On the train to Salzburg I talked to two different guys on the train. The first guy was tattooed all over and when got on with a sandwich and 2 beers. He was rather amusing to talk to though - he’s been all over the world, but not to the US because he says he doesn’t think he could get in. I asked why, and he said because of things in the past they probably wouldn’t let him in. This makes me think he must have a pretty shady history. He also said he didn’t work and hasn’t for the last ten years. I asked how he got money then and he said “things here and there…not all legal.“ hahaha He seemed like a nice enough person to talk to though. After he got off, another guy got on across from me. He had the most arresting eyes and as soon as he sat down I knew he knew English somehow. We started talking and it turns out that he spent his senior year of high school in Orlando and one brother went to FSU and another went to NC State. We talked about Disney World and Florida in general and my travels and so many things and it was just a lot of fun talking to him so excitedly. The first guy didn’t speak English all that well and he was, well, weird; but I was excited to talk to a perfect stranger who spoke so well and who knew what I was talking about when I spoke of America. He got off the train after 30 minutes, and I realized that I never even got his name. It is a shame, but at the same time, sort of cool to meet someone who sort of makes your day and then they are gone, like the wind.
When I arrived in Salzburg, I got directions to my hostel and walked there. I was in a large six bed room with all girls. It was quite nice. There was no one in the room when I checked in a little after five, so I asked about free WiFi and found out there was a café with it nearby. I walked
there with my computer and used the internet for a couple hours as I ate a dinner of egg on a bagel and brownie-cheesecake. Mmm.From there I went to a salsa club that a couch surfer had told me about. She met me there after about an hour - her name is Kasia and she is from Poland but studying in Salzburg. I got to dance with the instructor, who was very good, his female partner, and one other guy who was also good before Kasia and her friends arrived. After they arrived we just danced with each other in a group, and then I left at 11:30.
Before bed I bought a ticket for the Sound of Music tour in the morning (at 9 am). I set my alarm for 8:15, but woke up at 8 since some of the girls in my room were being so loud. Going down to breakfast (it was 3 euros), I was sitting down when this guy said “hey, what do you call that kind of skirt? I like it when girls wear that style but I don’t know what it is called.” I laughed and said, “Umm, eyelet?” Another guy sitting at the same table where I was said something about how he was complimenting me just to have people to sit with, and I laughed and invited him to our table. His name was Patrick and the other already at the table was Richard. We talked over
breakfast, and they agreed to meet me after my tour to go up to the Foretress (Kasia was going to meet me there too).When I went back to my room I met one of my roomies, Addie. I told her about the Sound of Music tour and she said she’d thought about doing it, and I said, “Well, the guy accidently gave me two tickets last night, so if you want to come…” She agreed and we both got on with no problem. She paid me 15 of the 33 euros so it made it much cheaper. The tour drove us past the house that was actually used for the front and back façade of the house in the movie, and then we stopped at the gazebo (which I saw last time) and at the lake where Maria and the children fall
in from the boat. We saw the spot from a distance and the backyard of the house there was used in the movie, but the actual house on that property was not. The gazebo used to be in that yard, but so many people were jumping over the wall to see it, they moved it to Helbrunn Palace.The bus then took us past the abbey where Maria (the real and the movie one) were nuns. Then it drove us up into the mountains and we got out to see some views that were used in the beginning of the movie. We ended in a small town that started with an M, maybe Montsee or something like that. That is where the church they used in the wedding scene of the Sound of Music is. However, we couldn’t go inside because they were having a confirmation. I was SO bummed. The bus dropped us off at the Marybell Gardens and Addie, another girl named Nieve, and I walked around doing Sound of Music poses and taking pictures. We then walked to the bottom of this mountain and took an elevator to the top where there is a modern art museum.
We didn’t go to the museum, but the view of the city and the fortress is amazing from up there. (Also, another Sound of Music scene was filmed up there). After that, Nieve went somewhere else, and Addie came with me to the Fortress funicular entrance, and we waited for Kasia and the guys from breakfast. We never saw the breakfast guys, so we went up just the three of us without them. The fortress isn’t too exciting inside, but we did get to go to the top of a watch tower and the view was really cool.After the tower we ran into Patrick, Richard, and another guy, Mark. They went back down with us and then Kasia had to leave. The rest of us went back to the
hostel. I got my computer and went to the free WiFi café and Patrick joined me a little later to get WiFi on his iPhone. At 8 we went back and all had dinner together in the hostel then Addie, Patrick and I went to the Hotel Stein which has a café on its roof (the Sound of Music guide told us to go there after dark to see the city lit up by night). We got there around 10, and a lot of the other hostel goers joined us about 10:30. By 11 we were pretty cold, so Patrick, Addie, and I walked around by the river just a little bit and then went back to the hostel. We decided to meet for breakfast the next morning at 9 and then go to the Unterberg (the mountain that Maria is on at the beginning of the film).First, a little about my new friends. Addie just finished her freshman year of college in Michigan
where she’s from. She was a very nice girl with a great smile and a happy personality. Patrick just turned 28 and is from Austin, TX, though he grew up everywhere since his dad was military. He is a very nice guy who reminds me a lot of a cross between a TA I had freshman year (who, oddly enough was also from Austin), Ryan from the OC, and one of my uncles. He is a cool guy to talk to and we became friends easily.We met for breakfast this morning and then headed out to the Unterberg by bus. When we got to the bottom of the mountain we took a cable car up. The ride up was probably 8 minutes, but the view, suspended in the air, was freaking
amazing!! (Brett would have been terrified. Lol) At the top we hiked all around (many parts were still covered in snow even though it was very warm). With the wind I was perfect in capris and a short sleeved shirt. Toward the very top we found a nice grassy area and laid down, listening to the peace, the wind, the buzzing of the bumble bees and watching the birds flying through the sky. It smelled like the mountains in NC, and somehow I felt at home. We three lied there for about 30 minutes talking occasionally and enjoying the beautiful day.The view from up there was out of this world. We could see Salzburg, the alps of both Austria and Germany and who knows what else - all I know is that I had another one of those “this is
life” moments. The three of us reflected on how sad it was to think of people who never get to see the view from the top of the mountain.Finally, we took the cable car back down the mountain and caught the bus back into Salzburg. From there Patrick and I went to the train station and caught the train to Vienna where I will stay with a couch surfer for three nights (Patrick will continue on to Prague).
Overall I loved Salzburg (even though I’d been there before). I had so much fun with all my new
friends in that beautiful city.Now I am in Vienna with my couchsurfing host Stephanie and her friend Eva and we are using the internet in the Starbucks. We walked around the city as it was getting dark and the buildings were all so beautfiul lit up! Tomorrow night I'm going to go see "My Fair Lady" at the opera house. I'm so excited!!
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