Monday, March 5, 2012

#8: Go to Villa Von Trapp




Anyone who really knows me is aware that I am a “Sound of Music” FANatic, and my 30 for 30 list would not be complete without an item related to my most favorite of favorite things. Tickets for the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg are only $50 US dollars, but the airfare to get to Austria is a bit out of my price range this year. When I realized I couldn’t go to Maria’s homeland, I went to the closest thing this side of the Atlantic: Villa Von Trapp in beautiful Stowe, Vermont.


In the early 1940’s, after having fled the Nazi regime in Europe, the Von Trapp family settled in Stowe, VT. The story goes that the Captain and Maria found Vermont’s rolling mountains and magnificent views “reminiscent of their beloved Austria.”
The Von Trapp’s began welcoming guests to a rustic family home/lodge in the summer of 1950. After a devastating fire in 1980, the original structure was replaced by a new alpine Lodge. The entire property is still owned and operated by the Von Trapp family. The modern-day Villa Von Trapp even includes the recent addition of a Trapp Family Brewery!




There was so much to do at the Trapp Family Lodge that my friend Jen Whitlock and I made it a two-day event. Our first night, we started out in the Lounge were we had a cocktail hour and listened to John Cassel on the piano. The piano man found out about my 30 for 30 list, and he presented us with a special medley of Sound of Music show tunes just for me and Jen. I secretly knew that he probably performed this musical bit every night, but he made us feel special, so we just kept on pretending that he was putting on a show just for us! Our cocktail hour was followed by a delicious meal in the Main Dining Room. I was dedicated to an authentic Austrian night, so of course I ordered the wiener schnitzel. Deliciousness!



The next morning, Jen and I went back to the lodge for breakfast at the bakery, followed by a mid-morning beer tasting at the brewery. The beers were so good that Jen and I each bought beer for consumption back in Boston. Jen’s husband, Geoff, is a chef so he graciously cooked up more homemade wiener schnitzel the following week; we thanked him by drinking all the Von Trapp beer.



Villa Von Trapp was everything I hoped it would be, but unfortunately I do have one regret. I really wish Jen and I would have had the nerve to crash the wedding that was going on that Saturday night. Next time...



1 comment:

  1. You sure are making headway on your list. Way to go Megan!!!

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