It started, as most modern adventures do, with a ChatGPT-generated itinerary.
They say AI (artificial intelligence) can plan the perfect holiday: A 10-day mother-daughter trip through Prague in Czech Republic, Salzburg and Vienna in Austria, and Budapest in Hungary. Perfectly planned, or so we thought.
Our adventure began with an overbooked flight that promptly kicked us out of our Prague dreams. So much for the city of spires. We got only a fleeting taste – cobbled streets, warm bread, golden lagers, and a quick rub on St John of Nepomuk on Charles Bridge for luck. Maybe that was Europe’s way of easing us in, a soft opening before the grand show ahead.
Travelling as four women – two mothers in their 80s and two daughters at least half that age – we discovered that boarding the Eurail not that easy for us. We shared our cabin with a lovely couple.
At our hotel, the receptionist handed us the Salzburg Verkehr Guest Mobility Ticket – a golden pass for unlimited public transport.
We had dinner at Sternbrau; we started with vorspeisensalat (a salad) and brettljause (meat and cheese platter), followed by bratwurst and a slow-roast pork shoulder.
Feeling under the weather, I ordered “pretzel soup”, but ended up more amused than cured as I sipped on what tasted like pretzel steeped in hot water.
Later we wandered along the Salzach River, letting the cool evening air and soft city lights wash over us. A plaque on a nearby bridge revealed that it was built by prisoners during World War II, a reminder that beneath Europe’s beauty lies a layered history.
No visit to Salzburg is complete without The Sound Of Music tour, apparently. The real von Trapp family did not climb the Alps to freedom; instead they took a train to Italy.
The real Maria appears in the film – a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo in the I Have Confidence scene, sneaking a glance at the camera despite the director’s warnings. Imagine cameoing in the story of your own life.
We learned that the von Trapp villa was movie magic stitched together from several places: Schloss Frohnburg provided the grand facade, Schloss Leopoldskron its lakeside view, and the rest is Hollywood stagecraft. Standing outside those gates, we could almost see Julie Andrews twirling down the tree-lined path, skirt swirling, heart wide open.
Our tour was four hours of pure musical mischief. The guide, David, led spontaneous sing-alongs on the bus, yodelling and laughing between stops. Somewhere between Edelweiss and Do-Re-Mi, we were introduced to Austria’s herbal soda, Almdudler.
“If you can’t remember the name, just call it yodel juice,” said David.
At Mirabell Palace and Gardens, we dashed through the hedge tunnel like overgrown schoolgirls.
Our mothers still remember watching The Sound Of Music when it was first released in 1965. It was a different world altogether as trishaws pedalled through the streets of Alor Setar, Kedah with hand-drawn posters of the movie to promote it.
The women never imagined that 60 years later they would stroll through Salzburg, humming Do-Re-Mi in the real-life backdrop of that timeless film.
We did eventually make it to Vienna and Budapest, each grand in its own way. Vienna dazzled with imperial elegance and the legacies of formidable women like Maria Theresa and Empress Elisabeth. Even the Vienna Zoo, the world’s oldest, was so thoughtfully cared for.
And then Budapest – majestic by day, magical by night. The Parliament along the Danube was such a splendour.
Still, for us, it was Salzburg that lingered longest. Maybe for its music, its nostalgia, or simply the joy of seeing our mothers’ eyes light up like it was 1965 all over again.
The views expressed are entirely the writer’s own.
