Mozart's Balls

Let me start off by saying that Austria is breathtakingly beautiful! I love it here!!

My journy across the Czech border and into Austria was interesting! It was a van and crammed with other travelers. The driver was a bit crazy and drove with reckless abandon! Once we hit the mountains, I was clutching my seatbelt, white knuckled, and convinced I would die in a tragic fiery crash. When we approached the border, we had to stop and hand all of our passports to the Czech guard. He did his thing, and then we had to go through it all again with the Austrian guard. About 15 minutes later, we were on our way to Linz. After a gorgeous ride through dramatic scenery, we were dumped off at the Linz railway station. Since all the hostels were booked in Vienna, I decided to go ahead and make my way to Salzburg. I hopped on a train and after an amazing train ride through the Alps, I was in Salzburg!! Land of Mozart and The Sound of Music! I popped into the Tourist Info office and headed to the hostel!

So, I dumped my bags and hit the streets! Salzburg is fabulous! The narrow cobbled streets are accentuated with the tiny shops with black wrought iron signs - a requirement set forth by the Salzburg government! I stopped at this Austrian restaurant and had a true Austrian meal of Grillwurstl mit Pommes! I tried it with the spicy mustard and I actually liked it!! I made my way to the Old Town, across the Salzach river. It was incredible! I wove through narrow streets, getting lost in the centuries! I stumbled across the entrance to the Funicular that takes you up to the Castle! Why not? So for 7 Euros, you get a round trip ride on the car and access to the castle!! It was fabulous!!! It's like a city up there! They have medeival shops and restaurants, museums (including a Marionette museum that was awsome!!), and breathtaking views!! After exploring every nook and cranny, I made my way back down to the streets below. I found an Austrian Christmas shop and an Easter shop. My mother would pitch a fit!

Exhausted and grubby, I headed back to the hostel and hung out for the rest of the evening! I did decide on where I would be going after Munich. I realy really really want to go to Switzerland, but I just don't think my budget will allow for it. DAMN IT! Swiss trains are expensive! ARGGGGGG! Disaapointed, I will be heading to Grunau and Bad Gastein in the Austrian Alps for a few days of rest and relaxation and crisp mountain air before heading into Italy! Not quite Interlaken, but I suppose it will suffice.

So, today was devoted to The Sound of Music! I started the day off by watching the movie while doing my laundry! I ran to the the store to by Raffaello's for a certain someone, and I ended up buying some Mozart balls, as well. They are really tasty... a bit ... stale, though. Anyway, I then headed off for the tour! It was a huge, tacky bus, but kitchy and fun! They played the soundtrack while the guide wasn't talking and encouraged everyone to sing along - which a surprising number of people did!!! It was great! Once we got out of Salzburg and headed into the countryside, I could NOT believe my eyes! It is unbelievably beautiful! We headed straight for the Lake and Mountain district. Our first stop was Fuschl, a gorgeous lake and town!! The real treat, however, was the Rodelbahn. This is a long metal slide kind of thing! It snakes its way down the mountain! You take a "kart" which is a seat with a stick in the middle, and you get attached to this cable and drug up the mountain... backwards!! So, all the way up, you get to see how far it is down!! It's great!! Once you get to the top, you take your kart over to the slide, sit down, and push off! You then go flying down the mountain!! You have to be really careful around curves.... if you lean into it, which is what you want to do, you will tip over and go tumbling down the mountain! When you make it to the bottom in one piece, all the people who were too chicken to go themselves stand there and cheer! It'S awesome!! OK... so here's what happened to me. There is always some tragic event surrounding me! But at least I have stories! So, I am at the top of the mountain and I go to sit on my kart when I hear, and feel, a loud rip. Yes, my trousers ripped. In Paris, I was squeezing around a metal stool and caught my trousers on the corner, which caused a small tear in the seat. I sewed it up and all was well.... until today. So, laughing, I said Fuck It and pushed off, thoroughly enjoying my run down the mountain! As I stood up, the rip went almost to my waistband. I felt the crisp alpine air touch my bum. Great... at least I was wearing underwear. Not necessarily a given with me. And they were a fun leopard print, so oh well! For the next few hours, anyone walking behind me was given a show! :)

So, after having a laugh with some older British ladies about my torn trousers, we got back on the bus and headed to St. Gilgen. Oh my god! Gorgeous!! I can only imagine vacationing here??!!?? Which is what Europeans do!! Wow! There really are no words! The last stop was Mondsee, which is where Captain von Trapp was married to Maria... in the movie. Apparently, Hollywood took many liberties. More on that later! So, Mondsee was a very nice little Alpine village! I had an ice cream cone with this American woman who took the tour alone. Her husband was in a conference during the day. I think she was bit lost and I didn't mind the company. We headed back to the bus and took the auto bahn back to Salzburg.

So, the real story behind the movie is actually quite interesting! Did you know that the Trapp family settled in Stowe, VT after escaping Austria??? They have a lodge that is still owned and operated by the Trapp family??!! Weird!! And they did not hike out of Austria. They pretended like they were going hiking, but got on a train to Italy instead. They then took a boat to England before going to America. I now want to read more about the family!

After a wonderful day, I am exhausted! I'm just hanging out in the bar and going to bed early. I think I'm going to Mauthausen tomorrow. Either that or the Ice Caves. I'll let you know in my next blog. Then I'm off to Vienna on Wednesday!! Wow!