Salzburg/Eagles Nest

Forgive this entry. This keyboard is possessed and nothing is where it should be!

I forgot to mention crazy wind in Innsbruck. I think my guide called it the Fonn Winds. He said it comes from the Med and sometime West Africa bringing sand. Apparently when the winds come it is followed by rain or snow. And people start acting crazy. The suicide rate goes up. Accidents increase and people become more aggressive and the animals get restless. It doesn't impact everyone, but it sounds like it impacted his son when his son was young.

Started with a walk in the new and old town. The Sound of Music put Salzburg on the map. The Austrians did not like it when it came out (and was taken out of theaters after three days because the Hollywood portrayal of the true story was over the top), but then after people started visiting because of the movie, they embraced it and love the free marketing. Salzburg is also the birthplace of Mozart. Apparently Mozart hated the place and people. Mozart said the city lacked culture and had narrow minded people. He moved from there and died in Vienna where he is buried.

I don't think I have ever seen the Sound of Music, but we saw a lot of places that had scenes from the movie. We started in the Mirabell Gardens. A Catholic bishop had the palace built for his mistress and mother of his many children. It was built outside of the old city. Saw where Mozart was born and where he lived a lot of his life in Salzburg.

The first Starbucks opened about a month ago. The younger kids like it because it's hype but it kind of kills the culture of going to a cafe and lingering for hours.

Went to Mozartplatz to see the statue.

Went to St. Peter's Church. There is a restaurant that Charles the Great ate at from around 803. There is also a nice cemetery behind it. That church and the Salzburg Cathedral were both dark and damp.

Oh, and tomorrow is a national holiday in Austria so the military was out in Kapitelplatz so the chessboard was covered. They had a band and were giving tours and boat rides. A lot of families there. It was cool. Kind of like our Seafair but with tanks and stuff like that.

And oh my, has the weather been good. I have three layers but am ending up just in my tshirt. The weather has bee nicer than I could have imagined. I have had some rain, but it's really just been so nice. The sun has been hot.

I spent the afternoon at the Eagle's Nest which is a place the Nazi Party built for Hitler to celebrate his 50th birthday. He had a house lower in the hill but it was destroyed after the war. The Eagle's Nest was a spot where Hitler and the party would entertain foreign delegates. I've heard that the French ambassador termed the phrase as the Nazi's called it the Tea House, but I read that the Americans termed the phrase. In today's dollars it would have cost $120M Euros.

The drive up was amazing and the water was so clear. And the view from up there was amazing. Really amazing but it was weird riding in an elevator that Adolf Hitler had ridden in. It's like where does that much hate come from.

Currently in Munich. Tomorrow is the last day of the tour and I will be hanging out here from Sunday to Wednesday, returning Thursday. What will I do? Nothing.

Tired of running around. I will plan each day as I go. Maybe I will do a day trip or two. I know that I will sleep in on Sunday. Oh, and they fall back Sunday so I will get two fall backs again.