The Sounds of Salzburg

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Overnight buses and trains sound like a good idea. “Oh I'll just sleep on the train and wake up the next morning refreshed and ready for sightseeing,” you'd think to yourself. “Plus I'll save money on a hostel.” The reality is that it's more like ten hours of slow, medieval-style torture, as you can barely move. Your body starts cramping up, you get too hot or too cold, and you have to pee at least two hours before the next stop. I learned this on my overnight bus from Olympos to Goreme, in Capadoccia.

Most of us were happy to leave Olympos, a frontier-hippy town which had about as much energy as a depressed slug. We were staying with mostly young Turkish hippies who looked half asleep or stoned all day. My Australian friend Tilly and I tried our best not to laugh, joke, or enjoy life in any way as we sat in the couches, watching the zombies.

Fast forward to Goreme. I stayed one day there in an underground cave hostel. The entire town looked like something in a science fiction movie. I was surprised to see that although the entire Capadoccia region is touristy, the area still had a small-town charm. As I ate lunch at a quiet restaurant on the main street, I watched Turks coming and going through the market, tractors carrying families in the back, and even a funeral procession at the mosque, marching slowly and passing the body, wrapped in a green clothe with gold Arabic writing, down the street.

The next morning most of our Fez group separated, which was tough because I met some really cool people. The next few days I spent in Istanbul before the travel day from hell: Istanbul to Basel, Switzerland at 3:30am, then a train to Zurich, and another train to Salzburg.

I'm fairly certain that I died on the plane. Salzburg was fantastic; it was heaven on earth. There was a beautiful, clean river, meandering through the cobblestone streets and historical buildings, the postcard-perfect mountains with tiny villages hugging the forested sides, and cute parks with families biking through them. Moreover, everyone there is good-looking: guys, girls, everyone. Even the dogs are neatly trimmed and groomed. It was easy to see why The Sound of Music was filmed in and around Salzburg.

Luckily, we were in town for St.Rupert's festival, a mini-Oktoberfest if you will, only they celebrate their patron saint. St.Rupert's festival is when I was certain that we had died. There were huge mugs of Steigl beer, giant pretzels the size of your head, frankfurters, schnitzel and bratwurst galore, not to mention the women and men in traditional outfits.

Dylan, Randi, and I ended up drinking one night in the tent. As luck would have it, we sat with a girl named Alex and her friend Chris, both from Salzburg. I honestly can't remember anything we talked about, but we had fun, drank, and sang songs that the band was playing. They both were really cool people and we ended up spending almost a week together, on and off.

The next morning, we went to see Mozart's birthplace. His house wasn't too big but it did have a lot of cool things: Mozart's first pianos, his handwritten letters, and even an interactive computer which analyzed his music. Then we met up with Alex and toured the Salzburg fortress that overlooks the city. After that, we went to a zoo (where we disturbingly saw two giant tortoises mating in front of children), and a palace. That night, Alex drove us through the mountains and a creepy, haunted forest to a traditional restaurant where we ate the most delicious schnitzel, apple strudel, and sturm wine.

A few days later, while I nursed a 24-hour flu, Alex took Dylan and Randi to these giant ice caves, and then to Alex's grandparents house for some tea. Alex and her family were tremendously kind and welcoming. It was hard for Dylan and Randi to leave.

Then, it came time for Oktoberfest. After going to St.Rupert's festival, it didn't shock us as much as did to everyone else. But the sheer size and mass of the whole operation was quite a spectacle. Image row after row after row of whole chickens cooking and rotating. Or imagine table after table of drunk, rowdy men and women, singing songs, standing on tables...at 11:30am. What most people forget, though, is that it's more than just giant beer tents. They have rides, exhibits, and even a flea circus, which Dylan and I might have gone to after a few beers...Overall, it's definitely a must-see if you're in Europe for September, even if you don't remember any of it.

Eventually, it came time to leave Salzburg, but before we did, we all went for drinks at the Steigl brewery, where Dylan and I tried organic beer (healthy and eco-friendly!), while Randi drank the various girly, fruity ones like lemon and grapefruit. Saying goodbye to Salzburg and Alex and Chris was hard. We're still devising various schemes to move and live there.

Now, we're in Vienna, which is a surprisingly bleak, ugly city. Don't get me wrong, there are nice palaces, churches, and parks. But after being in Salzburg, everything just looks cold and depressing. The grungy streets are filled with graffiti and stern faces. A smile is about as rare as the sun. To make matters worse, we spent a whole day in graveyards, seeing Mozart, Beethoven, and other composers' graves (which was cool though).

Anyways, if you're still reading this, we're leaving for Budapest tomorrow, and then going to Prague and Krakow. Until next time, auvoir, ciao, hasta la vista, goodbye!

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Comments

[alex]

:)
It's nice to see my name mentioned here so many times. We miss you guys already, life is suddenly so boring without you and specially without your funny stories Alex. Too bad you didn't like Vienna that much, but isn't that exactly what I told you? Enjoy the next stops of your trip! Can't wait to read more and see pictures! Alex