The Streets of Salzburg

Success. Short plane ride, and when we got off the plane- the ALPS! I planned our arrival as well. We needed a sim card, having already bought an unlocked European compliant burner phone. I knew there was a place right in the airport to get it, as well as a bank with a "good" MAC machine (that's an ATM for everyone not from Philadelphia, some of us old folks still call them MAC machines when we're not thinking about it). By a good ATM of course I mean one attached to an actual bank, not a free standing rip off one. Again, thanks to the German folks over on the Trip Advisor forum for hammering that home-- only use an ATM at a bank.

So, we get off on the tarmac and walk into the airport. It's small. Not Palm Springs small, or Aqtobe, Kazakhstan small, but small. Further, it's absolutely deserted. It looked as if some disaster had happened, and we missed it by being on the plane. Bank with ATM, not there. Place to get sim card, closed. Again, all of my careful plans in ruins. So we used the much maligned rip off ATM outside the airport so we could have Euros for the bus ride into Salzburg. We'll get the sim card there, no problem. But unless we find free wifi, we can't look up where one is. Okay, there will be some by the train/ bus station.

Finally, a bus. Nice ride, pretty mountains. We're very excited to be here. YAY! Train station area is a little sketchy. No surprise right, it's the train station. After a few false starts, we find what looks like a reputable place for a sim card in a nearby mall. The first places we looked, meh. Sketch. We paid more than I planned, but it's done. I had a full day scheduled for us, because we were only in Salzburg overnight, and we absolutely COULD NOT sleep until what would be normal bedtime, or eight o'clockish if we were really feeling bad. Then the long walk to our hotel, which was on the edge of the Altstadt. The streets are twisty, a little confusing after the short sleep on the flight. It's hot. The jinky blue bag is really working on my last nerve at this point.

But we come out of the building crowded streets of the Neustadt and see the High Fortress looming above the trolley lines. Now we know we're headed in the right direction. A little more wandering around, through some alleys, up some stairs (wrong way, natch), back down the stairs, and we find it. We were there a little early, and thankfully someone was available to let us in. It's very different from the chain American hotels. No twenty-four hour, or even open all through daylight/ work day hour desk. You can come when they say you can, and in this case, it was between noon and four. Also, this would be our first (and only on this trip) experience with a shared bathroom. Not a fan. It wasn't that it was dirty, or over used, I just really didn't like having to get more or less dressed then remember the key to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

Now: Salzburg. I had a plan, of course. It was already screwed up because we had to go all the way to the main station to get a sim card, instead of getting off the bus by the horse bath to see that, then going to get our famous bosna at Balkan Grill Walter, and then walking to the hotel. Thankfully, Herr Hai is more flexible than I am (usually), and talked me down. So hotel, walk across the Altstadt, bosna (because I'm really hungry and moving into hangry territory at this point), then horse fountain and etc. Of course since we were passing so many interesting things on the way, I had to stop and look, take pictures. Mozart statue. A big fountain with great statues. Buildings (yes, I know we have buildings here in Philly, but these were really nice buildings). Mozart's Geburtshaus. Not to mention, all the stores with the super cute signs. Of course, we misplaced ourselves, but not too badly. We just couldn't find the cut off from Getreidegasse to the grill. We did, passing by a store with the most amazing looking drindls I have ever seen-- really fine looking material and classy, matte patterns. Also really fine and classy prices so needless to say, I didn't bother to go inside.

After a long wait, the coveted Bosna. It's two sausages with coriander, onion and "secret spice mixture" which was introduced to Salzburg in 1949 by Zanko Todoroff, or so the story goes. It was good, again, channeling my inner German, "I could eat it." That's not my hand in the picture by the way. I'm not that hairy.

Finally after that, the Pferdeschwemme, where the horses of the Prince Archbishop who ruled Salzburg were watered and bathed. It was originally built by Prince Archbishop Johann Ernst Graf von Thun. I don't know why I was so keen to see this particular bit of Salzburg, but I was. Also, the pictures aren't great. I was lagging by this point, and we had many hours ahead of us. It made me think of the German Rider's song based on a poem by Friedrich von Schiller, Wolauf Kamaraden aufs Pferd. Here's a version with an English translation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1dwpFlFhd8

So much for the streets of Salzburg
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