Christopher & Marianne

Marianne, Christopher, Regina, Sue and Greg.

The proprietors of the Villa Trapp, the real home of the von Trapp family that fled the Nazis in 1938, and the place we are staying, are Christopher Unterkofler and Marianne Dorfer.

As we said in a prior post, Greg and Sue were among their first guests seven years ago. The villa served as a Catholic seminary following WWII and, before that, was the Nazi SS headquarters.

Today, Christopher and Marianne said that, except for some members of the von Trapp family who were brought here in 2008, Greg and Sue were the first guests of Villa Trapp. And, they were nice enough on Tuesday to treat all three of us to a traditional Austrian luncheon in Salzburg.

They have been very successful in turning the former seminary into an upscale bed and breakfast in a residential area known as Aigen on the outskirts of Salzburg.

Diane Sawyer and Julie Andrews visited them a year ago for a Sound of Music special that was aired on ABC this past spring. They had to keep the interview a secret all last winter. Both of them can be seen in their traditional Austrian outfits, and Christopher provides some amusement and local color.

A few years ago, Villa Trapp was the last stop on one of the Amazing Race shows, and Marianne had the challenge on a very cold day to keep the doors open and welcome each of the finishers to Salzburg.

Right now, they are preparing to film folk singer Elizabeth von Trapp, one of the grandchildren, at Villa Trapp.

They keep busy with two boys, but represent the true face of the von Trapp family in Austria.

We highly recommend a stay at this special home, loaded with von Trapp family memorabilia. It will allow you to learn the real story of the family while getting great Austrian hospitality in a historic location not available to non-guests.