Salzburg

1.       It is like a 360 degree dream. Everywhere I look, there is more Pretty. (Hallstatt)

2.       After awhile, all of the churches started to run together and look alike. I loved them all, but found after Salzburg that I had seen enough churches to last at least until my next trip to Europe.

3.       The Europeans have a “space” problem in cemeteries. According to some people I met, they told me that in Europe, you have to “rent” a grave site. After about 10 years, a bill is sent to the family or caretaker. If it is paid, the grave remains as is for 10 more years. If it is not paid, the grave is sold to someone else and the remains buried below are cremated.

4.       “Que the sheep” - I thought this as I walked over a beautiful hill, and suddenly a herd of sheep crossed my path in Hallstatt. It made me think of that movie “The Truman Show” - how there were directors who made the perfect things happen every day.

5.       This town celebrate Mozart like Las Vegas celebrates Elvis. If Mozart was anything like his character in Amadeus, he would LOVE this.

6.       The thing is, Mozart isn’t free in Salzburg. I thought there would be sonata’s flowing out of windows, and music piped into town squares. However if you want to hear some Mozart, I have found that it’ll cost. You can go to a concert or a dinner but always for a price. I tried to go to a church that claimed to have a free Mozart concert on Sunday morning during their mass (The Dom Cathedral, where he was actually baptized) but all I found when I arrived was a very serious mass said in Latin. I didn’t get my Mozart on until Vienna. And of course, it was for a price.

7.       I like that most of the outdoor cafes have blankets on the seats so you can cover up if you get chilly. I found this in both Salzburg and Vienna.

8.       I think it is funny when you see an old lady in traditional Austrian dress (Dirndl), with a cane in one hand and a cell phone in the other.

9.       There is nothing like coming to Austria to really appreciate Asian culture. I found a restaurant with the second language in Japanese.

10.    I ate lunch at a “seafood cafeteria” type place. You got in line, grabbed a tray and pointed at that you wanted to eat. It was delicious, but also ended up being one of the more expensive meals I ate on my trip.

11.    Augustiner Brewery is WAY cool. You walk in, grab an empty mug off the shelf…. Then you rinse it out in this big well… Then you pay for it and then you hand your mug to a beer filler-guy. Tables are mostly adjoining, so you sit with people you don’t know, but end up knowing better and better with each beer. I started at a table with two older ladies who had a picnic basket full of Tupperware dishes. The brewery has a “food court” type option for dinner where you choose your flavor and order it at the window and bring it back to your table... but you can also bring your own food.

12.    The Augustiner Brewery is a little bit out of the way. Always thirsty, I decided to make the trek, and headed in that direction (always follow the steeples), map in hand. When I was about a block away, a lady in one of those mini-cars stopped and asked in English if I needed any help. I told her I was just looking for the beer, and she laughed and pointed up the hill. The thing is, I didn’t ask for help. I don’t think I looked lost. The people there are just that nice.

13.    I got mauled on the train to Hallstatt. I was in a car with only a few people on it, but for some reason this young punk came and asked in German if he could sit next to me. “Sure,” I say without much thought, and without looking around. I didn’t give it much thought. He was about 20 years old, smelled like smoke, and had bushy blond hair, icky smashed beard, numerous piercing in his face and was wearing a New York Yankee’s ball cap. I was engrossed with the scenery outside my window, and it was about 5 or 10 minutes later when I realized that he was sitting with his legs spread WAY out, and his entire thigh was toughing my entire thigh. So I scooted over a little more. Then, he scooted my way a little more... So I pulled down the arm bar between the seats and said “dude this is the line….”  As I was doing this he tried to talk to me in German, and I told him I don’t speak German. He kept talking, and with his broken English, was able to ask me my name. I told him, and moved a little closer to the window. He held out his hand to shake and I shook his hand, and he pulled me towards him to kiss each

 cheek. That was awkward. He asked me if I have a boyfriend, and I told him, yes I do… a very big one!  I decided it was time for me to move to another seat. As I was gathering my stuff I realized that he could have been trying to reach into my purse when he did that cheek kiss thing. So I quickly peeked to make sure all was still intact, which it was, and I excused myself and went into another car that had a lot more people on it and smelled a lot less of smoke. As I scrambled away from his pawing hands, I realized there were only a couple of other people in the car, and probably 100 open seats. Creeps are a global thing.