Salzburg is shaping up to be one of my favorite cities. It’s beautiful, it feels safe, and it’s very easy to get around. The people are nice, although not nearly as much as they were in England and France. We had a great time walking around, window shopping this morning. In the afternoon, we had the opportunity to go on the Sound of Music tour that my mom suggested. We topped off the day by walking the empty streets in the Altstadt, looking at clothes and goodies more expensive than this trip.
If you’re reading this fairly soon after it’s posted, there won’t be any photos quite yet. Internet at this hotel is awful, so I can’t get anything to download or upload. I’ll have to do so retroactively. Sorry!
Germersion
I’m starting to really feel immersed in the German language. If you don’t know me super well, you probably don’t know that I’ve been working on my German for several years. My Mennonite heritage is really important to me and the loss of German in my family bothers me, so I’ve been trying hard to reintroduce it into our heritage. It’s difficult when you don’t have anyone to practice with though. But, I know enough to get around here, eavesdrop on conversations, and build on my vocabulary just from sight. It’s been really fun to be surrounded by a language that fascinates me so much. I’m glad I’ve still got about a week left in the German-speaking world.
Window shopping
In the morning, Mom and Valerie headed off to the second-hand clothing store to buy some new apparel while I checked out the local antique store. I don’t know how the clothing store was but the antique store sure was cool! Antique stores are already some of my favorites. Getting to see a whole new assortment of antiques was just fascinating.
My primary objective was to get WWII artifacts for cheap. I must not be the only American with that idea though. The shopkeeper asked if I was looking for WWII stuff as soon as I walked in. He had a special box of artifacts hidden under his desk that he pulled out. It was filled with tons of postcards, original photographs, and lapel pins from the 1930s and 1940s. I would’ve bought the whole box but most everything in there was really pricey. I ended up buying a couple of postcards and some old Reichsmarks. All of the pins were way out of my budget. He also had a huge collection of Hindenburg coins that were $25 a piece. Very cool and very unaffordable. Maybe. I might go back tomorrow. Germany certainly won’t have many artifacts and Poland is unlikely to have anything either.
This evening, we ended up walking the streets for a couple of hours just for fun. It was a rainy day, so most everyone was off the streets. Wherever we went, there were gorgeous storefronts with beautifully arranged displays of candies, handbags, and outfits. My personal favorites were what I would call the stereotypical mid-day summer outfits of the upper class. Probably at least $1000 for the entire getup. Even with everything unaffordable, walking through the narrow, winding streets in the rain just feels magical.
The Sound of Music
I wish I’d had a chance to rewatch the movie before we came, but we really enjoyed the movie sites tour today. Some of the highlights from the tour were the treed path that Maria danced down as she walked to meet the family at their home, the iconic gazebo where they first kiss, the lake where the children fall in the water behind the home, and the church where they marry. It was a fast-paced tour that got a little bit hampered by the rain, but was still amazing. We definitely had a bus full of fans and our tour guide obviously loved the movie. We caught him singing the songs to himself when he was all alone.
The movie really highlights the beauty of the city of Salzburg. Some creative liberties were taken with where exactly things were placed, but every scene is an authentic location from the area. If you’re wondering if the places really look that wonderful in person, they absolutely do.
Early morning
That’s it for tonight. We’ve got to be at the bus station at 5:40am to catch our rides to Hitler’s mountain bunker, Eagle’s Nest near Berchtesgaden. Tomorrow’s Mom’s last day in Europe, so we’ll try to make the most of it!