So long München, hallo Salzburg....

---

I wrapped things up in München with another tasty breakfast and some chores (online banking rules!), then headed to the Hauptbahnhof to do a little travel consulting with Herr W. at EurAide. He quickly drew up a plan of attack that includes a night train from Salzburg to Mainz, then a short Rhein (Rhine) cruise (instead of the all-day version), plus quick sightseeing in Köln and Aachen, all in one day. He also recommended, before all this, a night in Hallstadt, Austria, a city highly recommended by Rick but not on my list. I made the night train reservation, then deliberated for about 15 minutes before coming back and changing the date (certain people will find this both hilarious and comforting), omitting the Hallstadt trip in favor of more dates up north, possibly even some useful time in Trier.

The train to Salzburg was nicely mostly empty, but sweltering. Rick says the Salzburg Hbf is "user-friendly", but how user-friendly can a train station be if they have neglected to post a single sign for the Ausgang (exit)? I did finally manage to find my way outside, onto a bus, and after a short, sticky walk, into my heavenly hotel. I got a ground floor room, actually half-underground, at the back of the building away from the street. Dark, quiet, and cooooooool. So I did the only sensible thing, which was veg out on the bed and watch a kids' version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" in German. My language skills are clearly improving, as I got some of the questions right! (Like the U.S. version, they are printed on the screen for a long, long time while the contestant deliberates.)

Later, I picked up a ticket for the evening's Mozart concert at the Festung Hohensalzburg (Salzburg Fortress, on top of the little mountain immediately behind the city). The show wasn't until 20:30, and I can't think of many things more pathetic than going alone to an overpriced candlelight dinner (offered as part of a concert package), so I bummed around the Altstadt (old town center) to kill time before the show. Really unlike Hamburg, Berlin or Dresden, but a little bit like Leipzig and Prague, the center of Salzburg is incredibly compact and everything you could possibly want to see is in easy walking distance, even for me, even in the heat, including the Fortress. No steep climb nonsense on this Alpine crag... there's a funicular railway going from the base of the cliff all the way to the top, with only a couple flights of stairs further to reach the concert venue. Right next to the lower funicular rail station turned out to be a nice little brewery with a terrace garden, built right into the cliff face, with a spectacular view from a few flights up, overlooking the entire city. I finally got my Hax'n (pork knuckle), but the pork knee last week was better.

The Mozart concert featured five young musicians performing Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, a clarinet quintet concerto, and another string quartet concerto. I initially refused to buy the program they were selling for an additional €2, but then when I thought the performance was over and started to leave, I noticed none of the people who had bought programs were leaving. I sneaked a look at a program and discovered we were in intermission and the entire second string quartet concerto was yet to come. After it served me so well I figured I'd better buy one, so I did. I didn't recognize either of the concerti, and I was a little surprised that they put Eine Kleine Nachtmusik first instead of making it the guaranteed crowd-pleasing finale. I don't think the music was technically flawless, but it was very good, and die erste Geige (first violin) was very expressive and clearly enjoyed herself and her ensemble very much. The only regret of the evening is, as those of you who have been paying attention will recall, I'm recovering from a cold. My chronic cough chose to act up after intermission, and I kept hoping it would get better instead of walking out as I should have. The worst part is that it kept me from enjoying the last concerto anyway, so staying annoyed everyone else and served no good purpose.

We let out at nearly 10:30, and I skipped the crowd of taxis at the bottom of the funicular in favor of the easy walk back to my hotel. The city feels incredibly safe, even alone after dark. I got a really great night's sleep!

---

Photos

Hohensalzburg Fortress
As seen from the Salzburger Dom....

Salzburger Dom
... as seen from the Hohensalzburg Fortress.