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| Erin's Journal for 10-04-02 Today we were headed for Munich. We'd decided to do another day trip out of Salzburg instead of going to the German castle Neuschwanstein today, as there were so many attractions around this section of Austria that we didn't want to miss! So we quickly got up and out of the hostel for a 9ish train to the Salzbergwerk, and ancient salt mine which had conferred great wealth on the region's rulers for centuries. We had to take a bus up into the mountains to arrive there, and as it was a cold rainy morning, we were perfectly happy to go for an indoor tour. We joined a tour that was conducted in both German and English, whihc was only a little hassling for the tour guide to have to repeat everything to a group of 54 people! We suited up in white coveralls to keep our clothes clean, then headed down into the mountain on a tightly packed bench on rails. Then we traveled under the mountain from 80 meters down to over 200 meters' depth, even crossing an underground lake of brine (salt water), and enjoying 2 brief slides on our butts down some rails to deeper sections. The tour was about an hour and very cool. Afterward we decided to hurry back to Salzburg to get time to head out to Schloss Hellbrun, a palace famous for its trick fountains. In such a rainy day, though, we didn't want to pay the 7 euros each to go on the tour and get sprayed upon, as we found out when we arrived, so we walked around the pretty but unremarkable gardens for only 20 minutes before deciding to head back and catch our train to Munich. We grabbed our bags from the lockers in the hostel where we'd stored them for the day, then hoofed it to the train station an hour before our train. The ride north was short, only about 90 minutes, so we read up on Munich and typed journals till we arrived, then followed Helena's precise directions to their flat in Munich, arriving between 6 and 9 as promised. Helena and Andreas greeted us warmly, giving us room to stow our packs on the living room floor and sheets for the pull-out couch (very comfy!). They also cooked us dinner as we sat in the kitchen and got reacquainted, as we'd only met once at our friend Stefanie's wedding in Chicago in February this year. We sat and talked for a good 3 hours before retiring, planning to go to Octoberfest together the next day. |
| The backside of Salzburg's fortress, where we found a quiet park with great views of the mountains |