Day 102 Tuesday, November 14, 2006 We told Madame Karat in Budapest goodbye this morning next stop, Salzburg, Austria. In keeping with our tradition of making at least one serious error every day, we got off of the tram at the wrong stop and had to walk all the way to the train station. It wouldn t be so bad, but our luggage keeps multiplying and What did they say? getting heavier as we go along. We finally made it to the station just in time to hear them making a frantic sounding announcement. In reality, they could be saying, Evacuate the area, we re under attack and Claire and I wouldn t have a clue. We would still be standing there, smiling at each other and having a good time, oblivious to what is going on around us. Once we settled in, it was train ride snack time. Wow, did we get a gastronomical surprise!!! Have you ever eaten ham flavored peanuts? We have (accidentally) and they are as nasty as they sound. The high point of the trip was traveling through the Alps. Claire slept through most of the pretty scenery, but when she finally woke up we both agreed that we imagined the Alps would be much higher. (We Googled the Alps and discovered that their average altitude is only about 4,200 ft. That is nothing compared to our favorite, the Rockies. By the time we got to Salzburg it was dark, but we made arrangements with Christine (proprietor of Christine Haus Guesthouse) to pick us up at the train station. We had already been forewarned about having to climb a very steep hill to get to the guesthouse. One person described it as being a difficult climb unless you are in good physical shape. That leaves us out send the car. Mistake #2 of the Day: When we got off the train, we were the only two people in the middle of nowhere standing alone at an empty train station. It was very creepy. Since Christine didn t tell us whether to turn right or left after we got off the train, we decided to go towards the only streetlight in sight so she could see us. Finally, someone slowed down and pulled to the side of the road, but it wasn t Christine. I guess Salzburg is a small town because it was Christine s sister. She said she would call Christine to let her know we were waiting. As it turned out, we weren t the only ones waiting. Christine was waiting on the other side of the train station the dark side. When she finally picked us up, it seemed like she was a little bit aggravated that we weren t in the right place. Normally, when someone has an attitude one of us (not Claire) may get a bit of an attitude in return. However, knowing that Christine was going to be the one to get us up the hill, we just apologized for the misunderstanding and got into the car. By the time we got to her house, the attitude was gone and she showed us to our room. The place is great Day 103 Wednesday, November 15, 2006 Christine Haus is called a guesthouse, but it s actually a bed & breakfast. The breakfast room faces out to the mountains, so we were able to get our first look at Salzburg in the daylight. It really is quite pretty. When we saw the hill we knew that we would Our breakfast view... have never made it with all of our luggage. Thanks again, Christine
The breakfast table was set with nice china and flatware and the overall appearance was very inviting. We met the two other people staying in the guesthouse nice young guys from Australia. They are leaving today, but they gave us the scoop on what to see in town. They are apparently very organized because the The guys...adam and Rafael map they gave us had arrows and footsteps directing us to all the tourist sites. Before we see the sights, however, we need to find a laundromat. It was impossible to find one in Hungary (there was only one listed in the phonebook and it was closed when we tried to go). We gathered our clothes and walked to the bus stop. Actually, walking down the hill wasn t too bad even with dirty laundry in tow. We found the Bubble Point Laundromat in town and it cost us over $16.00 to do two small loads. We actually had to get assistance to wash the clothes because we didn t know how to use the cash machine to start the washer. We learn something new everyday. We stashed our clothes in a rented locker at the train station and headed into the city. As we were leaving the train station, we almost got busted for jaywalking. Just our luck that the one car that had to stop in the middle of the road to keep from hitting us would be a police cruiser. He shook his head (and his finger) at us as we walked a little quicker to get out of his way. Note: Things to do in Salzburg for $30 you can take the Sound of Music Tour or for $4.20 you can get a 24-hour bus pass and see the sights for free. Guess which one we picked??? We walked around the old part of town and came across Mirabellplatz, which is a park filled with dwarf statues and ornate gardens. Of course, everywhere you look in Salzburg are signs of the cash cow that keeps the tourists coming...the Sound of Music. One example of the cash cow...literally. boutiques and painted egg decorations fill entire stores. We re not sure what the tradition is, but apparently it is customary here to purchase painted eggs at Christmas Egg store #1 If it is not Sound of Music trinkets, then it is Mozart... Salzburg his birthplace and is commemorated with Mozart everything, including candy, cuff links and cologne...christmas gifts for everyone. Traditional clothing hats, men s shorts and knickers, jackets and coats can be found in the
time. We passed at least four stores selling only decorated eggs. Is there really that much of a demand for painted eggs? We eventually caught a bus and rode around this time ending up at a huge mall. The biggest surprise was being able to use the restroom without having to pay. It was big, clean and modern. After having to hand over money every time we use a WC, it was a cheap thrill for us to be able to stroll in without digging around for change. Lucky for us, there was also a big grocery store in the middle of the mall. As we were loading the basket with snacks (for the train trip tomorrow), we saw a sale rack with.luggage Claire always smiles when she gets new wheels! on wheels! After much discussion, measuring, picking up, zipping and unzipping, pulling and tugging sold! One of us (not Melodi) bought a carry-on size bag with wheels. With every additional rolling cart, we look less like backpackers and more like bag ladies. We don t care all we know is we re glad we are going to have a set of wheels to get our laundry and groceries back up the hill tonight. Salzburg is a pretty small town and there s not a whole lot to see if you don t take the Sound of Music tour. We have clean clothes and we re ready to move on. We ll leave for Bern, Switzerland, tomorrow. Day 104 Thursday, November 16, 2006 After another lovely breakfast, we went down the hill to catch the train into town to meet our connecting train to Bern, Switzerland. We stopped in at the Burger King in the train station to get more coffee and noticed that their menu is quite different from the one back home. This one offers beer and chicken wings. We had a little time to kill, so we bought some postcards and stamps. What a surprise to find out it cost 20 euros (approximately $26.00) to buy and mail 10 postcards. Ouch we may not send as many postcards from now on. We ll see you in Bern, Switzerland. More fun in the park... We had an aggravating experience with the driver on the bus ride home tonight. Claire got up to ask him if he would tell us when we got to our stop. The bus did not have an illuminated reader board to show the riders which stop is next, and since it was dark we had to rely on the driver to tell us where to exit. Can you believe he would not tell us how many more stops it was to get to our stop? What a jerk!!! We were unfamiliar with the area and had no idea where to get off. A lady and her daughter were sitting behind us and witnessed the whole thing. Thank goodness they offered to help us. When they got off the bus, the girl behind them took over with guiding us to our destination. She told us to not worry because her stop was the stop before ours. She said for us to ring the bell as soon as the bus dropped her off and the driver would have to let us off at the next stop. We were the only 2 people left on the bus, so I don t know what in the hell the driver thought he was going to do with us if we were still on the bus when it reached the end of the line. He definitely qualifies as the biggest ass we have met on the trip so far.
Egg store #2 Egg store #3 Egg store #4 Snack time is happy time! Even we knew this rolling cart was too maw-maw to buy. Landscaping in the ornate garden...before......and after. Lego my Santa...
Up the hill... Old town... Down the hill wasn t as easy as it seemed... The River Salzach that separates old town and new town Salzburg. Men wore traditional clothing in the old section of Salzburg......while women get to choose from Project Runway rejects.