The Hills are Alive…

I learned that the richness of life is found in adventure. . . . It develops self-reliance and independence. Life then teems with excitement.

- WILLIAM ORVILLE DOUGLAS 

In the early 1940s, the von Trapp family settled in Stowe, Vermont on a gorgeous farm - the sweeping mountain vistas reminiscent of their beloved Austria. In the summer of 1950, they began welcoming guests to a rustic, family home/lodge. The original structure has since been replaced by the new Trapp Family Lodge; a large alpine lodge situated on 2,500 acres. The entire property is still owned and operated by the von Trapp family. This fall G.S. and I visited the grounds during a trip to Vermont.  

Lots of Austria and a little Vermont

One of the most interesting dichotomies I have experienced in my travels is how vastly different some places are… and how strikingly similar others can be. It is so important to leave our comfort zones and to seek to learn something we can’t find within ourselves. Different is good… new is exciting. But, there are things about our heritages and our homes that follow us everywhere we go.

What the von Trap family went through before arriving in America is a type of strain that I can’t imagine feeling. For them, new was needed. In the early 40s they traveled around the U.S. as a singing group before setting in Stowe. As we packed our car for the journey, G.S. couldn’t stop speculating ‘why there?’

Stepping our of our car and on to the foothills surrounding the Trapp Family Lodge… we had our answer. Vermont’s natural beauty was so rich it took our breath away. Those hills were alive in a way that is matched solely by their brethren in Austria. A richness that was mirrored by the aesthetics and offerings of the lodge itself.

The von Trapps relied on their family, they remained faithful to that bond and they built a new home that screams the richness of their love and culture to all who step foot on the property.