July 12, 2010

Today we awoke and the two big agenda items for the day were to visit the castle in Salzburg and make it to Munich, Germany. We checked out of our room leaving our baggage in the closet and headed out to the castle in old Salzburg. We then took the "lift" up the side of the mountain to the castle. What a breath taking view from up there. We could see all over Salzburg. We visited all the rooms and learned of many interesting facts about the castle. It is very apparent that the Catholic Church has always been very involved in the ruling of the European towns. In Salzburg alone, there are 42 Catholic churches and only one Prodestant.

Back for our luggage and a rush to the car, worrying the whole time because the ticket for parking was about to expire. We made it with 4 minutes to spare!

We left for Munich. We arrived, parked and walked the streets looking for a suitable Pension in which to stay. The first one we were referred to by a nice English girl was full, the second too "pricey", but as in Little Red Riding Hood, the third was "just right"! Here we met a cute girl named Gabriel. She is the Hotelier and a sweet one at that. The rooms were clean and affordable. She gave us a room that opened out onto a courtyard, one block in from the street. However, the noise was still pretty loud. A pension is like a B&B at home but very simple and basic... you share the toilet, but may have a sink in your room. These were very nicely decorated as well and we got it for 90 Euros (without breakfast). Thought we'd follow Rick Steves advice and hit the kaffee shop for some local color in the morning.

We then decided to get dinner and to try our hand at the local train transportation as the place we were going to was a ways down town. We met a wonderful middle aged woman at the train stop and she tutored us through the process. All the folks seem so happy to help, once you connect with them in some way. We arrived at the Hofbrauhaus where you could either self serve or have service. We chose the cheaper self serve. We had a delecious platter of fries and a half chicken. Here we shared a picnic table (they were lined up back to back and several rows deep) with an elderly couple: Carla and Eric who have lived in Munich their entire lives. They invited us to sit and we soon learned everyone eats community style in this self-serve garden. It was shaded and a very cool spot considering the conditions. The thunder continued to threaten and we were hopeful rain would come because it was still in the upper 90's at dinner time. However, we only got a very light sprinkle and then the sun was back out. We learned Carla (in her 70's?) was taking English classes. Eric thought this was silly, however he seemed to enjoy having her help translating during our very exuberant conversation. It was a great time. After the train ride back...we came to the room and literally just laid on our bed with the lights off and windows and doors open (who cares when its this hot) in the least amount of clothes possible. Because the sun had gone down by now all our neighbors were out on their roof top decks or balconies enjoying the cooler night air. It was a "Rear Window" experience (check out this old Jimmy Stewart movie if you've never seen it and you'll understand my point). We enjoyed listening and watching our neighbors in the darkness. Boy what we would've done to find a fan! Tomorrow we hope to rent bikes and explore the city more.

July 11, 2010

The day started out with breakfast in the courtyard of Linzergasse Salzburg Austria... the street is only cobblestone, no vehicles allowed except for shop owners. We headed for Mozart's home. Born in old Salzburg acrosse the river, soon they had more status and needed more room, so rented a large apt. house on the river in the new part of Salzburg. We were both amazed that Mozart, while very gifted in his youth... writing complete compositions at age 8, suffered through his life socially and politically. Also, he came from a very talented family, although Wolfgand was the genius. We then booked a tour of all the important sites, of the non-fiction story "The Sound of Music" based on the life of Maria von Trapp, a once committed nun at the Salzburg Abbey, who become the nanny and later the mother of the large von Trapp family. I never knew this was a true story. Our tour took us to the many sites and beautiful villages of Austria, including the serene mountain villages. Once of the most impressive was the village of Mondsee in an Alpine lake setting... married in the cathedral of St. Michaels. All I can say is "Wow".....this is the finest beauty of nature. While there we observed a drunken celebration of swiss finery in their liedehossen and driedels playing in the city fountain when one young man decided to come and throw me in as well. My husband had to intercede. It was a very hot day and although I wanted a cooler venue... I was thinking the AC on the bus would suit me well. Once arriving back we found suitable lodging in a bit more upscale hotel...yes, we had fans, running water and TV for the final game of the soccer World Cup. Lyle was delighted and I was exhausted. We both quickly crashed!!

July 10, 2010

Our day started out with us waking in Nor and Karen's front room where we have been sleeping on matresses on the floor. We move the furniture aside and plop down our beds. It's great sleeping. Next, we drove to Innsbrook Austria, just over the border, 1 1/2 hrs. away. and found our way into the large city. We only stayed for a couple of hours. However, some of the highlights were, we went shopping at a grocery store and got some basic supplies, met a couple of nice elders, one from Boise, Idaho and one from St. Gallen. They helped us get oriented and settled our nerves being in a strange land without NorWando and Karen. We then headed for Salzburg. We followed Rick Steve's advice and booked a room at St. Sebastian's.. similar to a hostel... maybe just a step above, very clean quarters. We pd. 1 euro for phone, it didn't work and 5 euros for internet... it didn't work. So we walked the city and explored. We found an old alley that went up a very steep slope. There were mice walking horizontally up the wall. We first thought they were birds. It was eerie but very real. And about 90 degrees Fehrenheit at 9 Pm. We tried to sleep but in the center of town you hear everything and you have to keep the windows open because it's 90 degrees. ugh! such a choice. We still loved it all. The next day, we look forward to taking a tour, The Sound of Music"... roaming Austria and all the important sites in the dramatic non-fiction film that made history. We're sure it will be amazing.

July 9, 2010

Here you will see two incredible people. Yes, our beloved Norwin and Karen who have also been our wonderful companions the last several days. It has been amazing how they... using only public transportation, buses and trains, scoped out great spots to take us, throughout Northeastern Switzerland. Norwin must have spent a great amount of time preplanning these exceptional experiences. Yes, they are also great chefs... meals exceptional.We I loved Karen's homemade pizza. We had some unforgetful experiences, such as when the two young mssionaries stopped by for fun conversation and an acoustic performance of a great birthday song the wrote and harmonized for Norwin. We couldn't get over their love for adventure and commitment to their purpose; especially impressive is their great respect and caring for Norwin and Karen. We saw this again when a young adult living in the area, where they are serving their mission (Kim) stopped by for some fellowship and support. Karen quickly served up salad and awesome homemade pizza as well as chocolate cake. We played several games of dominoes "Chickenfeet" and had great times interpreting and communicating with this young Swiss girl. These are memories we will cherish for our lifetime.