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The word of the day yesterday was "cranky."
I didn't get a great night's sleep (root causes: bar noise and room temperature) and was feeling cranky when I left my hostel at 8am to start my trip towards Munich, with a stop planned in Salzburg. The 3-hour train ride to Salzburg was fine, but when I arrived in Salzburg, I discovered, along with about 40 other tourists, that all of the train station day lockers were already taken.
Salzburg, for a city that has been described as "addicted to the tourist dollar," I've got one word to describe your lack of lockers: "sucky."
I stood around, watched the panicked tourists with enormous rollerbags freak out, felt slightly better that I wasn't one of them, and then decided what I should do. All my stuff fits in one large duffle bag, but that duffle bag has increased in weight now to nearly 30 lbs. I had planned on a lot of walking, and I really didn't want to schlep around my bag on rather warm day. After briefly considering getting on the next train to Munich, I decided f$@& it, I'll give it a try (but I was now even crankier than before).
I headed towards the city, pausing occasionally to give my back a break. The old center of Salzburg was pretty, touristy, and crowded. I went through my guidebook's walking tour, which included stops at the birthplace of Mozart and a couple of "Sound of Music" notable movie scene locations. I don't think I've ever seen the Sound of Music, but the filming locations were beautiful and I left thinking that I really need to rent this movie when I get home.
After the tour, I decided I'd try the climb up the hillside towards the city fort and castle, duffle bag and all. The climb was tiring with the extra weight, but the views were worth the climb. I rewarded my strenuous day with a stop at a biergarten on the walk down. After a couple of biers, I was exhausted and felt like I'd had enough of Salzburg, so I headed back to the train station. I spent less time in Salzburg than I intended, but I was still a little cranky at the city.
I arrived in Munich around 7pm, checked into my hostel, took a brief tour of the nearby area, and then went home to crash. The day had clearly worn me down, and I didn't have much left in me to do any serious activities in Munich.
Fortunately, I am here for 4 nights, so I'm hoping to take Munich at a slightly slower pace and catch a breath. I've got high expectations for this city, so I'm hoping for a great few days.
Photos of Salzburg:
With so many consecutive days spent on the road, you're probably fortunate that you haven't had more cranky days. I hope the Munich hostel is quiet and affords sleeping time. I'm buying a small duffel bag on wheels for my trip there...
ReplyDeleteP.S. What are in those extra 30 lbs you've acquired?
Maybe that statement wasn't entirely clear...I've gone from 22 pounds (the budget airlines' standard limit) to about 30 now, mostly Malawi souvineers and a couple clothing purchases in London. I need to toss some stuff to bring the weight back down...
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