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Now I know why the 'goras' are so obsessed with discussing weather, depending on it your whole day plays out. When we got up the same cold and grey weather continued but thankfully it wasn't raining. Raj and Sid got up a bit late after having celebrated latter's birthday at some nearby bar while Swati and I, habitual by now, got up early. After getting ready in the common bathrooms for the entire floor we were ready for breakfast. We choose the 3.5 euro eat all you can breakfast which basically had the usual kinds of breads, fruits, juices cereals and coffee. Today we had to pick up our car from the rental agency europcar from an adjacent town of Freilassing which was in Germany. The reason for not picking a car in Salzburg was we were going to return it in Munich, so if you pick and drop within the same country it's cheaper. Raj and I set off for Freilassing taking the local train. I had saved the agency's address on my GPS and after getting down just after one station we walked down to it. After completing the formalities the guy handed over the keys to our 5 seater VW golfer. BTW guys you don't require a international license in Germany for a short stay, our Indian license is good enough. So Raj and I took the keys and went to the backside of the office where the car was parked. We were as excited as though we were gonna drive for the first time in our lives. Raj couldn't stop imagining cruising on the German autobahns which do not have speed limits. At the same time we were nervous because both of us for the first time would be driving a left hand drive car. I took the wheels and after checking all the parameters, set the GPS for our hostel in Salzburg. As we got onto the road our excitement plummeted. Forget cruising on the limitless roads we couldn't even get into the third gear. The roads were chocoblock full with the traffic moving at a snails pace. We felt cheated! But the silver lining was I was getting the hang of the traffic rules. After covering the 8 km distance in 30 min we finally reached our hostel. Luckily for us it was a Saturday, a weekend, so we didn't have to pay any parking charges for the weekend or that's what we interpreted of the parking machine instructions written in German. There was no more a need for the car today as we would be exploring Salzburg on foot.
Swati and Sid met us outside the hostel and after showing them our means of commute for the coming days we were off to explore Salzburg. The old part of Salzburg is across the river settled in the shadow of a magnificent castle atop a hill. On our way we passed through many gardens in full blossoms and it seemed it was the day of weddings because we saw at least 3 of them with both the bride and the groom dressed in their traditional Bavarian dresses which would be described in detail in later. By 1600 hrs we started feeling hungry and settled on a roadside pizzeria which was running overfull. Somehow the four of us squeezed onto a table of two. The whacko owner of the place had no staff and to attend to the rush was himself serving and taking orders with his chef helping as required to the amusement of all patrons. However we got our best vegetarian pizza at this place even better than the one s in Italy!
Well fed we decided to climb up the hill which nestled the famed Salzburg castle. It takes around 20-30 min to climb the stairs depending how much time you spend clicking panaromic photos of the town below. But the view from the top of castle is breath taking. On one side is the town with river flowing while other three sides are the enormous mountains of the alps.
Closing hours of the castle are 1900 hrs and we ensured as always we were the last one's to leave. Tired from all the walking we dragged ourselves to the warmth of the hostel, grabbing something to eat enroute. Tomorrow early morning we are expecting Bhaiyya who would be joining us from Rome.
- comments
Purnima Nice, I can read you guys are having loads of fun! Continue :)
Sandhya good read Aalok. Keep it coming