Day 3 of cork & alli's adventure..... (this one is a long one!)
After Demetrius departed.....( after freezing his a$$ off...I'll let cork explain this one...)
We tried to get back to sleep. Cork did, I could not. The woman truly CAN sleep anywhere.
As it became light I was able to see the beginings of the ALPS!!!! How impressive. We washed up and were ready for Salzburg. But were they ready for us?
At the station we stopped in at the TI to secure a room. As it turns out...we booked the last one in this wonderful hotel in the "old town" (Salzburg really does have an older section of town ;-) ). We took the bus that let us off right in front of the old town. We walked around a bit, looking for our hotel. Everywhere there were booths set up with new years eve trinkets (good luck pigs, horseshoes etc.) Other booths were set up selling different foods and drinks (the best of which turned out to be hot wine!
)
We finally found our hotel. It was WONDERFUL! The Blaue Gans (this is a test...who can tell us what this means?) This is where the Internet was free!!! I took a shower while cork did some computer catching up! Then she took a shower while I did some SoWalling!
The hotel was a 4 star, and a great and gracious hotel. What luck that we got the last room!...but as I said earlier, we had incredible luck with accommodations and timing throughout the entire trip!
After satisfying our shower needs and our computer craving we set out to explore Salzburg. What a beautiful and majestic setting! Mountains, cathedral domes, and an old castle dominate the skies. On the city level there are alleys and shops everywhere. During this time of the year every shop, restaurant and business has a live tree (Austrian pine)
outside their door (and usually more than one!) These Christmas trees are all real and the most beautiful trees in the world. They are so delicate looking. Cork said Salzburg was like a fairy tale city and she was right! The best was yet to come, though, as it is even more lovely at night!
My grandfather was from Austria, so I felt the sensation of being quite connected to this city! I could feel the history and the culture , the city wears it proudly!
We walked through the streets and alleys. We decided it was time to eat so our culinary quest began. I was insistent that we try to find a restaurant that served authentic cuisine. We found a cute little cafe that fit the bill! I had goulash with a potato dumpling and cork had grilled sausages with sauerkraut.
After lunch we meandered around visiting the various cathedrals. The most impressive was St Peters (It seems every city in Europe has a St Peters...) So beautiful! This is where the VonTrapp family hid from the nazis. Before we investigated the grave yard we came across an archway covered in tree branches. We went through the arch way and what a surprise! It led into a large court yard with Christmas trees EVERYWHERE!
On one side was a small Moroccan style cafe and on the other was an entrance to a hotel. At the end of the court yard a small bar area had been set up. For some reason we were "drawn" to it.
Here we purchased our first hot wines! Pure manna on a cold day!
We took our mugs and walked out to investigate the grave yard. What an amazing place! It seems strange to refer to a grave yard this way...but it is true! Lining the walls are the gated sites and all along the path are the in ground plots. Each plot is tended with love. I was astonished to see each grave elaborately decorated for Christmas! Some were more lavish than others, but each had been lovingly decorated! It was like walking through a museum or art gallery! I did not take any pictures of these...it would have been a travesty! I would have felt disrespectful! I did take a picture of the gates similar to the ones the Vontrapp family hid in.
We walked back to our little grotto area bar to return the mugs. We stopped in at the little cafe there and I loved it. We thought it would be a good place to come back to for dinner....UMMMM...NO!!! It was new years eve and they had a set menu...about 70 euro a piece...
We walked around some more, checked out the booths and shops. We were on a quest for a lucky pig! I finally found the most unobtrusive pig I could find....a tiny (I mean REALLY tiny) glass pig. I guess size does not matter...because we had good luck the whole trip! Cork was disgusted with me...but hey....I don't like pigs. We bought a few more trinkets ( I tried to get cork to buy herself a "dirty pig" but she wouldn't)
We changed clothes for the holiday evening. We SoWalled some more then headed out. We had more hot wine and walked around a bit. Our culinary quest for dinner was Weiner Schnitzel with spaetzle!!! We found the perfect place and had dinner! After dinner we walked around some more, had more hot wine, walked, wine, wine.....One of the highlights of the evening was when we walked out side the old city and stood on the bridge! Looking back at the city was breath taking! All the cathedral domes were lit up as was the old castle. Cork got a pretty good photo of it (I hope)
The square was beginning to fill up. Big plans for the New Years Eve celebration! Around 9:30(??) the first band began to play. The Wild Cats...an all lady band. They were very good. Most of the songs they performed were American 80's. The second band was Star Mix. They were good too. By this time the square was rocking. Cork & I kept leaving our spot to get more wine, but we were always able to squeeze back into our spot...center stage! There was much revelry form everyone. At one point we had a rowdy group of young bloods behind us...too funn!
As the 12:00 hour drew near, I could tell there was this "person" inching closer to us.:roll: I tried not to make eye contact...but I could tell he was trying to get close to us. When 12:00 hit he was behind us and grabbed both of us and hugged. He started talking to me. I could never figure out his real story....He was from India, Italy, Pakistan, Iran or Spain????
He told Cork he was living in Salzburg doing some kind of work...he had been away from his wife for 4 years (was that it cork?) He was trying the whole time to suck my face
.... Cork finally made him back off.
He bought us each a small bottle of champagne, which was nice...however, we drank and split! Weaved and bobbed our way through the crowd so Ackhmed (or what ever his name was) would not follow us!
Back at the hotel we SoWalled some more and then tried to DD several people. We did manage to talk to BB and Jennay. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!
The next morning (AGAIN) we didn't wake up until LATE! I took another shower...I learned to take advantage of every shower I could get....never know when the next one will be...
We left our bags at the hotel and enjoyed the city some more. We found another small Tea Room/Bakery and had some lunch. Quiche Lorraine and salad...it was delish!
Later in the afternoon we collected our bags and headed for the station. This time we were headed for Munich for dinner at the Hofbrau House! And this, my dears, will be saved for tomorrow!
All in all ...New Years Eve in Salzburg is an AMAZING experience.:clap_1:
Also...as I posted yesterday, one of the shops sold nothing but hand painted blown eggs. The shop was truly amazing!
but it didn't matter because I truly believe that we were not meant to capture this moment...it was only meant to live in our hearts and minds!
