movie

Salzburg Sound of Music

Sound of Music cow

 

 

 

 

 

Hollywood is alive and well in Salzburg, Austria.

When we visited, my sister-in-law insisted we could not forego the Sound of Music Tour.  We groaned, but we followed along and ended up seeing some beautiful countryside.

SM back of bus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luckily, this was NOT the tour that we took.

SM house

View of the house from the other side of the lake.

SM trees

Tree-lined path around the lake.

SM summer house

The gazebo had been moved to a new location.

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We sped by Red Bull Headquarters.

Mondsee

The movie wedding took place in a church outside of Salzburg in a village on a lake.

SM Basilica

The Church

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It was pink inside!

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We wandered around the village for a while and came upon a shop selling traditional Austrian outfits.  My son bought a beautiful jacket.  He looks Austrian, now, right?

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TCK/Expat Film

I have updated my TCK/Expat page to include films as well as some additional books.  Check it out.

I recently watched The Road Home.  It is a short film – 24 minutes.  I watched it twice.  It is about a boy with Indian roots who has lived around the world.  His father sends him to boarding school in India and everybody thinks he is Indian but he only speaks English and says he is English.  So, confused about who he is, where he is from, not feeling Indian but looking Indian.  Sound familiar to anybody?

The director is currently working on expanding the film into a longer version with plot twists and adventure.  I think it might lose some of its intimate charm, but we will have to see.  In the meantime, have a look.  You can rent this film and watch it on-line here.

Another one that is currently airing at Film Festivals around the country is Shanghai Calling.  I have watched the trailer and it looks like a good comedy.  A man with Chinese roots who grew up in New York City finds himself sent to live in China for work.  He knows nothing about Chinese culture or language but people think he does because he looks Chinese.  I look forward to seeing it.  You can see the trailer here.

Burma

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar — Dressed in flowing purple silk, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi climbed the stone steps of Parliament here Wednesday, delicate and serene in the face of a mob of photographers as she prepared to create a milestone for her country.

After two decades of persecution as Myanmar’s most prominent dissident, she and nearly three dozen members of her party, the National League for Democracy, took the parliamentary oath of office.

New York Times


Can you believe it?  Pinch me!  After 19 years in house arrest, parted from her family, unable to be at her husband’s deathbed, unable to accept the Nobel Peace prize, she is taking her seat in Parliament!  Amazing.

This is my pet issue.  I was born in Rangoon, Burma before the coup and after Suu Kyi’s father was assassinated.  I have this idyllic view of Burma.  The innocent, beautiful, magical place where I spent the first years of my life.  Growing up if I was angry with my parents, my big threat was that I would declare Burmese citizenship and move to Burma.  That showed them!!

I went to see the newly released movie “The Lady” about Suu Kyi the other day.  In Burma she is known everywhere as “The Lady”, their hope.  The movie was a three tissue tear jerker.  I cried through the whole thing.  Partly because it was emotional for me personally but it is really such a sad story.  I think everybody should go see it!  Not because it is a great film or particularly well made, although the scenery and the acting are both very nice, but because it is a real story about extraordinary courage under dire circumstances.

Today she took her seat in Parliament.  It is the beginning.  The pressure for change cannot ease now.

If you are interesting in learning more:

US Campaign for Burma

Related Post:  The Lady