Hello from Salzburg!

My hostel charges one euro for 15 minutes of internet, which is absurd. But then they have internet 'happy hour' from 6-8 every day, so I don't know why anyone would ever pay for it. But that also means I can't hog the computer for too long, and my hands are very cold, which makes it hard to type.

Today I went to Salzburg! But yesterday I was in Vienna. Actually, yesterday was less productive than usual because the info wall at my hostel recommended going to see the Viennese 'institution' of a ferris wheel, but it was far away (kind of), and then when I got there it was closed. So that was too bad. Then I rode some more S-bahns and U-bahns and then wandered around a bit, but it was rainy and wandering is less fun in the rain. So then I went to the music musem Haus der Musik.

The museum was interesting in a strange way. The first part of the museum was about how we hear things and perceive sound, but they made all the rooms totally dark with pulsating rhythms, and then you read information on computer screeens. And they just presented it in a creepy manner. Then there was a room on the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra, and then rooms for 7 different composers. Then on the last floor there were a bunch of interactive exhibits about manipulating sound and different sound effects and instruments that weren't really instruments (like a percussion tree). And it was cool, but all the sounds that you manipulated were buzzes and traffic sounds and alarms, and not musical sounds. Which means that after awhile you got a headache. But then at the end there was an interactive exhibit where you used an orchestra maestro's baton to lead the Vienna philharmonic, and if you stunk they would all stop playing and yell at you., And that was quite amusing, and I succeeded in finishing my song, so hooray for that!

After that I walked a bit more and went back to the Chrismtas market where I bought a fake soft pretzel (it was fake because it had sesame seeds on it instead of salt, and was really just bread, and not a pretzel) and then walked around a bit more before going back to the hostel. Vienna had more museums and such, but I had seen all the museums I really wanted to see the day before, have seen a gagillion museums in the past two months, and at $10 a pop, how many museums can you go to in 48 hours? Five, apparently.

I went back to the hostel and read for a little bit, talked to my mom on the phone, and then went to an Italian restaurant on the hostels's suggestion map. My pizza was pretty good, but not spectacular and I also accidentally ordered bottled water, which was unfortunate. But the people were nice and I had an enjoyable evening. I also started rereading my paper journal, and that was very fun. It turns out I have done a lot these past two months..

This morning I woke up at 8:15 and then took a 9:44 train to Salzburg, which arrived just before 1. I talked to one Austrian guy on the train, and started my first Parisian French book (Camus' 'La Chute'...which is very witty so far). Then I walked a few minutes to my hostel, which I like so far. After I made my bed and got a bit more organized, I headed out into Salzburg.

But I didn't really know how to get to the center of the city, so I messed up and ended up walking a bunch extra. But that is alright. And then I walked through the streets in the center of town and wandered around a bit, before going up to the castle. Salzburg is different from what I expected in that is has less cobblestones and more current clothing stores. I had heard of it as the typical quaint European town, but it seems a bit more modern than that. But then I went to the castle, which began being constructed in 1077, and that is not modern at all!

I rode the furnicular up to the fortress, because it is on the top of a big hill and then wandered around. This castle felt much more like a castle than the one in Prague and it had a bunch of different exhibits and museums scattered around, but you had to find them yourself since there was no set order in which to see things. The castle also provided a nice view of Salzburg, which was lovely.

Aftrer a few hours at the castle I walked back to the hostel, just in time to grab a computer at the start of free internet! I think I am going to eat diner at the hostel tonight, and I'm not sure what I am doing tomorrow. But tonight is my last night in a hostel, and that is very strange.

Also, I want to do a final synthesis award-giving for my travels, but you should vote for categories, because all I have so far are 'best bathroom', 'most confusing bathroom', and 'best crepe'...but there are probably more interesting and all-encompassing categories than that. #

Also x 2, you don't get pictures until I am back on my own computer with internet. Which might be in Paris but is more likely not to be until I am back home. But I shall do my best!

Also x 3, it is true that enough people speak English so you don't have to know a million languages. But I am fluent in tourist-German, tourist-Czech, tourist-Dutch/Flemish, and tourist-Spanish. Tourist languages include the following phrases:

Hello/Goodbye
Thank you (very much) (but not in Czech, because I can't pronounce it right)
One, please
Do you speak in English?
I don't speak _____.
Yes/No
Excuse me (but not in German, because it is too hard)

Those and lots of pointing, nodding, and head shaking can pretty much get you by...