Morning in Innsbruck brought a much different feeling. We walked around doing some sightseeing in the sunshine. No hooligans were out at that time in the morning, and we ate breakfast at “Breakfast Club”, were served omelets stuffed with alpine cheese by a cute server, and had two hot cups of coffee.
We did a lot of sightseeing and enjoyed seeing parts of the city that we missed last night. It looked comfortable and welcoming, and back in the historic center it was beautifully framed by the mountains above. The sun was catching The Golden Roof just right, making brilliant reflections and very nice photos. It was like a completely different place.
With our sightseeing complete we got another cup of coffee and a pastry at a Middle Eastern bakery. The mom made the coffees for us, and we sat outside and enjoyed the brisk early morning air. The bakery seemed family run, and even though her sons looked like gangsters on their phones the mom did a great job with the coffees and was super nice to us.
One thing I noticed around town were signs here and there saying HOTEL ROUTE -> but I’m not sure what they were for. Buses? Tour guides? Customers? The signs often had a color coded square as well, but I just couldn’t figure them out.
After two coffees we made haste back to the hotel to use the bathroom and pack up our stuff, and slowly made our way to the train station for a two train ride to Salzburg. The train came after only a few minutes of waiting, and we quickly found some good seats in first class with our suitcase above us in the overhead rack.
Once again a beautiful ride through great scenery, crisscrossing a scenic river as we went. At one point I checked my phone map and GPS and we were cutting through Germany on the way to Salzburg. This trip covered more countries than I had expected.
The train pulled into Salzburg station, which busier than I had expected. We followed the crowds out the front entrance and there were a lot of people waiting around. It was hot in the sun, but not far to our hotel, called the H+ Hotel, almost next to the station. We asked if we could checkin having arrived pretty early, and the staff was super nice and said that it would be no problem.
While we were finishing up our check in, another couple came in checked in as well. The man wanted to be sure that the extras he had paid for were ready – he had paid for early check in and also a bottle of champagne ready in their room. I guess I should have thought of that!
As we crossed the lobby we passed a Korean couple – the first Asians that we had seen on this trip in a while. Upstairs our room was nice – very spacious – and most importantly had a lot of hangers in the closet. It was time to do our mid-trip laundry.
Both of us like traveling light, and that means fewer socks and underwear in the suitcase and a little laundry in the sink. We hung everything up around the room and let them air dry while we enjoyed the city. First step, find someplace that was serving drinks.
Once again the area near the station wasn’t the best, which is pretty much the exact opposite of Japan. We walked past a few bars and gambling joints until we found a seat open in front of what looked like a friendly little cafe. We had sat down and ordered our drinks when just then two more people came over and sat down next to us, and lit up their cigarettes. That’s the bad point about cafe culture in Europe – you’re likely to get smoked out if you aren’t careful. We relocated inside and enjoyed a plush animal print sofa – with the same pattern you find worn by old ladies from Osaka.
After our drinks we struck out for the Old Town and historic areas for a little sightseeing. As we walked south we found more and more tourists, and another hot day out in the sun. Salzburg Old Town was similar to other places we have visited in terms of shopping – all the brand stores mixed in with cafes and tourist shops, most of which are housed in beautiful historic buildings. Where Salzburg was different was the dramatic cathedrals in the south part of town, with the imposing fortress on the hill behind them. The beauty of these buildings and how they were laid out was amazing. The scale of everything was just over the top, and we couldn’t stop taking pictures in a vain attempt to capture what it was like.
We knew that the next day would be Sunday, so we went into every church and cathedral on our list. We wanted to see things without the services going on in the background. After a lot of this we decided to grab some dinner, so we went to a place on my list: The Goldene Kugel. It was a traditional place where we ordered some pork neck roast with potatoes and au jus sauce. Kuniko had a unique kind of meatloaf in a tiny little tin, some pickled yellow peppers, and we had two salads – it had been a while since we could eat veggies. We washed these down with beer and wine (both delicious).
Outside the restaurant was a steady stream of tourists walking by. Some dude was disguised as a shrub along the walking path, and people watched with great amusement as he waited until an unsuspecting passerby got too close and then jumped out at them. Kuniko failed to see the humor, but everyone was really eating it up. Strangely there was a guy in a full clown outfit eating with his family at another table. The circus was really in town. Even inside where we were eating there was a strange guy at the window drinking heavily and speaking to nobody in particular. Good food but weird vibe!
We went back north a bit and visited Mozart’s house. He wasn’t home but we did buy a keychain for our collection. The shop staff looked completely empty – totally not into the whole shopkeeper thing. I hope she finds a better job someday.
Throughout town we kept seeing signs for bus tours covering the famous spots from the movie The Sound of Music. They were called Panorama Tours, I guess from the famous scene at the beginning of the movie with Julie Andrews spinning away in the mountains.
Halfway back to the hotel we stopped into a little cafe bar for more outdoor drinks. Kuniko had a Bellini Spritz (excellent!) and I had a rosé after the staff said the alcohol for cocktails was not available. The wine wasn’t bad though, and the atmosphere of the place was great.
Back at the train station we waited in a short line to make reservations for our next train trip, to Budapest. Our rail passes do not include reservations and I thought since my health wasn’t great it would be nice to be assured that we could sit down rather than have to stand up for five and half hours. The clerk we had was not a happy guy. I asked for a reservation for our train the day after tomorrow, and showed him the train number we wanted. He sold me the reservation and I paid in cash, then as we were walking away I noticed that it was for tomorrow – not the day after tomorrow. Back in line and I explained that there was a mistake and we’d like to reserve on the correct day. He said, “You told me tomorrow…” and sighed dramatically. I resisted the impulse to argue with him and just asked him to change it. He eventually did, but unfortunately we weren’t in first class anymore – he said first class was booked for that day. A part of me doubted this and thought maybe it was his form of punishment, but who cares and we got the ticket from him. Kuniko folded it in half and put it in her wallet for safekeeping, and the unpleasant task was complete.
Finally we went back to the hotel room to get some rest and watch our clothes dry out. We’ll be doing a lot more sightseeing tomorrow before the crowds wake up.
