[1] ...and embarrasingly enough, probably the most important reason...
[2] Think of the opening city scenes in Sound of Music--regal church steeples and sloped, quaint cottage roofs all extending to the ominous fortress looking down on the city. Here it looked like it could have been Benicia.
[3] The American Express office back home didn't carry it, and remember that the exchange office in SFO posted a terrible rate and was closed.
[4] ...and with a disgusting picture of a woman in very skimpy lingerie on it, too!! What, was this a card for one of those 976 numbers or what?
[5] Okay, I promise I won't end any more paragraphs with this. I figure you must get the idea by now.
[6] Her daughter lived in Sacramento, too, so she was very glad to meet somebody who lives there.
[7] Unlike the tip from Frommer's we had in Frankfurt, this one actually did appear to have the look of traditional Austria like he said it would. However, later on Frau Lenglachner drew attention to everything in such a way that we knew that it was all rather contrived.
[8] Normally, this is not the type of thing we would ever do, but it came so highly recommended by both Rick Steves and Frommer's that we put it on our itenerary. Besides, we had just bought the movie back home, and thus thought we could get full enjoyment from it.
[9] As it turned out, she was listed in Rick Steves' book as well, but in the part named `outside the city' and not with as much praise as Frommer's. She complained about Rick to us but, after it all, we tend to agree with what was written in his book instead.
[10] Not ten, Mr. Frommer!
[11] Remember that Germany, though a lot of fun, had been quite expensive, so we were already considerably over-budget at this point. Since Austria was rumored to be much cheaper, we were trying to keep our expenses, especially meals, to a minumum.
[12] I sure hope that my sarcasm is translating well into text, though I suspect this might be more effective with Doug or my scowling as we dictate this aloud. For now, this will have to do.
[13] ...or whomever I might be talking to. This sort of thing happened at any retail-type outlet, and even with some locals.
[14] This was also the single most expensive meal up to that point...that we ourselves paid for. I think it maintained both records until Paris, but that story is yet to come.
[15] Mozart's Birthplace, which is a building that was some 200-300 years old when he lived in it.
[16] Though they were merely copies of them, including the famous unfinished one of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
[17] No, we are not aura readers or anything like that, but the fact that this drab, unexciting exhibit receives more visitors than any other attraction in town leads me to believe that only non-musical, socially-obligated tourists go there, and perhaps to this city in general.
[18] We saw this on many of the famous buildings on our tour. Each time Doug would imitate the immortal--albeit geeky--words of Rick Steves: "Remember...scaffolding means...its being restored."
[19] The worst of all these were the bathrooms, which often required charges of 50¢ to $1, even in places where you already forked over a hefty admission charge.
[20] ...rumored to be singing a Micheal Haydn piece, the brother of the famous Haydn and not our first choice of music, but it still intrigued us to attend a European mass with choir.
[21] This was "Main Street" in Mozart's day, and each shop has a pictoral wrought-iron sign explaining its business for illiterate, but potential, customers. Our favorite was a Baroque-style curly-Q sign with a familiar M in the center. I think Doug went in to that McDonald's only to use its surprisingly free restroom.
[22] We soon learned that practically nothing in Salzburg was truly free.
[23] A most interesting contraption: We put a 500 Lira coin in a coin slot above the toilet, which then allowed, I don't know, 3-5 minutes of hot water, after which it would render only ice-cold. The sink in our room worked a similar way, though no coin was necessary; instead we had to throw a switch for a minute or two if we wanted any warm water whatsoever. I mean, I've heard of conserving energy, but...
[24] It actually consisted merely of kaiser rolls and jam, plus coffee or orange juice, but it filled us up, I guess.
[25] I am pointing out these nationalities because, quite frankly, they tended to stand ou in Europe's homogenously white communities.
[26] It really wasn't a house at all, but a `Bohemian' of sorts social club for intellectuals.
[27] You must also realize that this was also completely incomprehensible to Austrians because the movie, though about the true-story of the Von Trapp family, was never translated into German. We later formed the conclusion that it was events such as this that have soured Salzburgians to Americans and tourism in general.
[28] One of the fellow tourists told us that this famous scene of Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer was shot in silohuette and at profile because the two were experiencing an uncontrollable case of the giggles, and could only remain remotely serious on one side.
[29] Imagine poor Gretel at the end of the movie with "Climb Every Mountain" blaring and asking "Daddy, are we in Switzerland yet?", only to find that they had not escaped the Nazis but marched right into the lion's den!
[30] Which, much to our dismay, was continously going through both of our heads all day, and for the next two.
[31] `Water' in European restaurants often is mineral water and is as expensive as soda. If you ask for Leitungswasser (tap water), though, it is usually just that, without any ice, and is supposed to be free. This water had ice, which should have been a tip-off. After this we always asked the charge for Leitungswasser first, and nobody else ever charged us for it again.
[32] We had learned that the vanilla sauce tasted better than the ice cream, but weren't prepared for it to cost $1 more than the already steep $4 for a Hershey-bar sized piece of strudel.
[33] Which, after this experience, we nicknamed the Kickback Commission Tour.
[34] Making our SOM tour complete, since this is where the Von Trapp family hid out and Ralph, the 16-going-on-17-year-old's boyfriend, tattled on them to the Nazis.
[35] And then they had the audacity to want another $1 for the privledge to use their smelly and dirty bathroom inside. Needless to say, I waited.
[36] Wait, not practically...literally. There were rooms in the castle, including its museum and any tour you might find, where you had to pay another $3+ toll just to enter. Remember that we already paid nearly $7 each to get in. We found one room that boasted `free admission,' but we left immediately when we saw that it contained only one woman who was trying to sell her artwork.
[37] You'd think with the all the money they raked in every year, they could have fixed this ancient piece of equipment. And to think that they actual asked for donations to "Save the Fortress" at the end of the program! "What would Salzburg be without the Hohensalzburg fortress?" Gee, the same that it was now, EuroMozartland!
[38] This is especially true in Salzburg, but since very little in Salzburg is free, well, then I guess very little is good. But I think you probably know by now that we felt that way.
[39] God, we just kept setting ourselves up, didn't we? Anything `famed' usually sucked, but we just didn't learn!
[40] Gee, nobody ever needs to use the bathroom in a bar! Charging for the bathroom in a bar might rake in more money than the beer!
[41] Luckily, before I had taken my pants off.
[42] For what?!? WE figure that bathroom such as these are rented out or owned by individuals, who earn money by collecting tolls to `called-by-nature' tourists.
[43] This sentence in itself almost sounds right, except that this was supposed to be a beer hall!
[44] We had been doing a little bit of laundry as we went throughout our trip, since we only brought 4 pairs of socks and underwear each. In our room's sinks, we did a little `load' every few nights, and then let them dry over whatever heater they might have (since they often didn't have the gas turned on, it took more than a day to dry, so we had to do laundry in places in which we stayed more than one night). We had planned to save our clothes, of which we each had two pairs of pants and about three shirts each, for one or two commercial laundromats during our trip.
[45] Don't let the term `coin-op' fool you. It is not like the U.S. where you put in 6 quarters or so. Most European coin-op laundrys are called that simply because the attendant puts a special coin in the machine and either you wait for it or they do. One load of laundry in Europe ranges from $7-$15, and drying is extra. So you can see why we only wanted to wash our clothes once or twice during our trip!
[46] We were quite upset at how incredibly rude this person was, but we later came to the conclusion that, since it was the end of September and thus the end of peak tourist season, most employees were so overworked for so long that they came to hate any English-speaker (or perhaps anybody) wanting them to do anything.
[47] We had brought some fancy clothes--Doug a sweater, dress shirt, and tie and me a semiformal summer dress and a crushed velvet formal dress and heels--in anticipation of Austria's great concerts. This evening, though, because of the rain, we both only wore warm sweaters and pants. The other clothes we only wore once, so we know that we will do much better packing next time.
[48] Remember that we said in Part I that ID4 had been released the day we arrived in Europe.
[49] Amazingly enough, through the translation into German, they managed to keep the Jersey-style Jewish accent--it seemed that the Austrians didn't find it as amusing as we did.
[50] Where did all these different nationalities come from?
[51] The concert, like most in Europe, was open seating. And yet the movie theatre's tickets were assigned?!?
[52] A moot point anyway because, like most European restaurants and stores, it was closed on Sunday.
[53] A wrapped chocolate truffle with a hazelnut creme on the inside and a picture of Mozart on the outside. I hear they are very good, but I wouldn't know because I hate nuts with chocolate--my husband likes them, though.
[54] I stupidly kept asking questions about the program to them in German, thinking my German bad when they couldn't understand me! Stupid!
[55] Some 70+year old guy who studied with Nadia Boulanger.
[56] We were lucky that we had that Swiss-German sitting next to us, because it was impossible to identify this language that looked like Italian, Latin, and German mixed together. Retro-Romantic, or Romantisch, is the fourth, very understated, language of Switzerland, spoken by a mere 4% of the population of that small country.
[57] He wrote for five organs because this cathdral has exactly that. Remembering the cross visual, there is an organ on each of the corners of the cross, and one great one at the back. The orchestra once again was in the very center.
[58] And to think that both Rick and Frommers claimed you could get it anywhere.
[59] It was alright, but again not worth the world-famous reputation or the $11.
[60] More immortal words from RS.
[61] Actually, it was not our first choice, but good ole' Rick Steves'. But, as we were trusting his judgement more and more, we went there first. We typically were not disappointed, except when finding other Rick Stevians there--at this one we again met up with the ladies from our Bacharach dinner.
[62] "Room with a view?"
[63] Would that be "Essen mit Aussicht?" ("Food with a view?")
[64] German-style potato salad, tuna with mayonnaise, mixed beans and lots of other interesting things covered in a tangy and mouth-watering vinegrette dressing...not your typical salad. But then, your typical salad is not $4+.
[65] "You have some cat friends, don't you?"
[66] Boy, it seems that we were mistaken for every nationality but our own!
[67] They discontinued this practice in the '60s, at the time when the Catholic church started to allow cremations.
[68] From 10,000-8,000 B.C. "Hallstatt" comes from the Celtic meaning "salt-place."
[69] Doug originally read the inscription wrong, and wondered where the chicken was in this display of antique cooking equipment.
[70] ...that we later casually sipped, savoring the vista from our balcony.
[71] Using the less fancy of my two dresses, as I said before. I still didn't get to use my formal !
[72] We contrived the relationships of the players based on the way they interacted with each other on stage. Their subtle bits of body language, their reactions to the director, how they performed based on what their role was during the different pieces--all these made for an enticing discussion about power trips and energy.
[73] Hurray for Sugar Smacks!
[74] Remember that the cheapest, most versitile, tastiest, and certainly the most cultural food was not in restaurants or cafes, but in the supermarkets. Without markets, our food budget on this trip would have tripled. Usually there was a deli inside like in the U.S., but not only were the sandwich fixin's of much better quality, but they sold all ingredients separately and cheaper. Two fabulous sandwiches of cheese, meat, and bread (you never needed anything else) would often be only $2-$3.
[75] Or should it be humiliation.
[76] "We have forgotten," I said, and she replied: "Yes! I ALWAYS forget!"
[77] I had forgotten to tell the attendant about our discount until we had already paid full price for our tram tickets. Luckily, he was nice enough to refund the difference.
[78] "Nine Months!", expressing their amusement at their resemblance to a pregnant woman.
[79] I use the term `train' here loosely. It was more like the `train' that takes you around in Disneyland or the Nut Tree. Very small, very open, and very slow.
[80] Something like 23í F.
[81] 27% salt, as opposed to the ocean's 3%. The Dead Sea is 33% NaCl.
[82] Okay, no more bad salt and water puns. They are sodiumb!
[83] ...and perhaps of our lifetime, because of the incredible natural beauty of Hallstatt.
[84] The two literal translations are "Until the next seeing" and "Next time"--practically the same thing, but apparently for two different uses. Those silly Austrians.
[85] This was two small glasses tilted and joined onto one stem, so that a particularly romantic couple, such as ourselves, can sip at the same time while gazing into each others eyes....GAG!
[86] One said "F'r Mich" and the other "F'r Dich", meaning of course, "for me" and "for you." She thought it should be "F'r Mir" and "F'r Dir", meaning about the same thing. Those silly Austrians.
[87] Heavy and breakable. Yeah, that was practical.
[88] Another lame Star Wars quote. Sorry.
[89] Also known as `loud' and `even more loud'. The third speed was `stop'.
[90] Ow hot!...Brrr cold!...Ow!...Brr!...Ow!..Brr!...etc.
[91] We had been so lucky to come yesterday, the very last day of business.
[92] In her very broken, yet totally adorable, Austrian-English.
[93] And only reasonably-priced restaurant besides the cafe downstairs.
[94] Remember that Doug kept trying to recreate his cherished mixed salad, at $4-$5 a shot.
[95] Beer was cheap whenever you got the local brew (about $1.50-$2.00/pint). However, since `local' there ain't Bud but better than the most expensive import back in the States, you can see why we took advantage of the `local' brew whenever possible.
[96] But we had to wait for it. There was a large birthday party of kids at the time we first got there, so the waiter had told us we to come back in about 45 minutes. It was worth the wait.
[97] "Innsbruck, I must leave you" is Heinrech Issac's well-known local song (kind-of like "Edelweiss") about him leaving his beloved town. This is my lame attempt at changing the lyrics to fit our needs. Oh well, the Austrians would understand it.
[98] Obviously, because if she wasn't, she never would have known about Hallstatt.
[99] Another bad pun, seeing that her last name was Morgan.
[100] Well, I guess the Baroque Opera House is still there. You know, I could say something really bad right now about how it Buh-roke during W.W.II, but I won't.
[101] Differently than you might think, you do not buy them at a subway station, but at one of the many `Tabak' (cigar) shops around town. When you want it validated, you time punch it in a machine at the station. Like Frankfurt, nobody checks your ticket and there are no turnstiles to go through, but if one of the rumored plain-clothed policemen ask for your ticket and you don't have one...there'll be hell to pay!
[102] The `ring' is so called because, in old cities like these, there used to be fortress walls surrounding them. In modern times, these walls were torn down and streets were put in their place--this is why they are called ring roads, and why most historical things that you want to see lie within their bounds.
[103] Isn't the German language the king of compound nouns? This one literally means "stranger-traffic-office". To you and me, its the Tourist Information Office (TI).
[104] The churh attendants didn't make us leave, our ears did.
[105] These people hung around St. Stephen's Square, and other potential tourist gatherings, dressed in classical garb and powdered wigs, trying to sell $50 tickets to their Mozart concerts in town. Back home when I saw the concert ads on the Web, I figured we'd definately want to see one; but now, sick to death of Mozart's music and knowing that concerts such as these were not about recreating culture but about grabbing the tourist dollar, we ended up being just plain rude to the more pushy solicitors.
[106] Remembering the line in Pulp Fiction, "Those Europeans don't know what the #$^& a Quarter Pounder is!", so they call it a `Hamburger Royal' or a `Royale Cheese'.
[107] Who, after I said "nur Ketchup und Kase", switched from perfect German to perfect English, and he was Asian! Typical, typical.
[108] Though you are standing, there is a padded rail in front of you on which you can lean and, if you want to take a break, on which you can tie a scarf or place your jacket to save your place.
[109] Since when was Hindemith any good? I had never thought so until that night.
[110] Though it, too, had the mere rolls and jam, the real deal lay in the fact that we got hot chocolate with it! Remembering that on the street it costs about $4, you can see why my notebook sports "Yay hot chocolate for breakfast!"
[111] I think it might have been the published price of $5 if we were able to get the headphones, which supposedly picked up recorded information when you walked near selected exhibits. All the English ones were gone when we got there (about 30 minutes after it opened?!), so we did without.
[112] Invented, you know, by Benjamin Franklin!
[113] In Doug language, this means `having a great time.'
[114] Well, then, who was using all the English headphones, hmmm?!?
[115] I think that was what would have played on those darned headphones.
[116] And there it was, next to the royal gold baptizing pan the size of a small bathtub!
[117] That, and my father's definiton of family jewels, but I'd rather not get into that right now!
[118] Contrary to what I was taught in Music 24B, nobody knows exactly where Mozart was buried. They know it is somewhere in St. Mark's in the center of the city, but he really was buried in a mass, pauper's grave, just like in Amadeus.
[119] Unlike the concert at the church in Salzburg, tickets for this concert only went on sale two hours before the performance.
[120] Contrary to what you might think, remember this means `Vienna Forest' and not `Wiener World.' They do not serve hot dogs there, but chicken...kind of like the Colonel's but fancier and baked, not fried.
[121] The selection was BBQ, curry, and yogurt, and all were the consistancy of soy sauce. I guess in Europe they take the word `sauce' literally and don't expect a thick glaze like we do.
[122] Yes, though they serve bread at the table, especially in Austria you usually have to pay for each piece consumed, and it often ain't cheap!
[123] Again with the Hindemith, which was by far the best piece besides the finale. I guess I'd better reevaluate my opinion of Hindemith!
[124] As per our Hungarian friend, Arpad, back home, it is typical to end a Europeaan concert with an original improvistion. How totally cool!
[125] And this was the most unusual hot chocolate, since it came to me unsweetened but with several sugar cubes in a little dish on the side. It tasted like drinkable mousse--divine!
[126] Or rather, to hear them, since they'd be up in the choir loft where you couldn't see them.
[127] This was a calendar I made, which started on Sept 17th and ended on October 17th. In each block (day) we'd written what city we were going to visit, and basically what we'd do that day. This also helped us keep track of how many train days we'd use (not to go over the alotted 15), and to help avoid being in a city on a day when museums, etc. were closed. At first, we totally relied on ths worn piece of paper, to know when we were scheduled to be where. But after today, all that changed.
[128] Reservations are required if you want a `bed', and even with a Eurailpass you need to pay the supplement. Supposedly a private car costs $100+/person for 2 beds/car, so that was out. A first class car is $50/person, which is for 4 beds/car, and the second class car is $16/person for 6 people/car. Though this is the same price as a hotel room, you get sheets, breakfast, and, most importantly, a conductor to check you in when you go over the border so nobody wakes you for your passport in the middle of the night.
[129] i.e. 25 minutes, but that was quite difficult with the heavy state our bags were in.
[130] With the exception, of course, of the T-shirts and biker shorts we had on underneath because no, we weren't naked.
[131] Though we were taking the night train to Venice, we had planned on only spending the day there and taking an evening train on to Florence. This would save a train day, since sleeping cars count not on the night you take it but on the following day.
[132] I ended up nicknaming this place `boombox', but that story, and what became of all our Frommer's material, is coming in Part III!
[133] Where the attendants were, contrary to Salzburg, very nice and fun to talk to.
[134] Pretty pathetic to be that close to an historical sight and not go in because of a measly $6!
[135] Especially the wafer cookie assortment--imagine a Mother's cookie assortment bag, but with LU cookies in it!
[136] Free for anybody who wants to sit on the lawn. To sit in the chairs on the terrace, you have to pay.
[137] Luckily for Doug, they had a French newspaper. Unluckily for me, there was no English material. I tried my best at a German magazine: I learned that Madonna was pregnant, and she was having the baby, either because she was too "important" a person not to, or because a pig came into her garage and told her she had to. You decide.
[138] Don't get any funny ideas--apparently he had let out a burp in there, and got somebody's attention for it. He replied (as he often does), "It'sa no bada manners, itsa gooda beer!". This cracked the guy up to no end. I wonder if was for the joke, or for Doug's horrendous imitation of an Italian accent!
[139] Actually, as you might know, tips are nothing like they are here. Tax and service are included in every price for food, which is what makes them seem rather high. However, it is customary that, when served as in a restaurant, it is polite to round up or leave a few extra coins for the waiter to show that the service was good.
[140] When you make a reservation, you also choose whether you want the bottom, middle, or top bunks. We had chosen one bottom and one middle, but after seeing the way it was laid out, might choose two top ones next time. When we first arrived, the others had to move a bit, since they were in our spots.
[141] A real feat indeed, equivalent to having two people lay side by side in a bathtub!
[142] Don't ask!