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Moving On
As expected, I didn't get a ton of sleep last night. It was more the mosquitoes than the noise that kept me up. I was trying to let my clothes dry out after washing, so I didn't dare shut the
window. Anyway, I woke up and got on the train at 8am. Everything went pretty smoothly. Some boy scouts got on at about the third stop. They were headed up to the mountains near the border. They came in and took the other five seats in my little room. Nice kids, but man they were rowdy.
Austria
I had to switch trains at the border, but it was easier than I thought. There was a train bound for Salzburg that was just waiting for people like me. It left five minutes after the other arrived from Venice. Very clean train with two seats on one side and one on the other. I think it might have been some narrow gauge because of the old mountain track. It was beautiful. As I have said, borders seem kinda superficial in a way, but at the same time, there is something distinctive about Austria. The rolling green mountains with a few white-caps in the distance. The low, brown houses with gently sloping roofs and long eaves. It was all quite nice. I took a bit of a nap before arriving in Salzburg at three.
Orientation
I took my time getting a bus map and withdrawing some Australian Schillings from the ATM. Then I tried to figure out my way downtown. I ran into a Japanese man and his son who were also trying to figure out the bus system. I ended up buying a set of five bus tickets at the tobacco shop, but I didn't use them. After a bit of wandering around, I found my way to the hostel which wasn't far from the station. Five of us were supposed to meet at the Intl Youth Hostel by 10pm. My friend was going to make the reservation. No reservation and no friends yet. I reserved us five beds till eight o'clock and set out on a little tour to get a feel for the town.
Tranquility
The town is much quieter than I expected. Sure it is Sunday, but I still expected swarms of tourists to be out on the streets.
Nothing was really opened and not many people around. None of the traffic of Italian cities either. Maybe the population here is much less than I thought. I made my way through the Mirabellgarten and down across the river.
Downtown
The downtown area had a few more tourists out wandering around despite the fact that all the sights are closed on Sunday. I just took enough time there to orient myself for tomorrow. Then I started up the green hill that makes the backdrop for the main cathedral and all. There is a medieval castle which can be reached by funicular, but I just took the footpath through the forest. I was rewarded at the top with a great view of the city and its surrounding hills. Down the other side of the hill, I checked on my email before heading back.
Rendezvous Problems
I was surprised to find an email from my friends informing me that the meeting place had changed. Instead of the Youth Hostel, there was now a new place called the Lindner Haus. After grabbing some dinner and getting directions, I headed out of town to this private home in the hills. After waiting outside a bit, Eugene,
Kaori, and Yoko showed up from the train station in Mrs. Lindner's car. After a look around, I was glad that they had chosen this place over the hostel. The price was actually a little cheaper per person, yet it included breakfast and a great view in the peaceful countryside. Unfortunately I had already checked-in at the Yoho downtown. Mrs. Lindner was not happy to hear that Midori was stuck in Prague and I was staying downtown. She said she would charge us for four beds tonight, so I decided to use mine.
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