cap 34: roaming around Salzburg in nothing but old drapes

Hmm. I wonder if much of her apparent confidence isn't something new, but rather the same chaotic energy she had at the abbey, because she definitely seems to be a ringleader of benign trouble amongst the group on their outings. She's worked through the worries overwhelming her as she was approaching the house for the first time and figured out how to manage her charges. (Obviously, she has that confidence buried in her based on that confrontation in her bedroom during the thunderstom.) Then with the Captain gone and the children on her side--I'm willing to believe it might have taken a little while for them to trust her fully--she's able to forget his rules and go back to the person she was before.

I think about her face when the children say they don't know any songs, and I think that is when her confidence really starts to grow, because she almost looks offended and determined to change that.

Maybe the reason she is looking so happy is because the boys downright refused to come out in those playclothes (kids being kids...).

But after half an hour of bribery and corruption, they finally agreed to come (but only if she fed them syllabub up the mountain).

The haircovering: might be a nun's rule to cover your hair whenever out?

Not wanting to be pedantic, but I see she is in a sufficiently 'natural state' to omit taking a purse to pay for all those children -
Let's see...I mean 8 entries to the Mirabell Gardens, 8 x bicycle hire, hire of a horse and carriage, 8 x tickets for the mountain railway, etc etc.

that dress looks like it has pockets (although pockets are a b*tch to sew).

You guys have the confidence topic covered. I have nothing to add there.

As for the head scarf, maybe it is just the style? Many pictures that I have seen of the real Maria she is wearing a similar head scarf.  I think Elsa's was to protect from the wind in the convertible, but I don't think that Maria cares if her hair gets wind blown. Maybe it is sun protection since they are planning to be outside all day?

Where did she get these shoes? 

As for money, it could be stashed in her guitar case, though the baskets seem easier to get to. But, if the children were supposed to stay at home marching about the grounds and doing schoolwork, Maria probably would not have been given money to spend on activities with them in the first place. Maybe she asked Frau Schmidt and found that there was a stash left by the captain to be used on the children for emergencies, and she let Maria use it for fun?

I just adore that avenue - see how far it stretches!