinated and bought a large one for Hakubai, hoping that the flattened cone will loosen when the box is opened.
Again – the details. In this case for the roof tiles
And the kids – we could have taken a gazillion photos of children all over, but were trying to be respectful, so didn’t get that many shots.
For us, the weather was perfect. A little cool, misty and we were able to walk and explore. We knew that this town was famous for hand tailoring any kind of clothes you might want in a very short period. I wanted to see a store, but Pat had already planned to have 2 linen shirts made. So we walked, took photos – so photogenic – and then stopped at the store. And it was THE store according to our guide. We liked the whole experience of being in the store, looking at patterns and fabrics and all but Scott ended up buying something. Fun and funny exploring the options.
The manager gave us a tour, talking about how they started, the first one and set up a training school to make sure the clothes were made perfectly. A customer chooses a pattern and a fabric, then comes back the next day for a fitting and then picks up the piece (or it’s delivered to the hotel) the next day. It can be finished in one or two days. Each tailer takes one item at a time, then a finisher makes sure all pieces are perfect, clipping strings, etc., then ironed and handed over.
We left and walked across the bridge to the new side of town and waited while Scott and our guide found a restaurant and reserved a table for the next day to watch the river of lanterns. River of light? Can’t remember, but it’s beautiful.
While we were waiting a small woman came up behind Pat and suddenly dropped her baskets on his shoulder, completely surprising him. Luckily, he’s strong because it was heavy! We were all cracking up – she put her hat on his head and then agreed to stand next to him, still laughing.
We then went to our hotel and our jaws dropped. It was so beautiful. Very simple clean lines, many pools, restaurants and we were very pleased that one of our days was going to be free to just hang out.
We stayed in for dinner and just enjoyed the scenery.
Every day has gotten better. Today was so interesting. I confess, I did a fair amount of it a bit dingy since I woke up at 2:30; we’re all dealing with jet lag at different paces. But – it was a great day.
Our new guide and the driver are delightful. Yesterday, in our group we discussed communism and Vietnam and how Hie, our guide, seem to portray in action someone very devoted to and admiring of the system as well as being anxious that he did everything right – with what seemed like concerns of who was overseeing his work. That may be just our projections, but we all picked up on it. He also talked about the cement “king” just doing what you can do if you’re rich – you’ve worked hard and are able to show off your success.
He was truly admiring of Ho Chi Minh, thought that Vietnam (or at least as he presented to us) was a country of one people, no north or south except for direction and location of cities and that all benefited by the one party system. Holly, last night at dinner, had read to us of a Proclamation, secretly written by the politburo last year, prior to Biden’s visit. This was not to be supposed to be disseminated, but was leaked. The document expressed the politburo’s intent to open more and more to market systems, but that there would be further suppression of any free press (there is none) and opposition parties. Yes, a market economy but ruled as a one-party system.
Our current guide’s family was from the center and supported the monarchy and republic from generations back. His family’s history reflected the book I’ve been reading; this is a much more nuanced country than was presented by our other guide who’s based in Hanoi and has always supported Ho Chi Minh. Our Hue guide’s family were intellectuals, had served in the republic and were pretty well off. Their house was taken, they had to flee, and when they were allowed to return, a government official had taken over their house.
We asked about the cement king and he said, yes, he did earn that, he was also given the rights and privileges because of his party connections. It’s not in isolation. He told us of struggling to find his way for a living and finally realizing that maybe he could train as a guide. He spoke both French and Vietnamese and was studying English. He scored the highest score in English and when he went to the school that he was trying to enter, he should have been assured of a spot because of his scores. Instead, his name had been erased in favor of someone connected to the party.
He also said that it’s definitely not one country in terms of how people feel about the party, but that all the way to the most southern parts, everyone loves Ho Chi Minh. So the narrative as presented at Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum and his homes may in fact have been a pretty accurate story of how he lived his life and his commitment to his people. Again, per our guide, I guess Ho Chi Minh was horrified by the Tet offensive and how many of his own people were killed and targeted, but he was already very ill by that time. There is speculation that his generals held off until Ho Chi Minh was quite sick to initiate the offensive and then the news was what finally undid him. Interesting slant.
Honestly, there’s been SO much to learn and think about that I can’t write it all, but wanted to get the highlights down. And I haven’t even started on what we saw!
We’re exploring Hue now. It felt like a really nice city as we drove through, seemingly middle class, nice size and comfortable. From 1802 to 1945 Hue was the capital city of Vietnam under the Nguyen Emperors who were based at the Imperial City, Hue’s great walled citadel inspired by the Forbidden City in Beijing. The complex originally contained over 160 building with ornate palaces, pavilions, gardens and gateways in traditional style dominating the site. Most remained unchanged until 1945 with the last emperor was deposed.
Battles then took a toll, first between the Viet Minh and French in 1947, burning the core including the main palace. Worse happened in 1968 during the Tet offensive between the VC and the US (who originally refrained from bombing the area in order to avoid damaging the historic structures, but as fighting intensified, restrictions were ignored). After the Battle of Hue, only 10 major sites survived. Now many are restored, but large empty spaces are left to show a hint of what was lost.
Our guide told us that Nguyen is the most common name in Vietnam. When mandarins (soldiers) wanted to move up, they gave their daughter to the king, who never said no. So all those children had the name. Then when wars were fought and there were prisoners, they could be let off more easily if they took Nguyen as their last name. Same for peasants who only had first names. If they would take Nguyen as their last name, it gave them a leg up. Currently 40% of the people in Vietnam of Nguyen as their last name.
Since the Citadel was the name of the area we were seeing, I assumed we’d be spending our time exploring the fort:
But no, we were on our way to seeing some incredible temples.
These Nguyen’s are the ones who rebuilt the temples in Hoa Lu on the origins of temples from then 9th and 10th century. The Hue Imperial Citadel was beautiful, with building after building lined up on a grid. This area was heavily bombed during the Vietnam War (Tet offensive happened here) and was the middle ground, so back and forth between the republic and the VC. Large sections of the Citadel were preserved and others have been restored. Then there were large spaces where the entire temple was gone.
Shoot, I can’t remember the name, or find it online, but this precursor to the staircase banister was one of the many details that Pat loved seeing in the architecture. The details were incredible!
Per our guide’s advice, the photo above was taken from the top of the brass cauldron below.
We then drove to the Thien Mu Pagoda, Hue’s best preserved religious monoment and still an ongoing monastery. It was built in 1601 and is a 7 storied tower pagoda, on top of a hill overlooking the Perfume River. I guess it’s an iconic image of Vietnam, it was new to me. But – this monastery, so far, stands out for me as the most wonderful place we’ve visited.
As soon as we passed the pagoda, the architecture became much more simple, one story, white with greenery all around. The plantings were incredible and so very intentional.
The first building had an old car with the story of a monk who had immolated himself. 6 of his fellow monks had done this in protest in Hue. This monk took this car, drove it to Hanoi, stepped out and put himself on fire. Incredibly sad. His face was beautiful, and such a commitment to his practice and protesting what was happening to Buddhists in the war. Somehow, it was a peaceful memorial, perhaps because of his photo.
We then continued back into the property, all of us spreading out, called to different areas, architecture, and plants. There was an incredible and ancient bonsai garden. I could have stayed there for the rest of the trip. There was something rare and peaceful that seeped into your bones if you stood still for even a moment.
And then yes! There was more. Such a day.
Next we visited the Khai Dinh Royal Tomb. This tomb was built for a king that had 132 wives and no children, maybe he had smallpox? But he wanted to have an incredible tomb. Khai Dinh was the penultimate emperor of Vietnam, from 1916 to 1925, and widely seen as a puppet of the French. It took 11 years to construct his flamboyant tomb from his designs, finishing after he died.
Confession here – I didn’t take my phone. Probably forgot it in the heat and long day.
As our guide said, the king was 50/50 good/bad. He built wonderful buildings that lasted, an entire complex that was Feng Shui. And he killed over 200 people because he forced them to keep working all summer in the brutal heat. This king wanted to leave a record of his accomplishments and wrote 500 Chinese characters on a large stelae, finishing it before he died.
There was a standout “instagram” woman at this place. She/her photographer chose perfect places for her to pose and her outfit was the most spectacular of the MANY costumes that we had seen. They’re very serious in these poses, but when Scott walked by her and told her how beautiful he thought she was, she gave him a big grin. Photo courtesy of Scott:
As part of our tour on this day, we went to the Tu Hieu Pagoda where Thich Nhat Hanh died. Thich Nhat Hanh was a Vietnamese Zen master, poet, scholar, and peace activist. He was born Nguyen Dinh Lang in Hue in 1926. He was cremated after his death in 2022 at the age of 95. His funeral was a seven-day silent meditation course. Thousands of people attended his funeral at the Tu Hieu Pagoda.
A slim chance was offered that we could go to the 4am chanting practice in the building where the monks practice, but our guide wasn’t able to find any monks and the buildings where he had gone before were locked behind a fence. We did see TNH’s burial tomb and the stone with a piece of his writing next to it. I would love to know what it says, but the script defied all of the translation apps. I’ll keep searching.
It was amazing being somewhere that Thich Nhat Hanh had been, but it didn’t feel like Thien Mu Pagoda and monastery. Still – a gift.
And finally, Scott had asked about where incense was made – we’d been seeing these astonishing circle incense burners that could burn for days, sending prayers and blessings out once lit. Turns out that right near Thich Nhat Hanh’s burial place was incense row.
Sadly, I was tired and missed getting a photo, but take these photos of this shop’s incense and multiply it by 10? 15? For all the stores in a row, beautiful. We ended up buying a variety of things here. We took so long, they finally gave us tea and ginger and we just sat down while they made a bracelet for Pat.
That was our last stop. Our guide said there was a great restaurant 10 min from the hotel, bit all we could think is that when we got back to the hotel, we weren’t leaving!
In the meantime, our guide was supposed to drive and drop us in Hoi An, the next town, but we liked him so much, we asked him to stay with us and do a walking tour of the town once we got there. And he could! That’s tomorrow.
Note from yesterday – forgot Kellie finally getting to see a water buffalo.
Yesterday we were all a bit underwhelmed with the previous day so we didn’t have high expectations for today, but it was great. So incredibly interesting. First, we drove enough to see much more of the city and there are gorgeous buildings built both by the Vietnamese and by the French during colonialization, in addition to wide avenues and lanes of trees.
Our first stop was the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, housing the “beloved revolutionary leader affectionately known to the Vietnamese are Uncle Ho.” It’s interesting learning the Viet Cong side of things since the book I’m reading is based more on the Republic’s view of the war. Our guide was adoring and proud of Ho Chi Minh and there were hundreds, thousands?, of people in line and moving respectfully through the paths in the compound towards the mausoleum. No cel phones were allowed past a certain point, well before the building. One small group of older Americans ahead of us were pretty oblivious and despite warnings from the soldiers, one of the women kept pulling out her cel phone. A soldier finally confiscated her phone and then escorted her all the way around the room of the actual body, then in an office at the bottom deleted all the photos and video she was evidently collecting.
The line curves all the way back and around – and we had to stay single file, our guide kept asking us to move back to single file.
It was a very quiet and respectful crowd, no knees or shoulders showing, no hats. It was actually kind of amazing to see this man so well preserved. That’s really Ho Chi Minh. The man who led this country and defeated first the French and then the American armies.
This is after we came out, then photos are allowed.
Saw the changing of the guard, the sign above them says: The Great President Ho Chi Minh Lives Forever In Our Cause. The sign greeting us as we walked toward the monument started with Socialist Republic, but I couldn’t get the rest from our vantage point after the tour.
So many groups visiting, the little ones are adorable with all their matching hats.
Many of the visitors wore red and black. I never learned why, but assuming it’s the color of the flag and of communism.
This was an example of one of the French colonial buildings. Gorgeous, but Ho Chi Minh said he wouldn’t stay there, too fancy, he made it into a greeting building for when international dignitaries came.
We then visited Ho Chi Minh’s complex. He lived there from 12/19/54 to 9/2/69, “mapped out the Vietnamese revolution, let the Vietnamese people to construct socialism in the North and fight the American aggressors in the South, contributed actively to the struggle for national independence, democracy, peace and social progress worldwide.”
We saw where he ate, had meetings, etc. It was a pretty compound, not at all pretentious and his home was small and quite simple.
The people then built him a new house, really beautiful, of wood, 2 rooms living above, small office and small bedroom and an open meeting area below. It almost felt Frank Lloyd Wright like. No kitchen or restroom, he went over the other house for those needs.
We were wondering what others in the south would say about him, “Uncle Ho”? Or with families who were with the republic, would it be different? The narrative was consistent with both our guide’s stories and the written pieces around the compound of a beloved leader. Ho Chi Minh was a man who kept things simple and walked rough paths with bare feet so that he could walk with the people in the south when he went to visit. He was a reader with books next to his desk and photos of Marx and Lenin above his bookshelf. And completely committed to his people and their well being.
Maybe he didn’t know what the Viet Cong were doing to their fellow Vietnamese? Of course, it went both ways, but knowing how the South in the US still thinks about the “War Between the States”, I’m guessing it’s not quite so consistent a story line throughout the country. But still – it was fascinating.
We saw the One Pillar Pagoda, also in the compound. This is a Buddhist temple built in 1049 in the shape of a lotus blossom and set on a single stone pillar, considered by many to be one of Vietnam’s most iconic pagodas.
On the surrounding walls of the plaza were murals of Illustrations for the Law of Karma. Lessons on every one. Kellie and I couldn’t get enough of them. I just kept photoing and cropping to be able to read them.
Then we saw the Temple of Literature. This was great. Founded in 1070 by Emperor Le Thanh Tong, this complex is dedicated to the Qufu-born philosopher Confucius (Khong Tu) and was the site of Vietnam’s first university, Quoc Tu Giam (1076). The altars are still popular with students praying for good grades. In 1253 the university was expanded to admit excellent students from common families, becoming a leading educational center and a place to select talented individuals for the country.
Confucius:
The analogy for the scholars was a fish becoming a dragon – the ultimate symbol in Vietnam. The fish were swimming around and a few exceptional ones were plucked out, they were then on their way and with each accomplishment shifted little by little until they completed their imperial exam and became like a dragon.
The classrooms, library, and dorms had been rebuilt to resemble the architecture at the time and were beautiful. This school continued from the late 11th century to 1779 when the last exam was given. Over these 100’s of years, exams were only given 116 times, with 1,032 people graduating.
Each time an exam was given, a turtle was carved and a panel erected above it. There are 82 of these carvings left. The graduates were all then launched into careers supporting the king and other areas of government. Their name was enscribed on the panel. However, if they were not illustrative or successful, their names were then erased.
Our final stop after a quick lunch was the Hanoi Hilton, named by the American POW’s, all of whom were titled pilots by the Vietnamese regardless of their role in the war. This was grim, of course, because it was first built by the French to punish political prisoners and criminals. The political prisoners were treated much more harshly. It was then used by the Viet Cong for their prisoners. I don’t know what the reality was for the Americans imprisoned there, but there were photos of them having Christmas, playing games, reading letters from home, etc. Of course, this is Hanoi and they were looking for American visitors.
And now, we’re flying to Hue, the imperial capital of the Nguyen Lords from the 17th to the 19th centuries.
We stayed in yet another totally cool and old hotel, had dinner, went to bed. Notice I don’t say to sleep. Jet lag is a strong companion, but it’s all so interesting that we make it right through the day.
Today, we all relished breakfast again, such good food. Pat and Scott asked the server about the Vietnamese coffee that is a traditional drink. It’s very very slowly pressed strong coffee with condensed milk and poured over ice. They decided to try the coffee. They both loved it, thought it was a great addition to the coffee repertoire. Even Scott who doesn’t normally drink caffeine. Pat began slightly hallucinating because it was so strong and on top of the coffee he’d already drunk, the caffeine load was big. He and Scott then jittered their way out of the restaurant 🙂
Today, we’re driving out to the Tràng An. A scenic area near Hoa Lú which is renowned for its boat cave tours and historic temples. On 23 June 2014, at the 38th session of the World Heritage Committee in Daha, the Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Honestly, it was a bit odd. It’s a two hour drive, we’ve been driving almost two hours now (I’m writing in the van) and it’s been a continual city spread, occasional rice patties, but mostly just a series of buildings, with occasional houses in the midst along the road. Reminds me of Houston, where the spread just never ends. The video shows a bit of this.
The photo here is the “house” of one of the two cement kings. As our guide says, if you have money, you can show off as much as you want. He wanted to build a house that looked like St. Petersburg. And he did!
At the end of the drive, we got out and into an open air bus that drove us to a river spot. And we were in Disney. Well, obviously it wasn’t, but it felt like it. We got into boats, 3 into each with a rower; both of our rowers were women. The rowers were small and strong. They started off using hands, then switched to feet to row us for almost 2 hours up a river and then back down. So all these little boats are going along in a row, all visitors wearing bright orange life vests.
It was pretty rowing along the rice patties surrounded by the karst peaks. There were occasional cemetery spots or just a cemetery stone. The practice for cemeteries in this area is when someone dies, they are buried. After 5 years, the family lifts the body out of the grave, cleans the bones, then they put it back in with the rest of the family. The vaults along the rivers are recent and carved out of cement. Later they will be painted. Some of the cemeteries we passed were beautiful with the carvings and paintings.
After almost 2 hours, we left the boats, thanking our guides, and walked along a path that passed an ancient small temple carved into the mountain. My photo translation of the stone said “The Tran Dynasty brought spring to the country after thousands of years of Chinese domination.” Thai Vi Lunh Tu was the leader of this dynasty who consolidated Vietnam and the various fighting factions to defeat the Chinese.
This cave temple was “The sacred place of worship of the Tran dynasty, established by the Supreme Emperor Tran Thai Tong, the first King of the Tran Dynasty to leave home and become a monk in 1273.” The final note on the stone was clearly a more recent note recognizing history. “Since the Dai Viet era, our people have always firmly protected the fatherland, all people as one, chasing the enemy to the north. The Tran Dynasty had great achievements in the three resistance wars against the Yuan-Mongol army. Generations of Vietnamese people have always worshiped the Tran Kings as the sun that appears daily from the east, radiating a radiant halo for the nation.”
Turns out that where we were going next after lunch was the 18th century recreation of the temples recognizing these original emperors.
Our guide told us that a temple honors kings/emperors and a pagoda is a place of worship and there were both in this site we were visiting.
But before that site, we went to a temple with some notes (transcribed) about the history: Thai VI Temple. Saving the country is a great achievement, the old temple is a 1000 years old, the Northern land is famous. May the people be blessed with endless blessings. Ancient temple, a building that the South can admire.
And no, it’s not a dead dog, just sleeping hard.
Incredible incense container behind the yellow flowers.
As we were leaving haunting music started, instantly transporting us back many years.
Then we saw the musician. I could have stayed there a long time. He told us that he was the last who could play the instrument and that no one wanted to learn.
And now to the main destination. Lu is the site of a 10th-century capital of an ancient Vietnamese Kingdom called Dai Co Viet. This small Kingdom covered an area of only 300 hectares, and reigned from the 10th century, during the Dinh and Le dynasties to the 11th century, during the Ly Dynasty. In 968, King Dinh Bo Linh of Dai Co Viet (an ancient name of Vietnam) constructed his capital in Hoa Lu and ruled until 980. This first king fought off the Chinese and brought all the Vietnamese groups together. Hoa Lu endured for almost 31 years through the Le dynasty (980-1009) and the Ly dynasty (1009–1010). This latter dynasty cemented power and built gorgeous buildings (all now long gone).
Banner welcoming us says: Celebrate the 1057th Anniversary of the Dai Co Viet State (968-2025)
Entrance gate.
The first emperor, statue in Hanoi.
River surrounds a lot of the site.
It was hard to get photos of the full buildings, ornate, with sculptures and incense burners in front. This was the first small temple we saw:
A marker next to a temple had these words (per my Photo Translate and shortened a bit): This was the first ancestor of the Dam Huy Hoan family. More than 2000 years ago…he was an intelligent, upright and brave person and he had many descendants. In the family genealogy, there is a passage that says: The Dam family had scholars who passed the imperial examinations (more about this later) . In the family, there was a daughter who worked as an oil painter. Because she was from a noble family, she was intelligent and virtuous, complete in both her ability and her behavior. And it continued on through her son who revered her. Nice to see a woman so noted. Not a lot of that here.
Except for these two women, mentioned several times over our days: Two of the country’s most revered heroes are the Trung sisters, Trac and Nhi, who led an insurrection against China in A.D. 40 and liberated Vietnam. One of their commanders, Phung Thi Chinh, is said to have given birth during the battle and to have continued fighting with her infant strapped to her back.
A few scenes that definitely miss the intricacy of the palaces and temples:
The Vietnamese knew where the palaces were, and the early history of Vietnam’s first emperors. The Nguyen dynasties rebuilt on the original site temples in their own style in the 17th and 18th centuries to celebrate Vietnam’s history. It wasn’t until the late 1990’s and early 2000’s that they uncovered the original palaces, finding columns, coins, pottery, etc. Amazing 1000 year old pieces.
That night we were all feeling jet lagged and had dinner at the hotel and all went to bed.
I’m off on a trip to Vietnam, Cambodia and then continuing on to see Singapore on my way to visit my sister Summer in Brisbane, so a big trip. So cool. I’m with friends, Scott, Kellie, Pat and Holly and Rick was a critical element of the group and he’s not here. Rick’s beloved (by all the White clan) Aunt Audreé died the weekend before we left and he couldn’t miss the funeral. So we left without him, not easy for any of us. Hardest on Rick of course, but he rallied and had some of his own adventures while I was gone.
Normally, part of what I love doing in these blog posts is talking about the history, but oh man, the history of Vietnam is incredibly complicated. I keep trying to put it together, but it will stay a challenge throughout our trip. Between dates, colonization, wars with China, France and America, monarchies, independence at different times, etc. hard to synthesize.
Our first day we took time to recover from the flights. The flights were so easy, connected, but oy, they’re long. When I was trying to figure out how to attend the funeral, we were able to set up flights coming back and returning without losing too much time off the trip, but then Rick did the calculation of travel versus time in country and it didn’t remotely make sense. He’s done so many Asian trips because of work that he knew what he was talking about. I was in serious fantasy land with my hopes to come back. Now I know. This is a far far distance away.
We started in Hanoi. In the 11th century the King moved the capital here and called it Tung Lao – ascending dragon – because of a cloud formation that he saw. Now the city is called Hanoi which means inside the river, renamed in the early 19th century. There used to be regular flooding with houses built on one side of the river to try to hold back the river from the rest of the city. Now hydro electric plants control the river so it no longer floods the city.
Sunday was a day off to explore, walk, see Hanoi and try for a nap. There’s a lake in central Hanoi that is walking distance from the hotel (Sofitel, built in 1901, oldest elevator in Hanoi, a very beautiful old building) and Pat, Holly and I went to see. Groups of middle-aged (mostly) women were doing these exercise routines to music all around the lake.
In addition there were moms with kids who would ask “do you have time?” Then the kids would ask questions from their papers – learning to speak English. So we had some delightful interactions with the kids – Pat and Holly were a hoot, they couldn’t resist any of the kids!
Pat and Holly also got caught by shoe cleaners. Pat thought the guy who told him he could repair a tear on his green suede Birkenstocks was great. Then before the end, his cool Birkenstocks had been turned into dark brown, no longer suede and the guy told him $20 American wasn’t enough and told him where to go to find a bank. Funny.
Scott and Kellie then joined after a late breakfast and we walked again, this time exploring the old city. Scott never seems to lose his way and he steadily led us on and around without ever referring to his phone. Amazing. We wound onto smaller roads, 100s of scooters lined up on the sidewalks so we walked the streets along with the cars, scooters, people, tourists, people cooking street food on the sidewalks and somehow it worked. You really can walk around Hanoi – at least the part where we were.
It was pretty clean, regular small piles of trash collected at the curb and then picked up. And though it’s grey, crowded and busy, the plants and trees that somehow survive add to the walkability of the city.
We were fascinated by the very thin and tall buildings. Some were left from the French colonial times and were beautiful, even if it’s just the facade that’s holding up. They were right next to houses that were a wonder they were still standing. Our guide we had later for a walking food tour told us that each generation’s family keeps adding up, with the senior family member having the first floor.
Traditionally, the business was/is at the front of the building, the middle of the building committed to the manufacturing of whatever is sold and then living at the back. There were slim little alleys leading to each section and access. Our guide stopped at one point and pointed to the electrical boxes, one per family. There were 17 in one alley and you just had to guess how the configuration worked since it wasn’t at all obvious how 17 families were in that building.
Our last stop before walking back was the “train street”. Scott knew about it and led us to an entrance, but a woman stopped us and just talked a lot about coffee. Confusing and she wasn’t letting us go up to see the train street. So we went to the left to find our way around. We found a way and then I understood the term “train street”. The only way to be on the street when the train came through (5/day) was by being IN the buildings, looking out, or on the curb fronting the buildings. Our timing was amazing because we got front row seats in a cafe, ordered fries, cokes, smoothies and then a group came along and we heard the guide say the train was coming in 10 minutes. And it did! People were blowing whistles and waving oblivious tourists back – “you’ll die if you don’t move off the street” – and then we waited with cameras in hand (of course). Crazy. I have the video below.
We went back to the hotel for some down time and then met our guide, Hi, for a walking food tour. We had pretty high expectations since a lot of us had done different food tours in other countries that were amazing. The next morning, Kellie said the good thing about this food tour is that none of us got food poisoning. So – fun to see the lights and all the people out eating on tiny little stools and chairs and tables and to hear some of the stories, but it wasn’t a repeater.
One thing we saw was the trash pick up truck – it was singing a song that evidently beckoned everyone to bring their trash and both home owners and business people were bringing their bags out – small that we saw.
Brief notes from Hi’s talk during our evening walk re different farm ownership over Vietnam’s history:
When the Kings ruled, the farmer got land for himself and land to support the owner of the land which he worked and thus paid the owner. On his own land he could also earn money for himself and feed his family.
The French ruled Vietnam from 1858–1885 and again from 1887–1954 and supported the land owners. The farmers were taxed so highly that they then gave up. So many farmers moved to working in manufacturing and mining and working for the French in the later 1800’s.
When Ho Chi Minh wanted to unify the country, he said the farmland belonged to the farmer and the factories belonged to the country. So the farmers were able to plant for themselves, but also had to provide for the troops. Then all the land become a cooperative. All had to work and could only sell their goods to the country which undercut motivation and agricultural productivity tanked.
In 1989 when the Soviet Union left, inflation was at 300%. Then the north started making changes, giving land back to the families, and initiating a market economy. There was a tax, but farmers could also sell at market prices. Vietnam became the second biggest rice exporter. Now industry is starting to exceed rice exports and gradually more rice land is being converted.
Right now the average income is 2500 per person.
The last king was in 1945.
Here’s a synopsis of more recent history:
In WWII Japan ruled Vietnam. At the end of WWII the Chinese liberated Hanoi from the Japanese, the British liberated Saigon, from the Japanese. The British turned the south over to the French who were here before. Ho Chi Minh declared independence for ALL of Vietnam, saying no to the division and declared war against the French with Chinese support. 100,000’s of Vietnamese died. In 1954 the French retreated. The Geneva convention in 1954 declared a south and north Vietnam, but Ho Chi Minh said no. The Geneva convention set a DMZ around Danang, but it didn’t work. Americans came in 1954 in a low level way to support the Republic in the South and it just escalated further and further through the Vietnam war until Ho Chi Minh won.
China supported Ho Chi Minh during the Vietnam war, providing military equipment, etc. That involvement escalated after the arrival of US combat troops in 1965. After the Vietnam war, China left, but left their weaponry behind.
In 1979, China invaded Vietnam in response to Vietnam’s invasion of Cambodia, but Vietnam used all of the Chinese weapons left (this was according to one of our guides) and defeated the Chinese in a war that lasted about a month, with China withdrawing its troops in March 1979.
The conflict damaged relations between China and Vietnam, and diplomatic relations were not fully restored until 1991. According to our Hanoi guide, over time the Chinese started flooding Vietnam with tourists. But the tourists were so disrespectful in their behaviors that Vietnam said no. They built a wall in the north and then restricted how many Chinese could visit.
I know that this week all started with Holly and me thinking about seeing Taylor Swift, but the trip has turned out to be so much more than that, starting with Dachau. Today was my last day to learn more, following up on pieces that I had seen or learned about this week.
I decided to get back to some of the history related to WWII and to walk around Munich some more, just learning the city a bit. I started with trying to find where the Holocaust memorial plaques were placed – it’s an ongoing project. Munich decided they wanted to move from the “stumbling stone” approach that they and many other European cities have used – plaques in the ground where people were taken, the name, date, reason, date when the person died and where. Munich is now putting plaques on the sides of building where people lived as a more respectful way of honoring victims of the Third Reich instead of possibly walking on them if not noticed. That being said, I did notice the ground plaques; we all thought people looked down more than up. But – glad they’ll have both.
I was looking online to figure out where to go to see some of the new plaques and found a woman who’s passionate about WWII, loves Munich and gave a lot of information and ideas. Munich WWII Sites: 26 Eye-Opening Spots You Need To Know
Tricia wanted to get out in the early morning before it got hot to see one of the plaques as well, so we went together to the closest one before she went back to rest her foot. This plaque was within .4 miles of the hotel: 4 members of the same family.
Karoline (Lina) Bacharach, born 29.09.1887 in Fellheim in Allgäu, evicted from her apartment 14.11.1941, died 28.06.1942 in Munich.
Isaak Bacharach born 15.09.1864 in Fellheim in Algäu, forced to close down his business in 1935, died 17.09.1936 in Munich.
Kiara Bacharach, née Heumann, born 16.01.1879 in Munich, deported 23.07.1942 to the Theresienstadt ghetto, murdered probably 25.10.44 in Auschwitz concentration camp.
I then continued on and found this – I’d read about it, but still found it so confusing. After 2009 which Michael Jackson died, fans set up a memorial on the statue of the composer Orlande de Lassus across from a hotel where Michael Jackson stayed. A number of people are not happy about this memorial and every morning go spread bird feed at the base of the statue in hopes that the birds will destroy all the daily contributions of fans.
Kept going and found this – sole tower left from a large 1500’s complex, that was destroyed in WWII. I had my usual regret for the loss of history coupled with knowing it was lost was because of the Third Reich’s actions.
Then passed the last city gate from medieval times, really pretty with the fountain.
I was trying to find the plaque remembering Albertine Neuland, I did find her house before Kristalnacht when she was thrown out, which made it clear that no one was immune or safe because it was a gorgeous house.
I never found her plaque, but I did find this website. She died when America refused her entry because of her age despite her son in America who did everything he could to get her to the states.
I kept walking and found myself in a neighborhood with a lot of Arabic shops and restaurants mixed in and just saw regular Munich since I was quickly out of the main tourist areas. A lot to people were in cafes and as I passed one group, I heard “Oh, mein gott” and I thought – I do know some German!
I found more plaques as I headed towards LMU and also passed this:
Sophie and Hans Scholl: Those who offered active resistance against the Third Reich under the sign of the white rose, lived here in the rear building from June 1442 until their execution on 22 February 1943.
I arrived at Ludwig Maximilian University assembly hall and The White Rose Resistance to the NS Dictatorship Museum. Here are photos of Sophie, and of 6 of the 7, a memorial in the hall, and the hall.
Sophie threw pamphlets from the balcony, was seen by the janitor who turned her in.
Briefly, 7 people, 6 students and a professor initiated a resistance group spreading pamphlets as far across the country as they could, starting in Munich, right next to Hitler and the regime headquartered here. 3 of the students were medical students and had already been sent to the front. They saw what was being done to the Poles, to the Russians and had to speak up. Unbelievably brave.
The museum was incredible. I was immersed, reading about all 7 of the people who were the leaders, what happened to their families, how the word spread. I read everything. When I walked out into modern day Munich, it was jarring. A link for a bit of the story: The White Rose Opposition Movement | Holocaust Encyclopedia
I could go on and on, and will if you ever want to talk to me in person, but here’s a photo of The NY Times article that put their names and story out into the world and then inspired protest groups around the world.
Within a few blocks I saw another acknowledgement of someone killed. The addition to the sign said this:
Walter Klingenbeck (1924-43) as a resistance fighter against National Socialism executed in Munich-Stadelheim. A lot of people in Munich really are determined for the history and people to be remembered.
Then back to the hotel and Tricia and I decided to use the credit (love how they do that, as if you weren’t paying for it) that each person got at the hotel for incidentals and went to a late lunch in the hotel restaurant. It turned out to be an incredible meal and enough to hold us through the rest of the day/concert.
And now, the Taylor Swift concert. Flynn came to Tricia’s and my room and used the hair dyes I’d gotten and gave me tips for make-up and getting more color into my hair. Then – we were off!
First, I have to say – the concert was so totally worth the trip, though the rest of the trip put it into perspective. But my goodness, Taylor Swift is incredible. She made you feel like everyone there was beloved and she was so happy to see all of us. She thanked the crowd of 74,000 plus acknowledged the crowds of people on the hills behind the stadium, 2000? I heard estimates of that additional crowd. Some waiting since 5 that morning to be able to see and hear what they could from above.
It was truly fun to be there with Flynn who knows EVERY word and gesture and sang along with every song. She was adorable. I sang along with what I knew and just enjoyed the rest. We left the hotel at 5 and got back at 1am and it never stopped being fun. Well, actually I thought the opening band was boring and ended up reading my book on my phone. Kylie told me that Paramore was actually a big pop band and very popular. I mean the lead was cute, but nope, the music did nothing for me or anyone else in our group. But the minute Taylor started revving the crowd and then appeared – totally great. What a great way to end an amazing week!
We had a relaxed morning and then took a car to the train to a car and back to our hotel in Munich – we even got the same rooms!
Holly realized we needed to make sure we had transportation to the concert for the next day and went down to talk to the front desk. They said, taxis, their cars, all had been booked up for weeks before. Holly then got the bright idea to see if she could reach the driver who’d taken us back and forth for the train and he said yes! So great and he was amazing. So – that’s set.
We didn’t have plans so went over the beer garden and market for lunch and then decided to go out to Nymphenburg Palace Park.
The market was a scene and I had bratwurst that was actually great. As long as I was having meat and fries, threw up my hands and went crazy, ordering a Coke too 🙂
It just didn’t seem right for Flynn to be in Munich and not see any palaces! Luckily for our energy and Flynn’s attention, there is really only one floor to explore at Nymphenburg Palace, but it’s beautiful and elaborate and gives a hint of the lives of Ludwig I and family. No photos allowed. There is a gorgeous park all around the palace and we saw a lot of people clearly out for their daily run running through the gates and then through the grounds. Pretty amazing.
Flynn then decided she might like to live here and make it her own:
We then came back to the hotel, full from the treats we got after the palace and late market lunch so just had a quiet evening, so nice!
I started the day by walking over to the Residenz Platz to try to hear the bells caroling – there are 32 bells in the tower that are played by a barrel that turns and strikes the bells according to the tune chosen. But this ringing happened as 7am and I really love hearing bells. At first all the other church bells were ringing and this one didn’t play, then it started a few minutes after all others had quieted and it was a great way to start the day.
Ok, today was a completely and totally wonderful day. I had moments of pure happy on the tour for Sound of Music, like I do at times on a Camino. It was the best having Tricia, Holly and Flynn with us. Flynn was a trooper because this wasn’t a flashback for her, even though she’s seen the movie. But for the rest of us, it was just great.
Very cool surprise – our guide was a relative of the Von Trapps on the Captain’s first wife’s side. He was really passionate about his subject and had talked to a lot of the members of his family getting details and learning. He said when he went to Vermont and met Maria, he was startled because she was older and stout and didn’t look like Julie Andrews – but she was still warm and wonderful and told great stories.
Peter gave us a really interesting synthesis between Maria’s autobiography and stories cousins and family told, the play with Mary Martin, and the filming of the movie with Julie Andrews, Robert Wise (director) and Maria Von Trapp. Robert and Julie wanted Maria with them the whole time to tell them how it really was and what it was like for her.
So as we toured, Peter talked about Maria’s life, how Robert integrated it into the movie, and how the Von Trapp family felt about it all.
I’m really hoping that someday I can come back and do it with Kaziah – a particular wish of hers – so I won’t put all I learned here, plus it would be a lot. But just know that when we watch the movie – it really did honor Maria’s life and wishes. So cool. And also, Christopher Plummer really was just as snotty and rude as we imagined after reading his complaints about doing the role. But they handled him! Maria was very strong.
It took us four hours in and out of Salzburg, in and out of the car, with a total of 10 min for a break, but it flew by. Salzburg and the country around it are beautiful. Since Peter drove us out to the church of the wedding scene and the meadows and mountains of some of the movie scenes, we got to see more than just the city. So green and beautiful. We had a perfect weather day to explore.
I’ll tell just the beginning story of Maria and how that melded with the movie. (Per Peter since it differs from Wikipedia.) We drove first to see the Benedictine convent (seen from below since you can’t visit, nuns, though far fewer, are still in residence) where Maria was. This was Nonnberg Abbey, the convent started in the 800’s by Prince Rupert with his sister as the abbess. Maria was born on the train as her parents left Tyrol on their way to Vienna. Since the authorities couldn’t give “train” as her birthplace, they put Vienna since they were on their way there. But Maria always considered the mountains her home and loved hiking.
Maria’s parents died when she was young and she was fostered by relatives, but it was abusive and she left when she was 15 to live with a friend. She was very lonely, wishing she had family, and was trying to figure out what to do with herself. She went to a concert at the church. However, the concert was canceled and instead a Jesuit priest spoke. He talked being in the family of God and caring for others, what it meant to be in community with others of like mind and how they supported each other. Maria decided she wanted to be a nun so she would have a family and to go to Salzburg since it’s near the mountains. She rang the bell (the same in the movie) and told them she wanted to be a postulate. The two nuns she spoke with recognized that she didn’t have a calling, but needed a family. They then appealed to the Mother Superior who said they were meant to be her family and she could teach music at the parochial school.
Here’s Nonnberg Abbey. The bell isn’t there any more that the kids rang because tourists rang is so constantly, that they had to remove it. The four windows on the upper left are in the Mother Superior’s room and the scene with the “Climb Every Mountatin” happened in this room (via movie set). The movie scene was very close to the real scene when she told Maria she should leave the convent because “when a door closes, a window will open.”
She did teach music, but she also really did cause chaos, since she ran, sang, whistled and generally behaved with more enthusiasm than decorum. Finally, the Mother Superior secretly pulled all the nuns together and told them had to pray and pray hard that a husband could be found for Maria. They prayed with their rosaries for 9 days straight and at the end, someone came to the convent asking for a governess for the youngest daughter of a Captain Von Trapp whose wife had died of a heart ailment and whose younger daughter had the same condition. Hallelujah!
So – there’s the start of Maria and the Von Trapps, many many more stories. Peter would point out something and say, remember when they…..in the movie. And Holly, Tricia and I would all say yes! So that’s where they filmed it and this is how it related to what really did happen in Maria’s life, which was often very close.
Uncle Max’s real house and where the real and movie scene happened with the kids in the boat and the balcony where the Captain saw the boat turn over. The real story was a little different, but core the same.
Max was an amazing person, strong, determined, kind. Started the Salzburg music festival in an effort to unite countries and people. He told people if they wanted to perform, they had to spend at least one summer living here in company with all others so that they could learn all were performers and people despite different skin, traditions, heritages. This was all part of his strategy go bring people together. I guess it really worked until Hitler came along.
He had to flee (partly Jewish) with his American wife to the US and died of a broken heart shortly after getting to the US. After the war, the American Commandant wanted to give the house back to his wife. She said she couldn’t afford it, the upkeep, at all. A few soldiers under the Commandant were there who were Harvard students, and they loved what Max had tried to do. They said they could help. If she’d take the estate back, they had wealthy family and connections from Harvard and would help set up a foundation to bring in speakers from around the world, to continue Max’s wish to open doors between people. This became the Salzburg Global Seminar. (The Wikipedia link tells it a little differently).
It’s the mansion on the right, blow it up and you can see the balcony!
Grounds near this mansion, all of this is really close to Salzburg, the bike path would be amazing. Saw this on our way to the row of trees where Maria got off the bus.
Just makes you want to sing about having confidence, doesn’t it?
Then on to the Gazebo where Leisl sang and danced. It used to be to the left of Max’s mansion, but there were so many visitors and they were so loud, that they disturbed the lectures going on in the Salzberg Global Seminar and it had to be moved. It’s now at the Schloss Helbrunn which is also an incredible place, though we didn’t see much.
Outside the Schloss I saw these and they stopped me in my tracks. These are two of the “stumbling stones” that mark name, date, why, end for a victim of the regime.
Born 1890, arrested in teh resistance, March 14, 1942. Lived in the apartment house. Executed May 7, 1943 in Munich-Stadelheim.
He lived here:
Born 1909, refused to do military service August 28, 1942. Shot while hiding in Salzburg, June 11, 1944 Salzburg.
These were a stark reminder of what was happening at the time and later of Sound of Music. This is the train station that the family used – right near their house (actual house, not Max’s) to escape using their diplomatic performance visas.
Driving to Maria’s movie wedding church, we pulled over to see the Red Bull campus. I had no idea, but it’s owned 51% by the Thai whose herbs were the genesis of the drink and 49% by an Austrian group. The whole facility was built on Feng Shui principles to blend with the water and mountains. It’s under repair, but you can still see how incredible the feeling is. Gorgeous. And – turns out that the Austrian family have been huge sports promoters, but evidently also do a lot to support the local area and economy, especially during COVID.
Back to Maria 🙂
The meadow behind and to the right is where they learned do-re-mi…
Here’s the church from the movie, Robert Wise asked Maria what her dream wedding would have been, she said in this church with all the locals celebrating at a party afterwards. So that’s what they did!
And here’s a bit of how the music might have really sounded since we were lucky enough to hear musicians practicing.
And, finally, back in Salzburg, Mirabell Gardens where a lot of scenes from the do-re-mi song were filmed with the kids playing.
They’d just trimmed WAY back the arbor over this trellis.
And I didn’t get a picture of the stairs because there were so many tourists walking them and getting photos – but the stairs where they hopped up and down singing are behind me as I look at this trellis. And – that’s the end. It was magical.
This is just a bit of why the Mirabell Gardens are so named (the palace is on the right), the stairs are at the far end:
Back to Salzburg focus – during the summer there’s an incredible music festival, this year from 7/19-8/31 and we happened to be here for it. If I were to come back, I would plan way ahead for tickets and scheduling. Since it’s Mozart’s birthplace, they take that to heart and all kinds of music, opera, and types of performances are available in all types of buildings. Some free, some inexpensive, probably some very expensive.
Tricia and I had decided we really wanted to see some concerts before we’d left for the tour and I’d arranged two seats at the Residenz for a piano concert and then 2 seats at Mirabell Schloss (palace for whole the gardens were made) for an evening chamber concert. Both so reasonable! Holly decided she and Flynn would rather try to find some gifts and just wander the city. However, when we got back, Tricia and I were too tired and hungry to go straight to the piano concert, gave up our tickets and the four of us went to lunch.
After that, Tricia and I took the funicular up to see the fort. It was SO huge, I just couldn’t imagine what it was like up there. We had limited time which was perfect since we were pretty toured out. It was clearly a city within a fortress, different eras of buildings, and always used a pulley system of getting materials up there, animals pulling in the old days. Ach, probably horrible.
We didn’t have time to go into any of the museums (maybe 3?), nor eat, 2 restaurants, 3 cafe/bistros, tower, prison, etc. In fact, I just walked around getting a video which I’ll share if it’s any good so Tricia could get a sense of it. She was sparing her foot since we were going to have to walk to and fro the evening concert.
Then we went to the Mirabell Schloss concert and it was fantastic. A really good chamber group of 5 and a wonderful guest pianist who made the notes seem like water, just gorgeous. Haydn, Mozart, Hayden, Mozart. The acoustics in the hall were wonderful, and the time flew by.
Reb's Walks! 