First Salzburg day

We started out the day tired, saying farewell to newly made friends and the staff and the Haus. We were driven to the underground which took us to the train station in Vienna. We did pretty well finding the ticket place and purchasing our tickets, but then had a little trouble finding the train we wanted- the first train was the right one, but it was full. Second train not full, but not the right train. Third train was the one - not crowded and very nice. We watched to men load high priced bikes onto the train, and they ended up sitting across the table from us on the train. It turns out that they were from Chekoslavakia and were on their way to bike from Salzburg to Italy - across the alps. It would take five days of riding 80 miles per day. Mark was in awe :)

The train ride was long, with many stops, but finally the alps came into view and we began to perk up. Thanks to our Rick Steve's guide we new what bus to take from the train station and only had to haul our luggage a few blocks to the hotel in old town. Our luggage has gotten a little heavier at the Haus since Mark's students gave him a traditional/ceremonial robe which is full length velvet and embroidered. Yes, I do have a picture.

The minute we hit Salzburg I loved it. The old town is truly quaint with unique shops, narrow streets, cafe's - everything you think of as old Europe. We were hungry but couldn't stop taking side streets and oohing and aahing at every turn. It is beautiful. It is also very HOT. This whole trip has been unseasonably warm here, and we packed for cooler weather. So much for packing light - now I'm buying clothes.

We came back to our room at 7:30, hot and tired. But then we saw the forcast and realized that it might be our only sunny day - so we jumped back up to go see the sunset. It was worth it! The river was illuminated by a beautiful sunset and people were strolling along both sides -and so did we! We cut through a park to come back to our hotel and found the Mirabel, which is one of the locations for the Sound of Music movie - remember when they hopped up and down steps and sang Do Re Me? And walked along the edge of the fountain holding their arms out? Yep, saw that. And no we did not recreate the moment :)

Finally back again in our room, which was built in 1512 as a metal smith's home and shop. Really looking forward to a good night's sleep and hoping for good weather for tomorrow - thinking we'll do the fort tomorrow!
 (pictures are on facebook- too many to upload here)