Euro 2008

Salzburg

My opinion of Austrians is definitely on the rise. They might not care that their team has crashed out of Euro 2008, they might not be bothered about the tournament at all, but they know where to draw the line when it comes to matters of culture.

Salzburg is the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a fact of which the populace are rightly proud. After all, he is an accepted musical genius. It is also a prime destination for fans of The Sound of Music, a film not often associated with the word genius but enduringly popular nonetheless.

Like it or not, most of us have seen Maria (Julie Andrews) and the Von Trapp family escaping the iron hand of the Nazis over the border to Switzerland (which in reality is 300 miles away).

As large parts of the 1965 movie were filmed here, I decided to check out a few of its famous locations for myself. You can, of course, do full-on, singing and dancing tours, but I don't want to live the rest of my life afraid to look anybody in the eye. Besides, a sample of what was on offer told me all I needed to know.

Swarms of tour groups were all over the Mirabell Gardens, photographing the area where the Von Trapp children practised singing Do-Re-Mi. I felt trapped in a vortex of camera lenses. And is it really necessary to video absolutely everything all the time?

The Austrians certainly know how to cash in on this strange obsession, peddling all manner of tat, but, by all accounts, many locals don't really know much about the film and very few have actually seen it.

The former Rock Riding School, where Georg von Trapp (Christopher Plummer) sang 'Edelweiss', is now part of a theatre and I persuaded an electrician heading back into the building to let me have a look. When I mentioned the Sound of Music, the look on his face told me we would never be friends. "No," I tried to say, "I don't like it either." But it was too late.

Besides, if I was sad enough to go on holiday checking out locations from the musicals of my childhood, you can rest assured I'd be heading to where the child catcher caught Dick van Dyke's kids despite the best efforts of toy maker Benny Hill in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

And if I had to check out film locations in and around Salzburg, I'd take a trip to Burg Hohenwerfen in nearby Werfen. Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood breached this fortress in the war film Where Eagles Dare in a first class example of how effectively British and American relations really can work as long as we are in charge. I passed it on the train the other day and could almost hear Burton saying "Broadsword calling Danny boy" as he radioed home.

Yep, there is no doubt at all that, with fixtures at Salzburg's Wals-Siezenheim Stadium completed, life in this spectacular, beautiful city is very much back to normal. The latest from Red Bull Salzburg's pre-season training camp has usurped Euro 2008 from the top slot on the local television sports news, while cultural pursuits, both low and highbrow, dominate proceedings in the old town.

At least, that is, during daylight hours. As I rolled into the Fan Zone for kick-off in the Germany versus Portugal tie, I was more than pleasantly surprised to see the place bustling. Plenty of German fans had made the short trip over the border to watch the game on the big screens, but there were plenty of locals adopting both nations, with team strips and face paint de rigeur.

It made for a great atmosphere and showed that there is life yet outside the two remaining host venues.

I head to Basel on Friday ahead of Russia's quarter-final tie with the Dutch and cannot wait to be gripped by football fever again as this most brilliant tournament moves towards its conclusion.

Without doubt, Euro 2008 is fast becoming one of my favourite things...