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Salzburg, Austria
June 1st , Tuesday - Trip to Salzburg, by DW
The word for the day is "Oops". Leaving the
Etap at 8 am we went immediately to Mc Donalds for breakfast.
While in this complex we found a nice grocery with cheap diet
coke, a bakery and the tobacconist to buy a highway pass for
future travel in Austria. We had traveled here without knowing
you needed one and were glad to find out that they fine
you for not having one, if you get pulled over by the police.
Which so far we had not!!
 It began drizzling minutes after we were on the road and
rained lightly for the first two hours. The countryside is
mountainous and the snow capped Alps provide lovely scenery.
The towns and villages have a Bavarian look, while Vienna was
Baroque. The trip took only 3 hours to complete but you can't
check in at the automated Etap until 2:00. So after lugging
all of our belongings up to the hotel door, we took them all
back to the car and drove into town for a view of the city.
 The area of the Etap is out by the airport and is surrounded
by stores, restaurants, a cinema (unfortunately showing only
movies in German), a bowling alley and more. We immediately,
upon return, had lunch at Burger King, and then tried checking
into our room. This was proving to be harder than expected. We
entered our reservation code into the computer, got our room
number and entry code. As AD entered the code and opened the
door our first sight was a pair of blue men's underpants
hanging from the bathrooms door knob. Upon further inspection
we found that this wasn't just an errant pair of pants but a
room occupied by someone else. Someone who washes his own
underpants. Oops!! Backing out of the room I stayed with the
bags while AD and TD went searching for an employee. We were
wondering if we were about to cart all the bags back to the
car again when TD finally found the manager. He is normally
not on duty for reservations until 5 pm.
 Several key codes later we were settled into another room. AD
and I headed to the cinema to check the movie availabilities,
and then somewhat depressed, we headed to an internet café.
After writing a few letters, I found Kate on MSN messenger and
chatted with her for a while before heading to the room. TD
had met us after getting our room set up and took AD shopping
for a bowl to eat cereal in tomorrow AM. We can all eat
breakfast in the room for less than we would pay the Etap for
one breakfast in the dining room, and not have to eat bread,
lunchmeat, and cheese every day at lunch. Of course it would
include all the coffee I could drink, but that habit has
significantly decreased after 10 months of questionable
availability and quality.
 I waited for the boys for 15 minutes and then began to wonder
where they might be. After all, how long can it take to go
across the parking lot and buy a bowl? As I looked for them I
met a man who could not get into his room with his key code.
Mr. Underpants! So I found the original code number and let
him in explaining the odd circumstances of earlier. He was
very nice and glad not to have to wait any longer for the
manager. TD and AD came back to the room just after 5 and we
settled into our evening routine of wine and cards. Then it
was off to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. "Yuck" is the word
of the night after a truly terrible dinner. A Mc Donald's
flurry cheered up AD and I. Now it is time for bed. Goodnight.
June 2nd, Wednesday - Touring Salzburg , by TD
Breakfast in the room turned out to be very
good. We ate musli (granola) and strawberries in our new
bowls. There is a small grocery next to the hotel to buy our
morning milk. It's not a pretty day. Heavy clouds have hidden
the surrounding peaks and rain is falling. No outside activity
today. AD & I remained at the hotel while DW is off on a
"Sound of Music" tour. They picked her up at 9 from the hotel.
 The only option for our day seemed to be a road trip. AD & I
drove from Salzburg up into the mountains. We drove through
small resort villages. In the winter there's lots of skiing in
these mountains. By the time we got to St. Gilgen on the
Wolfgangsee, it was pouring. St. Gilgen is a cute little
alpine village with lots of small hotels, shops and a ski lift
that rises out of the village center. DW's tour stops by here
and we thought we might see them.
After returning to Salzburg, we went to the internet café near
our hotel to catch up on mail. It's so convenient to have a
location near us. After an hour online we went back to the
room to wait for DW, and waited and waited. She returned over
an hour later than we expected. The tour didn't include return
drop off! The five people from our hotel threw a fit and they
finally brought them back.
The bowling alley next to the hotel provided us with some
rainy day activity. We helped open the place up at 3. None of
us felt we bowled very consistently. AD got one game over 100.
My average was 136 for the 3 games. DW left us after game 2 to
go get a haircut at another nearby shop. This hotel location
has all the service businesses you could use.
 Our evening was spent at the hotel playing cards. We need a
new game and tried Hearts with a dummy hand. Tomorrow we are
going to try and teach AD how to play Bridge (without
bidding). The hotel manager recommended an Austrian restaurant
nearby for our dinner and it was delicious.
The Sound of Music Tour, by DW
 The word for the trip is "fabulous". The
Sound of Music Tour hits many the highlights from the
wonderful musical that carries it's name. I was very excited
to be surrounded by the music from the movie and traveling
through the city of Salzburg where much of the filming took
place. Our first stop was at the gazebo where Liesl sings "I
am 16 going on 17". With no one along to dance with, I wasn't
too unhappy to learn that it is locked to prevent just such
activity. Apparently an 82 year old woman instigated the
locking when she climbed up on a bench and began her song and
dance, only to slip and fall right through the glass windows.
Ouch!!
 Next we went to Leopoldskron Castle where the kids fell in the
Lake and Maria dances on the balcony with the Baron. Near
there is where the trees line the drive, and the Baron tells
the Baroness that "the kids in the trees are local urchins".
He, then recognizes them as his own children. The whole area
is lush and green just like in the movie. Traveling past
Nonnberg Abbey, we only got a glimpse of the place where Maria
was a nun, as we headed to the lake district. The lakes are
beautiful but were shrouded in mist and clouds from the day's
rain. We stopped in the town of Mondsee near the village of
St. Wolfgang to see the cathedral where Maria and the Baron
get married.
The tour was fabulous and everyone was very happy with all we
had learned about the Von Trapp family. They now live in
Stowe, Vermont. Six of the total of ten children are still
living. The youngest son runs the Inn which they began several
years after settling in the United States. The bad part came
when we got off the bus and found out that they pick you up at
your hotel but don't take you back. Now is that the dumbest
thing that you have ever heard? Anyway we threw a stink and
got a ride after waiting for an available driver for 40
minutes. A cab would have been easier but it's the principle
in my opinion.
June 3rd, Thursday - Rainy Salzburg, by TD
 It rained most of the night which is good
for sleeping but bad for sight seeing. Our intent for the day
was to walk around the old city center of Salzburg. It took us
until almost 10:30 to get ready to leave the room. We did
schoolwork, computer work and DW colored her hair. On the way
down to the center DW says, "Oh, we forgot the umbrellas". It
hadn't rained since we woke up. Why did we need them? Parking
wasn't a problem. We even found street parking, which I think
was cheaper. As soon as we walked through the tunnel to get to
the city, it started to rain. The rain got harder and harder,
and our desire to sightsee was dampened.
The only goal of the trip was to find a used book store. DW
has raced through our collection of fiction and needed
something to read. The hotel manager thought there was a used
book store down in the city. We had to find that bookstore and
then it didn't matter. "There aren't any used bookstores in
Salzburg", a store owner told us. So DW felt lucky to buy a
new English book and we will wait for Debbie to bring us
something to read at the end of the trip.
 The rains slowed some and we got to see the Cathedral and most
of the old city. We require something pretty special to get
excited anymore. A big causality of traveling this long. The
fact is, "we are tired of old buildings, palaces, and
churches". I still go inside the most big churches because
they are beautiful, and usually the most special place in
every city. We found a restaurant to
 eat lunch and headed back
to the hotel about 2. We made a deal with AD to play computer
games in the room, while we went to the internet. Afterwards
we took him bowling. My average is improving but it doesn't
feel like it when I bowl. We worked on getting the computer
transfer ready for JW and played cards before dinner. There's
not much you can do on a rainy day.
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AD Journal |
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June 2 - New foods
On the trip in South America I
learned to eat fish for the first time. I also learned
to eat king crab. I ate fish sticks before but now I
like all kinds of fried fish, except those that come
with their head still on. While in Australia I ate
sauerkraut and loved it. The best sauerkraut I have ever
had was in Germany.
In Bali I ate Nasi Goreng which is an Indonesian fried
rice. During our time in Thailand I was taught to eat
with chop sticks and now I can pick up almost
everything. Can you use chop sticks? Black Bean Dal is
an my favorite food from India. My Mom and Dad liked a
nasty looking green dish called Saag Paneer. It is
spinach in baby food consistency served with cheese
curd. I also really liked a bread called Naan. Shrimp
Fried Rice is a food that I learned to eat in Paris.
What I really want though is to get home and eat my
Grandma's vinegar green beans with bacon. I also miss my
Aunt Beth's twice baked potatoes and my Aunt Karen's
hash brown bake. While I think of it I want Mrs.
Stengle's lasagna and my dad's Christmas cookies. I'm
really hungry now so I guess I'll go to Burger King!
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Chur, Switzerland...» |
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