We begin this episode with a bit of trivia.

Right behind me is a famous fountain.

Most of you will recognize it.

In a few minutes, I'll give you its name, for those of you who don't.

♪ ♪ (fountain water rushing) ♪ (street-goers chattering) ♪ (fountain water rushing) Welcome to Windows to the Wild .

I'm Willem Lange.

Right behind me is the famous Pegasus Fountain where Julie Andrews and the young actors and actresses portraying the von Trapp children sang and danced in The Sound of Music .

We're here in Salzburg, Austria, with a gang of New England Yankees, and we're about to take a tour of some of Austria's most memorable places.

So, come with us!

♪ The Pegasus statue was unveiled near the Salzburger Dom cathedral in 1661.

Then it moved around, first to the Mirabell Palast and then here to the gardens.

In 1913.

(fountain water rushing) They were singing and dancing... A guide, Nathalie Gugler, takes the story from there.

We are near the Pegasus Fountain.

Is that kind of the most popular place in the park?

Yes.

The fountain is very, very famous because it was part of the Do-Re-Mi filming.

(harmonizing) Do-Re-Mi.

Dun-duh-dun-duh.

(chuckling) Okay!

Yeah, the most popular movie in the world was Oh, yeah?

filmed in Salzburg, and Do-Re-Mi, one of the nicest songs, was filmed, especially in the... Around the fountain?

Yeah.

Around the fountain and the Do-Re-Mi Steps, as we call it.

Now, when you stand there, do you ever feel like dancing around the fountain?

You know, as a German-now- Austrian, we have no clue about the movie.

So, I just learned about this fantastic movie because I'm working in tourism, but neither my friends nor family members not working tourism in this country have an idea about it.

The Mirabell Gardens are more than a former movie set.

We're strolling the same pathways that people did in 1689.

Yeah.

So, there used to be more plants.

And, also, there are more plants over there.

These are considered some of the most beautiful Baroque gardens throughout Europe.

It attracted Mozart.

He had a house nearby.

Why were the Gardens created?

Why?

Because it was when the rulers in Europe regardless of the emperors or the kings, here in Salzburg, we were ruled by prince-archbishops Catholic prince-archbishops the gardens in front of the palaces or around the palace were a form of showing the prosperity and the power.

And they used it for recreation and for parties with friends.

Parties?

Archbishops have parties?

Yeah, the Archbishops of Salzburg had good lives.

(laughter) Good, good lives.

A lot of money, a lot of power, a lot of women.

A lot of women?

But he was Catholic?

Yes.

I like this.

They were not supposed to have them but they did.

Well, it's all right.

We forgive him, ja ?

Forgive him?

Ja ja .

I think so, ja .

Okay!

Look up from the Gardens and you'll see the Palace.

It was built in 1606 by the order of the Prince- Archbishop of Salzburg for his mistress and their children.

Mirabell Palace was built by Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich.

And, as we see it now, unfortunately, it burned down.

It was rebuilt in 1818 after a huge fire happened here in the new center part.

So, you see it as a neoclassical palace, but it used to be a beautiful 17th-century Baroque palace.

♪ After a night's sleep, we head out on a day trip to Hallstatt.

♪ It's a little more than an hour east of Salzburg.

Well, we're in the little village of Hallstatt.

It's a UNESCO World Heritage site.

We drove here this morning from Salzburg.

The history of Hallstatt goes back about 7,000 years.

It's been here a while, and we're about to take a boat ride on the Hallstätter See, for which you'll see all kinds of beautiful mountains and the village nestled at the foot.

♪ ♪ Hallstatt, like Salzburg, is known for its historic salt mines.

(spraying water) The towns’ names come from the word for salt.

Salzburg means salt mountain, right?

Salt castle.

Salz- castle .

I’m sorry, -berg would be!

Okay.

-burg .

Which means that it was built, somehow, on salt.

Well, how?

Were there salt mines there?

Yeah.

You know, in some of our mountains around Salzburg, we have salt mines.

And the Celts were the ones who professionally started to mine the salt from 600 BCE onward.

We even have older places, like Hallstatt, in Austria, but Salzburg is pretty old.

So, the Celts were here, and they started.

And salt the white gold is the reason why this area became so rich and very powerful.

(tramway sounds) (tourists singing) At the beginning, everything was sea.

And then the sea disappeared; the water disappeared, but it was also with the salty sea water.

The salt remained.

But then, you know, the mountains formed over millions and millions of years and the layers of salt were included in the mountain.

That's why we have the salt mines.

♪ The next morning, we were on the road again headed for Untersberg.

And it's an imposing mountain that straddles the border between Germany and Austria.

The Untersberg cable car carries us up to about 5800 feet.

♪ We had a pretty wild night last night in the bierhalle in Salzburg, but then a very restful night afterwards.

Now, this morning, we've taken a cable car up the Untersberg, and we're here on top and admiring the beautiful 360-degree view... (chuckling) if you like clouds.

And we got fresh snow too.

It's a beautiful morning.

♪ (chuckling) ♪ There are legends of this mountain.

Stories of sleeping kings, magicians, and fairies that live here.

It's also a spiritual destination; the reason it’s known as the Holy Mountain of Salzburg.

♪ We got some snow today, which ski resort owners love to see.

However, Nathalie says winter weather in many Austrian mountain towns is becoming unpredictable.

(crunching snow) Some years, you have tough winters, but the average winter is like too warm.

So we think that we lose a lot of of our guests who spend the winter vacation with their kids between Christmas and New Year's.

They spend a lot of money in good ski resorts.

They brought a lot of money, and they know, Okay, it's not guaranteed, if I fly into Salzburg, to get snow?

So we lose them, you know?

And so, we think that maybe the next 20 years we’ll have the people coming for hiking.

♪ Throughout the story, you've heard the music of Mozart.

♪ it's come to you from the Sala Terrena, a chamber where Mozart once played.

♪ The Mozart Ensemble's repertoire includes works of Haydn, Schubert, and Mozart.

♪ Austria, especially Vienna, is known as the birthplace of classical music.

♪ Mozart still stands tall here today.

♪ And from here, he brought the music to all over Europe.

And, of course, the Empress of Vienna really loved classical music.

The bishops loved music.

And Mozart brought classical music to the family.

But yeah, the charming young boy was popular all over Europe.

But not to forget the sister.

That's right.

She was a virtuoso.

She was just as talented but the 5-years’ elder Mozart, his sister, they stopped promoting her because she was a girl.

♪ I'm trying to get Mozart on my cell phone for my alarm in the morning.

Can you can you imagine?

(humming Le nozze di Figaro) Oh, yeah.

You’ll wake up like BOOM.

Yes!

Here we go!

(both laughing) Oh.

Yeah.

If I can get it, it'll be wonderful.

♪ So, Willem.

Tell me!

Yeah?

Where was Mozart born?

Salzburg.

Mhm.

And what was his nationality?

Oh, he wasn’t Austrian?

Oh.

That's right.

His parents came from somewhere else.

His father was German, no question.

But, when Mozart was born in the year 1756, Salzburg and the country around Salzburg was its own independent Catholic state; independent from all the other empires of Europe.

So, Mozart was a Salzburger .

You know what happened in heaven the day before he was born?

The angel, Gabriel, came to God and said, I got this pile of musical talent I haven't been able to get rid of.

What am I going to do with it?

God said, Let's dump it on one person.

Gabriel said, We can’t do that.

Do it!

Where?

Salzburg.

For our Mozart.

Awww.

Boom!

There he was.

Yeah.

You will never have a genius like this again.

No.

Oh, no.

They say when the angels in heaven play music for God, they play Bach.

When they play for each other, they play Mozart.

(both laughing) It's beautiful.

And this place is beautiful.

♪ I’m at the huge Abbey of Melk on the shores of the Danube River.

It was begun way back in 1089, and the Benedictine monks have worked and prayed here ever since, although now it's a tourist attraction as well.

It's been called the most beautiful building in Austria.

I’d agree but say it's at least the most impressive building in Austria.

It's huge.

♪ Benedictines are an order that was founded 1,500 years ago by Saint Benedict, who said he wants the Christian belief to live in the community and is not worried about anything else; just really focused on their belief.

And he wrote down some rules, and these are the rules that they still follow.

So, that hasn't changed in the last 1,500 years.

(rushing fountain water) Twenty-two monks live at Melk Abbey.

Anyone who visits here is welcome to join in prayer.

(voices echoing) So, at 12 PM, there’s always a prayer in the church.

Everybody can come sit down and pray with them.

♪ While in Salzburg, my 90th birthday was just a week away.

(men singing) ♪Happy birthday to you... Just by chance, we bumped into the men's glee club from the University of Pittsburgh.

(men continue singing) ♪Happy birthday...

They honored me with the birthday song.

(men continue singing) ♪dear Willem.

♪Happy birthday to you.

(men singing new song) ♪May the Lord rise up ♪to meet you... And then, traditional Irish music.

(men continue singing) ♪wherever you may roam.

♪Until then, know you ♪will be in my heart ♪and in my soul.

(applause) ♪ If there's a better way to turn 90 than spending a beautiful morning on the Danube River with the voices of the glee club still fresh in mind, well, I can't think of it.

♪ ♪ (water spraying) Nearly all of my ninety years have been spent outdoors with my family and a roster of like-minded friends.

Mt.

Katahdin, I think, was one of my favorites.

Ah.

Oh yeah.

It was good because we managed to get up and down the same day.

And Central America and South America: they were fun.

I had a good time in Costa Rica.

That was very good shooting.

But in the bushes, too.

In the cities, we were looking for exotic birds and we found them.

They were great.

Places like these... You know, the travel’s been fun.

Everybody's different in different environments.

Right now, we're in Austria and the people are a little different from the ones in, say, Cuba.

(chuckles) But we’re in a place called Obertraun right now... You know, they're all different, and I like the difference between them.

And we get to get out of Vermont now and then in the middle of winter.

I find that producers like to go south in the winter whether I do or not.

(chuckles) So, it's been good.

♪ I’d like to get to 100, I think.

My father did, but the last few years weren’t very pretty, so I got to rethink that maybe.

We’ll see.

But I have a companion now, so it's getting a little brighter.

And she's 12 years younger!

(chuckles) So, it may last!

(water spraying) We’ll see.

All you can say is we’ll see.

But people who can't get out but think they can, they should maybe go with a friend in case you can't!

But, by all means, give it a shot.

♪ (morning birds tweeting) ♪ This is the Marble Hall.

But what is really marble?

Only the floor!

In Vienna, Christina Berger takes us on a tour of the Belvedere Palace.

It was built for Prince Eugene of Savoy.

He was a field marshal and considered one of Europe's greatest military commanders.

His rewards provided him with a palace and a lot of artwork.

Have a look here.

The Belvedere.

The beautiful view.

And underneath, see the small palace?

This was his home.

And then he built that one.

The marble hall is up to the roof.

The windows were open; it was a summer place.

The palace is actually two museums: the Upper and Lower Belvedere, which are homes to Austrian art from the Middle Ages to the present day.

♪ (museum-goers chattering) Perhaps the most famous is Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss .

♪ Christina, this was a great tour.

Oh, thank you!

You enjoy living here?

I like!

I enjoy having guests.

I still like my job!

I mean, I'm at an age at which I could retire, but I don't want to.

I'm at an age at which I can retire, but I can’t afford it.

(both laughing) Okay, but this is beautiful.

Yeah.

One thing about it: looking at the little tiny palace over here and the larger palace here, I can see why there are so many revolutions in Europe in the old days.

He became the most important man after the emperor.

First of all, outside the city walls, he built his privately- owned summer palace.

Still a winter palace in the city center.

But after a while, he found out: Yeah, it’s nice but a little bit too small for inviting guests.

So, he bought some more land...

Yes.

That was the guest house.

This is a guest house?

Holy Toledo!

So, he bought more land, and here he built his gorgeous palace; what we call the Upper Belvedere .

(points behind) Lower Belvedere.

(points in front) Upper.

And, most important was the Marble Hall.

See, from the balcony up to the roof: a huge marble hall.

So, the little man would sit there on his throne and everybody came to him.

Very important persons.

♪ We are in the third district of Vienna, and we are standing in front of the so-called Hundertwasserhaus .

♪ Mr. Hundertwasser, He was an architect.

He was an artist.

And he had this idea that people deserve better houses than those from the 1950s.

After World War II, of course, they were built fast and cheap, and so he had the idea of decorating.

And he got the chance; the Mayor of Vienna said, Okay, Mr. Hundertwasser.

You just show me what you want and what you can.

So, together with an architect, he built that house here.

The windows, one doesn’t look like the other.

We have a tree here, living in an old room.

And, on top of the roof, we have 200 plants.

So, I think people love to live here.

Sometimes, maybe, I’m not so fond when there are too many tourists standing in front.

Of course, it’s one of the landmarks.

(fountain water rushing) (horseshoes clattering) Our last day in Austria brings us to the Spanish Riding School.

♪ This centuries-old school has a worldwide reputation for the breeding and rearing of Lipizzaners .

Lipizzaners are the oldest cultural horse breed in Europe.

They're known for their courage, good temper, and, of course, showmanship.

It's why they excelled at classical dressage, also known as the Ballet of White Stallions.

♪ The stable of Vienna fits 71 horses at its maximum.

Currently, 65 horses are in Vienna out of 117.

Now, the rest of the horses that are not in the city directly are located in a modern stable an hour’s drive northwest of the city.

It's a modern training facility so that the horses can really go out on grass pastures, have a little bit of fun.

And, it's always a time where they don't have to perform.

♪ The school's mission is to share knowledge about Lipizzaner breeding, history, and rider horsemanship.

♪ At this school, horse and rider learn from each other, and the path to becoming a rider takes time; between 8 to 12 years.

♪ There was a time when only males could become riders.

That's changed along with the times.

The riders are no longer only male.

We actually have, nowadays, a lot of female riders.

In total, out of the 24 people in the riding staff, we have 10 women.

Three of them are fully trained female riders.

The rest are still in training.

But only since 2008, you don't have to be male and Austrian if you want to be a rider.

♪ (group singing) ♪Happy birthday, dear Willem.

♪Happy birthday to you.

(applause) I think I probably should not blow this out, right?

After a farewell dinner and a nighttime stroll in Vienna, it's time to say goodbye.

I'm Willem Lange.

Thanks for joining us in Austria.

Auf Wiedersehen!

♪ Support for the production of Windows to the Wild is provided by: The Alice J. Reen Charitable Trust; the John D. McGonagle Foundation; the Bailey Charitable Foundation; Road Scholar; and Viewers Like You!

Thank you!

Make a gift to the wild and support the Willem Lange Endowment Fund, established by a friend of New Hampshire PBS.

To learn how you can keep environmental, nature, and outdoor programing possible for years to come, call our development team at (603) 868-4467.

Thank you!

♪ (tourists laughing) ♪ (dancing shuffles) ♪