The Hills are indeed Alive!

Wednesday & Thursday , Oktober 8 &9 , 2008. Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg was GREAT!!!! I was very nervous about going because I was traveling alone for the first time in my life... I was not so much worried about my safety as much as worried about who I was going to eat with, who I would talk to, etc. Mer so very kindly walked me to the train and waited with me until it got there. I boarded and was on my way! My train went directly to Salzburg without me having to change trains which was nice, but I did have to move CARS because the train split up mid trip. NBD.

When I got to Salzburg, I pulled out my itenerary which had EVERYTHING I needed for the trip in it and looked for my directions. They said follow signs for the city center, pass under a bridge etc. No problem, right? WRONG. I forgot that the signs for "city center" that I would be looking for would be IN GERMAN and I no longer had my trusty German translater, one Meredith Edrington. I made some educated guesses and convinced myself that I was correct, and luckily ended up in the right place! I checked in behind 2 Canadian girls and ended up in the same room as them. Once up in the room, we started chatting and we went to dinner together! It was nice to have someone to eat with, especially because I had been nervous about who I would eat with!

I came back, grabbed my book, and headed for the eating area to read a little. A girl from Australia ("Straaal-ya") joined me, then a guy from Australia, a guy from Canada, and 2 more Australian girls. We sat around talking, but then I retired for the night knowing that I was getting up the next day for the SOUND OF MUSIC TOUR!!!

I got up early Thursday morning, grabbed some breakfast, and waited for the tour to pick me up. (door to door service!! nice!!!) We went and met the bus where I made my friend Emily. She is 4 years old and from Australia. Her favorite movie is the Sound of Music and she loves her vacation to Europe because she got to leave her brothers at home. She was ADORABLE!! We visited all of the sights (that we could) from the movie including the "curtain clothes in the trees" scene, the tipped over canoe scene, the church where Maria got married, etc. It was WONDERFUL! We listened to the soundtrack while driving from place to place. It was just wonderful!!! After the tour, we ended up at the gardens where the "Do Re Mi" scene was filmed and I ran into two of the guys I met the night before from the hostel. We walked around together, found a castle, explored. Again, it was nice to have friends to talk to and walk around with! They even spoke English! SWEEEET!!

We went back to the hostel where we watched the end of the Sound of Music--the perfect ending to the day! I got on the computer then showered and hopped in bed (I was leaving the next morning on a train at 6 am, so getting up at 4:30 to pack and walk to the station! eek). I COULD NOT WAIT to meet back up with Mer. Did I mention that I just LOVE HER?!?!? :)

--Its late here, Ill finish telling you about Vienna tomorrow!