Diksha Sundriyal
Hulu’s ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ follows a group of people who join a wellness retreat in the hopes of working through the issues that have been holding them back in life and relationships. Their journeys are guided by a mysterious woman named Masha, who adopts unorthodox methods to fix their problems, often without letting the people know what is being done to them. The first season focuses on a sun-kissed retreat, but the second season transports the story to an Alpine setting, with the retreat named Zauberwald becoming the centre of all plot and conflict.
The Fictional Zauberwald is Filmed in Real Austrian Alps
‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ is a fictional story with made-up characters and locations, including Zauberwald. While the wellness retreat was created to serve the plot, it was filmed on actual locations in Austria and Germany to give a more realistic touch to the story. Creating Zauberwald required a mix of several locations, which were sought out for their unique and picturesque backgrounds, and were patched together to make it feel like the characters rarely leave the resort. Most of the scenes featuring the resort, especially the exterior, were filmed at a stately home in the Blühnbach Valley. Called Schloss Blühnbach, the historical luxury estate sits in for the lavish alpine retreat and its surroundings of forest and snow create a mysterious air about the place, which plays really well with the vibe of Zauberwald.
In the show, the retreat is exclusive to the guests who are invited to the place and are isolated from the rest of the world. In real life as well, Schloss Blühnbach has limited access and is not open to the public as it is owned by private charitable foundations. Despite the grandeur of Schloss Blühnbach, it isn’t the only building that the show’s creators used to portray Zauberwald. They also used parts of Schloss Leopoldskron, located at Leopoldskronstraße 56/58, 5020 in Salzburg, Austria, to shoot various interior and some exterior scenes. Privately owned by Salzburg Global, the hotel is known for its eye-catching interior, incredible architecture, and beautiful surroundings. Access to the hotel is restricted to guests and is not open to the general public.
In addition to this, the show’s cast and crew also set camp at Penzing Studios located at Kauferinger Street 32-34, 86929 in Penzing, Germany, to film various interior scenes. The decision to shift the setting to the Alps was made to present a completely different surrounding to the audience, compared to what they saw in the first season. The thick snow and dark forests add a bleak tone to the season, but it also remains hauntingly beautiful, such that the characters and the audience are attracted to it just as much as they feel isolated by it. The show’s creators wanted to balance these contrasting feelings, staying in line with the tone of the story, and presenting a twisted tale that unravels the secrets of the characters to deliver a season that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats.
Read More: Where Was Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2 Filmed?
