Figured we'd screw up sightseeing in at least one city...

Sat 6/6

After our late arrival in Salzburg Fri night, we walked towards the old town and wandered around awhile looking for a hostel called St. Sebastians. Its more like a dormitory I guess. They only had a room available for the 1st night and we intended to stay for two, but we took it anyway. They typically house female students from surrounding colleges, but open up to the public some of their rooms during the summer. I feel like we're back in college...I was sort of hoping the beds would be bunked...haha, but not so much. Our room actually has 4 twin beds and is immaculately clean...not bad. Considering its at least 30 euro less than any other standard hotel around here, well worth it.

After grabbing quick showers we headed across the river to the old town and walked around some of the churches and Mozart memorials. There were a few neat looking fountains and a huge shiny orb with a realistic statue of Mozart on top. Just below was an enormous chess board where it looked like a tourist was challenging a local. Didn't stick around to see who won. My money is on the local. We stopped into a restaurant called Zipfer that brewed their own beer. Pretty tasty pilsner. At first it tasted bitter, but after a few sips the taste was more citrusy. Seemed like a cross between Pilsner Urquell and Bruge Zot.

This morning we took advantage of the washer/dryer they have in the St. Sebastian complex. We booked it last night for 8am. After throwing in a first load we went upstairs to the cafeteria room for the free breakfast. Wasn't much -- bread, butter, jam, juice & coffee...oh and liverspread, yuck. But, we weren't expecting much...at least I wasn't.

The laundry really kinda screwed up our sightseeing plans for the day. While waiting for the clothes to dry, we missed our target bus departure of 11:18 for Berchesgaden. We checked into a small pension called TrumerStube that was just around the corner...got a decent rate of 85euro for a double. Still well below the town average. We were able to get into the room right away and the lady who ran the place was very friendly. By the time we finished laundry and got situated, it was nearly 12:15. Next bus was supposed to be 1:15, so we grabbed some food at a local "burger" joint (classy bison burgers & potato wedges) and walked back across the river to check out Salzburg Cathedral before catching the bus to Berchesgaden. Entry was free, and it was quite a sight. The first church was built in 774, and was replaced by the current church in 1628. An aerial bomb destroyed the center dome in WWII, and it was reconstructed in 1959. The cathedral featured incredibly high ceilings that were painted with scenes from the Passion. Of course the floor layout was a cross, and in each inner corner there was an organ on the second level. Mozart was the organ player in this cathedral for 2 years. Imagine that. Wonder if he stuck to typical Catholic hymns, or if he was free to jam. Ha. (He was also baptized here) In the left transept there were stairs to the crypt, which showed parts of the original foundation and held tombs of some bishops.

Then we waited for the bus. And waited...and waited. Then realized that the Saturday schedule was different, and excluded the 1:14 bus. Super. So we went back into the Old Town and checked out the Panorama Musuem, which featured works by Johann Sattler. In the early 19th century, Johann drew a panorama painting of Salzburg which was 12 ft tall, and when wrapped fully around, probably has a 12-15 ft radius. Crazy huge. His viewpoint was from the top of the Hohensalzburg Fortress and swept 360 degrees. The detail was incredible. This painting was toured through Europe, and basically put Salzburg on the map by allowing people of other countries to see its beauty. Sattler explored the world and did smaller paintings of each place he visited: locations included Colorado, Egypt, Jerusalem & Switzerland. These paintings were also in the musuem and were a great way to see what particular cities and sights looked like 150-175 years ago. Very cool.

Finally we caught the bus for Berchesgaden at nearly 2:30. The bus was absolutely packed, standing room only..and it got worse the closer we got to our destination, which was 30mins away. Wasn't cheap either, $9 euro for the both of us...and that didn't even get us to the sights. We had to take another bus to the Documentation Center in Obersalzberg (Hitler's mountainside village), which was another $6euro..and that didn't take you to the Eagles Nest!! That last leg would have cost an additional $15euro apiece. On a cloudy day?? No thanks. We stayed on the Documentation Center level which gave background on the National Socialist movement all the way from its beginnings to its end. I made it half way through when they announced that the musuem was closing in 15 minutes...so I had to run through all of the interesting stuff surrounding WWII as well as the really cool bunker system. I snapped a few pictures, but really didn't get a good feel for any of it...except that it was creepy and I was nervous I was going to get locked in down there with the lights out after hours. So I jogged back up to the main level, 1 minute before closing. We missed the 2nd to last bus back to Berchesgaden and had to wait 40 mins for the next. We ended up chatting with this mountain of a German man who was a freelance photographer. A very chatty fellow, he took us through conversations about US border policy for foreign travelers since 9/11, how the US govt relies upon corporations to make economic decisions, and some of his travels to the states in the early 90s (Particularly one when he somehow had a Delta ticket that allowed him to fly whenever and wherever he wanted in the US for a month. His favorite story was when he and his friend were staying in Miami and decided late one night to have breakfast in NY...so they flew up, had breakfast, and flew back to Miami. Said the most expensive part was the cab fare from the airport to the restaurant. Ha). I asked him a few questions about his photography and the interesting things hes photographed. He said he was an official photographer in 1989 at one of the monumental conferences between Gorbachev and Bush Sr. Said he had the opportunity to have a conversation with Bush, and commented that he was just a normal person too, just like the rest of us. Another story is that he accidently bumped right into Bill Clinton in New York while coming around the corner of the building, while he was still just a candidate. The secret service must have asked quite a few questions, because he said he met and spoke with Clinton at a later time, and Clinton remembered him. (I would too...this guy was at least 6-4 with huge paws,had to weigh 280-300, and had a face and attire that was pure German) Well, we left him in Berchesgaden and our options were to wait an hour for the $9euro bus back to Salzburg, or take the train that left in 15mins. We opted for the train, which ended up costing $14euro b/c we didn't have our rail passes with us. The trip was longer, but much more comfortable...and we were ready to get outta Berchesgaden after spending so much cash getting too and from.

By the time we got back, it was 7:30pm and pouring down rain, making for a miserable 20min walk back to the hotel. Soaking wet and frustrated with the day's sightseeing, it was tempting to just go to bed. But we went out around the corner per the recommendation of the hotel owner and dropped into the Funky Monkey. A small pub/restaurant that was really busy for such terrible weather. we waited 20mins for a table and then sat down to some pretty decent food in a good, friendly atmosphere.

What we missed: Mozarts's Residence museum, Hozensalzburg Fortress tour, Mozart's birthplace.