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Eurospar
After leaving our bags at the train station in the morning, we went to catch the bus to Hellbrun. We stopped into Eurospar supermarket for some cheap bread, cheese, and drinks, so we kinda missed our bus. Shopping at supermarkets is definitely the way to save money, even if you do waste money on silly drinks like Mezzo Mix. I just couldn't resist another taste of Germany's famous mix of cola and orange juice.
The Wacky Gardens
We had all kinda forgotten why we were going to this faraway place over in the next town. It was listed in all of our guidebooks as having something or other. It turned out to be a little cheesy, but maybe that was what we needed. I think we are all tired of real churches and palaces, so this trick garden, built by some crazy archbishop, was just right. Nobody sitting in the waiting room seemed to know what was going on. Most of the people couldn't speak German, so we were all hoping that this tour would be in English or something. It turned out that the guide spoke Germany, English, and Italian quite well. He seemed to enjoy setting up each gag before turning on the fountains and soaking all of us. You just gotta go to see what it is.
Wasting More Time
I stopped back at the Amex office in Salzburg on the way back. No more mail. Kaori checked for her poste restante at the main post office. Eugene went ahead to the train station on the slight chance that Midori might be there. No luck. Anyway, through all this, we ended up missing the train we wanted. The next one was more than an hour later. Wrote some more postcards and passed some more time. When traveling overseas, there is a lot of time-wasting that goes into getting around and meeting and finding people.
Angela
It turned out to be a scorching hot day. We boarded the eurocity train right in the heat of the day. Being one of the faster trains (had to pay a a supplement), we expected a comfy ride. Instead, it was terribly hot. The AC didn't work and the windows didn't open, so everyone just had to sweat out the two hour ride. Luckily we ended up sitting across from a friendly Austrian on her way to Dresden on business. She evidently took me for a German, and made some comment to me about the weather. After telling her where we were all from, a long conversation ensued. We compared notes on economic development, environmental problems, and life in general in our respective countries. It is amazing how many internationally-minded well-informed english-speaking people one can meet while traveling. Gained a little more insight into the local life of Salzburg and southern Germany.
The Tent
We took a walk around the pedestrian district to get our bearings in Munich. The real excitement for the night, though, came at
check-in to our fine accommodations. Munich seems to be lacking in cheap accommodations, so at some point the city was forced to invent "The Tent." It is a good tram ride away from the city center, but at only US7, it is worth it. It is basically just a big circus tent in the clearing of a little forest. There is space for those with their own tents, but the majority of the backpackers opt for the glorified homeless shelter. The price includes a thin mat to cushion the wooden floor and a few blankets for those cool mornings. The showers and bathrooms are less than impressive, but the free breakfast makes up for any shortcomings. We would spend three nights in this oddity of the Munich Experience.
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